Zicron

[Pinkorchid]

A relative of ours has been put on Zicron by her new doctor she was diagnosed as T1 about a year ago and put on insulin but her new doctor thinks from what she has said that she may be 1.5 so she is having tests but in the meantime she is just taking tablets until the GP has results from the tests The doctor did tell her however that she must eat a significant amount of carbs at each meal as Zicron can cause hypos. Wondered if anyone else here takes Zicron and have you been told you must eat plenty of carbs

 

[zand]

I've just googled it and it's a brand name for Gliclazide which works by stimulating the pancreas to make more insulin, so yes it would be possible to hypo on it. I would question the sense of increasing carbs though, surely that is just going to wear out an already struggling pancreas even more quickly? Wouldn't reducing the drug to stop hypos be more sense?

 

[desidiabulum]

zand is right -- adjusting size and timing of dosage should help to avoid hypos. Increasing carbs makes no sense at all.

 

[Pinkorchid]

She said he is a young doctor who seems to be well up on diabetes treatment she is very happy with him so is willing to do whatever he says so don't think anyone else will change her mind

 

[desidiabulum]

She said he is a young doctor who seems to be well up on diabetes treatment she is very happy with him so is willing to do whatever he says

That's sad -- I'm sure she would find most doctors and DNs would recommend adjusting size and timing of dose. The confidence of youth is no substitute for experience!

 

[Daibell]

Hi and welcome. Zicron is known as Gliclazide in the UK and used to stimualte the pancreas. I was on it for many years. Yes, it can cause hypos but to have plenty of carbs to balance it seems to me to be pretty crazy advice as carbs contribute to high blood sugar in diabetes and possible weight gain. The carbs should be kept low and the Zicron dosage adjusted to control blood sugar and not casue hypos. BTW T1.5 is essentially T1 and is late onset T1 and can come on at different rates. If tablets work, then fine but insulin will probably be needed in the longer term

 

[jack412]

If it's what she wants. If she take the meds that will allow her to eat carbs and isn't overweight. Dr may want to keep her BG up a bit and have an A1c around 7%. There are a lot of diabetes doing the same thing.

this is what @numan43 is doing and taking a different point of view
http://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/threads/too-low.74906/

 

[noblehead]

A relative of ours has been put on Zicron by her new doctor she was diagnosed as T1 about a year ago and put on insulin but her new doctor thinks from what she has said that she may be 1.5 so she is having tests but in the meantime she is just taking tablets until the GP has results from the tests The doctor did tell her however that she must eat a significant amount of carbs at each meal as Zicron can cause hypos. Wondered if anyone else here takes Zicron and have you been told you must eat plenty of carbs

Depends on what they call a significant amount of carbs, if she's taking this drug in a high dose then she would need to be careful if she drastically lowered her carb intake, probably best that she speaks with her diabetes care team before reducing anything as we wouldn't like to see her come to any harm.

 

[Totto]

She said he is a young doctor who seems to be well up on diabetes treatment she is very happy with him so is willing to do whatever he says so don't think anyone else will change her mind

So why do you ask? If she is happy with her care?

It does seem rather stupid to have significant amounts of carbs, I take that to mean large amounts, in order not to hypo when on BG-lowering medication but if it makes her happy and she can tolerate the side effects, why not. In her situation I'd have applied a moderate amount of logic to the food/meds balance but we are all different.

 

[AndBreathe]

I can never get my head around running one's life to match medication. Surely the medication is being given to match, then enhance our lives?

If she needs significant carbs, to prevent hypos, it would suggest to me that the dose of Zicron could do with being reduced, rather than eating carbs to tolerate it. Using Zicron, to stimulate more insulin production + eating increased carbs will increase the chances of her gaining weight. Weight gain may or may not be any issue of course.

That's just my simple logic on it.

 

[ally1]

i take zicron and am type 2
i,ve been taking zicron since may last year and never had a hypo, nor havn,t been told to eat more carbs

 

[zand]

i take zicron and am type 2
i,ve been taking zicron since may last year and never had a hypo, nor havn,t been told to eat more carbs

That's good ally, that's how it should be if the dose is right for you.

 

[catherinecherub]

A relative of ours has been put on Zicron by her new doctor she was diagnosed as T1 about a year ago and put on insulin but her new doctor thinks from what she has said that she may be 1.5 so she is having tests but in the meantime she is just taking tablets until the GP has results from the tests The doctor did tell her however that she must eat a significant amount of carbs at each meal as Zicron can cause hypos. Wondered if anyone else here takes Zicron and have you been told you must eat plenty of carbs

As it is only a temporary measure until the test results are back I would not worry too much.
Plenty of Type 1.5 people here who can give advice if this diagnosis is confirmed.
What is the definition of plenty of carbs? That is the question.

 

[Daibell]

If it's what she wants. If she take the meds that will allow her to eat carbs and isn't overweight. Dr may want to keep her BG up a bit and have an A1c around 7%. There are a lot of diabetes doing the same thing.

this is what @numan43 is doing and taking a different point of view
http://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/threads/too-low.74906/

The key point is that Gliclazide has a reputation for causing weight gain and that would be due to the dosage being matched to a high'ish carb intake rather than the other way round. Yes, the poster needs to discuss the best approach with the GP to avoid weight gain.

 

[jack412]

The key point is that Gliclazide has a reputation for causing weight gain and that would be due to the dosage being matched to a high'ish carb intake rather than the other way round. Yes, the poster needs to discuss the best approach with the GP to avoid weight gain.

Given the OP's friend has said she trusts the dr and the dr wants her on a high dose that needs extra carbs. we are just observers without input to this. There are lots of T2's that seem to be overmedicated and encouraged to consume a mountain of carbs. They also seem to have high a1c's and overweight, going by the reports.
it's not something I'd chose for myself. I posted an example above, who came here and has nearly come off of glic. in such a little while.... I guess it comes down to personal choice and there is no one right way of eating for everyone.

 

[Pinkorchid]

So why do you ask? If she is happy with her care?

It does seem rather stupid to have significant amounts of carbs, I take that to mean large amounts, in order not to hypo when on BG-lowering medication but if it makes her happy and she can tolerate the side effects, why not. In her situation I'd have applied a moderate amount of logic to the food/meds balance but we are all different.

I asked to see if anyone else here takes Zicron but doesn't eat high carb,so I could tell her what they did

 

[Totto]

I asked to see if anyone else here takes Zicron but doesn't eat high carb,so I could tell her what they did

And @desidiabulum, @ally1 and @Daibell answered as having experience of it and none of them have been told to up their carbs.

If I was put on that kind of medication I'd cut down even further on carb but that is me. As I said before, we are all different. Glad your relative has a Dr she feels she can trust though. If I were her I'd do a bit of googling but then my Drs aren't all that clued up on things so apparently not only us are different but Drs too. Good luck to your relative.

 

[jack412]

She said he is a young doctor who seems to be well up on diabetes treatment she is very happy with him so is willing to do whatever he says so don't think anyone else will change her mind

I'm still a bit confused, you say your friend won't change her mind from what you or anyone else will say, yet you are going to tell her what strangers on the net say to you to tell her, so she may tell the dr he's wrong?

anyway, I posted a link to numan43, no doubt you have contacted him, what did he say to tell her?

 

[CollieBoy]

I asked to see if anyone else here takes Zicron but doesn't eat high carb,so I could tell her what they did

I TOOK Zicron in my route from insulin to Diet & Exercise, Never on a high carb diet, and never in high doses (80mg/day for ~ 1 month then 40mg/day & finally 20mg/day.
I did have to monitor my BG in the 80mg stage as it could push my bg down to the 4s if working hard! but tried to cruise the 5's and maxing out in the 6's post meals

 

[zand]

So that's 4 people who haven't increased carbs so that they could take a higher than perhaps necessary dose of this drug. Good luck with telling your friend though as I fear it will fall on deaf ears as she has so much faith in this particular GP.

Let us know how she gets on.