Glyburide

Glyburide is a prescription medication used in the management of type 2 diabetes. Glyburide belongs to a group of drugs called sulfonylureas. These work by stimulating the release of insulin from the pancreas. They also help the body use insulin more efficiently.

Glyburide comes in tablet form. It is usually taken once daily, with breakfast or the first main meal of the day. Sometimes a second daily dose is required. Glyburide should be used with diet and exercise, and sometimes other medications, to manage blood sugar levels in type 2 diabetes.

Common side effects of glyburide include nausea, heartburn, and a feeling of abdominal fullness.

Glyburide may cause blurred vision. Do not drive or operate heavy machinery until you know how glyburide affects you.

G6PD is an enzyme in your body that is responsible for helping red blood cells to work properly. Some patients are born with less of this enzyme in their bodies, leading to the destruction of red blood cells. When glyburide is used in patients with G6PD deficiency, they have a higher chance of experiencing hemolytic anemia (a condition in which the body does not have enough red blood cells to deliver oxygen to your tissues).

G6PD testing may be done to determine whether you are at a higher risk of experiencing hemolytic anemia if you are to be treated with glyburide.

Glyburide is a prescription medication used in the management of type 2 diabetes mellitus. It helps to lower the amount of glucose (sugar) in the blood.

This medication may be prescribed for other uses. Ask your doctor or pharmacist for more information.

Glyburide may be found in some form under the following brand names:

• Diabeta

• Glucovance

• Glynase

• Micronase

Serious side effects have been reported with glyburide. See the "Glyburide Precautions" section.

Common side effects of glyburide include:

• nausea
• heartburn
• feeling full
• rash

This is not a complete list of glyburide side effects. Ask your doctor or pharmacist for more information.

Tell your doctor if you have any side effect that bothers you or that does not go away.

Call your doctor for medical advice about side effects. You may report side effects to the FDA at 1-800-FDA-1088.

Tell your doctor about all the medicines you take, including prescription and non-prescription medicines, vitamins, and herbal supplements. Especially tell your doctor if you take:

• angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors such as benazepril (Lotensin), captopril (Capoten), enalapril (Vasotec), fosinopril (Monopril), lisinopril (Prinivil, Zestril), moexipril (Univasc), perindopril, (Aceon), quinapril (Accupril), ramipril (Altace), and trandolapril (Mavik)
• anticoagulants ('blood thinners') such as warfarin (Coumadin, Jantoven)
• aspirin and other nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medications (NSAIDs) such as ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin) and naproxen (Aleve, Naprosyn)
• beta blockers such as atenolol (Tenormin), labetalol (Normodyne), metoprolol (Lopressor, Toprol XL), nadolol (Corgard), and propranolol (Inderal)
• bosentan(Tracleer)
• calcium channel blockers such as amlodipine (Norvasc), diltiazem (Cardizem, Dilacor, Tiazac, others), felodipine (Plendil), isradipine (DynaCirc), nicardipine (Cardene), nifedipine (Adalat, Procardia), nimodipine (Nimotop), nisoldipine (Sular), and verapamil (Calan, Isoptin, Verelan)
• chloramphenicol
• clarithromycin (Biaxin)
• cyclosporine (Neoral, Sandimmune)
• disopyramide (Norpace)
• diuretics ('water pills')
• fluconazole (Diflucan)
• fluoxetine (Prozac, Sarafem)
• hormone replacement therapy and hormonal contraceptives (birth control pills, patches, rings, implants, and injections)
• insulin or other medications to treat high blood sugar or diabetes
• isoniazid (INH)
• MAO inhibitors such as isocarboxazid (Marplan), phenelzine (Nardil), selegiline (Eldepryl, Emsam, Zelapar), and tranylcypromine (Parnate)
• medications for asthma and colds
• medications for mental illness and nausea
• miconazole (Monistat)
• niacin
• oral steroids such as dexamethasone (Decadron, Dexone), methylprednisolone (Medrol), and prednisone (Deltasone)
• phenytoin (Dilantin)
• probenecid (Benemid)
• quinolone and fluoroquinolone antibiotics such as cinoxacin (Cinobac), ciprofloxacin (Cipro), enoxacin (Penetrex), gatifloxacin (Tequin), levofloxacin (Levaquin), lomefloxacin (Maxaquin), moxifloxacin (Avelox), nalidixic acid (NegGram), norfloxacin (Noroxin), ofloxacin (Floxin), sparfloxacin (Zagam), trovafloxacin and alatrofloxacin combination (Trovan)
• rifampin
• salicylate pain relievers such as choline magnesium trisalicylate, choline salicylate (Arthropan), diflunisal (Dolobid), magnesium salicylate (Doan's, others), and salsalate (Argesic, Disalcid, Salgesic)
• sulfa antibiotics such as co-trimoxazole (Bactrim, Septra)
• sulfasalazine (Azulfidine)
• thyroid medications

This is not a complete list of glyburide drug interactions. Ask your doctor or pharmacist for more information.

Serious side effects have been reported with glyburide including the following:

• Hypoglycemia (low blood sugar). Tell your healthcare provider right away if you have some or all of the following symptoms of hypoglycemia:
  • Lightheadedness
  • Dizziness
  • Shakiness
  • Hunger
• Chest pain
• Rash
• Yellowing of the skin or eyes
• Light-colored stools
• Dark urine
• Pain in the upper right part of the abdomen
• Unusual bleeding or bruising
• Fever
• Sore throat
• Swelling of the eyes, face, tongue, or throat

Glyburide may increase your chance of death from heart problems.

Glyburide can decrease the number of red blood cells in people with glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) deficiency. Alert your doctor if you have a history of G6PD deficiency or anemia.

Ask your doctor about the safe use of alcoholic beverages while you are taking glyburide. Alcohol can make the side effects from glyburide worse. Consuming alcohol while taking glyburide also rarely may cause symptoms such as flushing (reddening of the face), headache, nausea, vomiting, chest pain, weakness, blurred vision, mental confusion, sweating, choking, breathing difficulty, and anxiety.

Avoid unnecessary or prolonged exposure to sunlight, and wear protective clothing, sunglasses, and sunscreen. Glyburide may make your skin sensitive to sunlight.

Ask your doctor what to do if you get sick, develop an infection or fever, experience unusual stress, or are injured. These conditions can affect your blood sugar and the amount of glyburide you may need.

After exposure to stress, such as fever, trauma, infection, or surgery, glyburide may cause you to lose control over your blood glucose levels.

Do not take glyburide if you:

• are allergic to glyburide or to any of its ingredients
• have type 1 diabetes mellitus or diabetic ketoacidosis, with or without coma. These conditions should be treated with insulin.

Medications can interact with certain foods. In some cases, this may be harmful and your doctor may advise you to avoid certain foods. In the case of glyburide, there are no specific foods that you must exclude from your diet when receiving this medication.

Before taking glyburide, tell your doctor about all of your medical conditions. Especially tell your doctor if you:

• are allergic to glyburide or to any of its ingredients
• have or have ever had G6PD deficiency (an inherited condition causing premature destruction of red blood cells or hemolytic anemia)
• have hormone disorders involving the adrenal, pituitary, or thyroid gland
• have heart, kidney, or liver disease
• are pregnant or plan to become pregnant. If you become pregnant while taking glyburide, call your doctor.
• are breastfeeding
• are having surgery, including dental surgery
• you are taking bosentan (Tracleer). Your doctor may tell you not to take glyburide if you are taking this medication.

Tell your doctor about all the medicines you take including prescription and non-prescription medicines, vitamins, and herbal supplements.

Tell your doctor if you are pregnant or plan to become pregnant.

The FDA categorizes medications based on safety for use during pregnancy. Five categories - A, B, C, D, and X - are used to classify the possible risks to an unborn baby when a medication is taken during pregnancy.

Some brands of glyburide fall into category B, and some brands fall into category C. There are no well-done studies that have been done in humans with glyburide. In animal studies, pregnant animals were given this medication, and the babies did not show any medical issues related to this medication. Glyburide should be used during pregnancy only if the possible benefit outweighs the possible risk to the unborn baby.

Tell your doctor if you are breastfeeding or plan to breastfeed

Although it is not known whether glyburide is excreted in human milk, some sulfonylurea drugs are known to be excreted in human milk. Because of the possibility for serious adverse reactions in nursing infants with use of this medication, a choice should be made whether to stop nursing or stop the use of this medication. Your doctor and you will decide if the benefits outweigh the risk of using glyburide.

If the drug is discontinued, and if diet alone is inadequate for controlling blood glucose, insulin therapy should be considered.

Take glyburide exactly as prescribed.

Glyburide comes in tablet form. It is usually taken once daily, with breakfast. Sometimes a second daily dose is required.

If you miss a dose, take the missed dose as soon as you remember. If it is almost time for the next dose, skip the missed dose and take your next dose at the regular time. Do not take 2 doses of glyburide at the same time.

Take this medication exactly as prescribed by your doctor. Follow the directions on your prescription label carefully.

The dose your doctor recommends may be based on the following:

• other medical conditions you have
• other medications you are taking
• how you respond to this medication
• age

There is no fixed dose range for glyburide for the management of type 2 diabetes. Blood sugar levels should be monitored and the dose of glyburide adjusted based on response. Glyburide should be started at a low dose (1.25 to 2.5 mg daily) and increased slowly.

If you take too much glyburide, call your healthcare provider or local Poison Control Center or seek emergency medical attention right away.

If glyburide is administered by a healthcare provider in a medical setting, it is unlikely that an overdose will occur. However, if overdose is suspected, seek emergency medical attention.

• Store glyburide at room temperature.
• Keep this and all medicines out of the reach of children.
• Avoid unnecessary or prolonged exposure to sunlight and wear protective clothing, sunglasses, and sunscreen. Glyburide may make your skin sensitive to sunlight.