first day on Glyburide, NOT good

[SVanderkolff]

Well this was my first day adding Glyburide to my med mix. I had one 5mg tablet this morning with breakfast. Breakfast was my normal bowl of plain cereal in this case Special K with milk. That was at 7am, by 9 am I was feeling weird so I checked my BS and was a 4.2, way low. Had a banana and felt better. Had some yogurt and and cherries for lunch, by 2 pm I was feeling low angain and checked , I was at 4.3, had a peanut buttter sandwich on white bread. I was okay for the rest of the afternoon. Went out for supper with family and had a big plate of fish and chips (fries) , walked home, about 20 minutes and felt terrible. I figured I was hitting a high from teh french fries so I checked. Nope 3.6, feeling really low. I had a glass of orange juice and 10 minutes later was up to a 4.4. I tested myelf about 10 times in the next hour and went up to a 4.8 then started dropping again. It is no fun trying to give a 1 year old a bath while worrying about dropping too low. Right after the little one was bathed I had another bowl of the plain cereal. Tested 30 minutes later and was at a 6.2 and feeling fine. SO by taking the glyburide I have eaten an extra banana, an extra sandwich and an extra bowl of cereal that I normallly would not have. I hope this gets easier. BTW at what BS reading is it normal to pass out, and what should family do if it happens?
Thanks
Steve

[fgummett]

Hi Steve, what other meds are you on? There is no hard and fast number for passing out but I would suggest that 3.6 is too low. Keep checking as you have been and correcting with fast acting sugars if needed. How were you sugars before Glyburide... why were you started on it? If they were not too bad before I might consider stopping it until you can discuss it with your doctor... perhaps the dose needs adjusting.

As a Type 2 it is less likely that you will pass out as your liver should kick out some sugar but in case you do actually pass out they should dial 911... any time before you do pass out they should try to get you to drink something sugary... OJ is a good idea.

I found this on-line... (http://www.canadiandrugs.ca/glyburide.htm)

[SVanderkolff]

Frank
Thanks for the quick answers. I am currently on:
diovan, pravastatin, losec, atenelol, eztrol, aspirin, b12, folic acid, zinc and of course metformin. The reason my doc started me on it was a 10.2 fasting sugar and an 8.2 Hba1c.
Steve

[Harold]

Hi Steve, Good to see you back!

Call your doc Monday and tell him. What he will probably do is cut back on your metformin or glyburide a little to find a balance.

[mzteacher]

hi,
i had started on met...and then my dr. added glipizide...it was to be an adjusting dosage...but by starting with 2 1/2 in the morning and pm the numbers improved right away...so maybe trying 1/2 a pill until you can reach your dr....good luck!
susan

[Nita]

I blame correcting sugar lows over the years for some of my weight gain which in my case stays with me. Of course I am one of the older ones at 74. I am at the point now where I cannot exercise ... not because of weight but other health problems.

So I see what you mean about constant correcting. Get on top of that soon with your doctor. Correcting is one of the reasons I was never completely successful with weight watchers. With my insulins I still have to test, test, test and still have the occasional lows.

Nita

[slipperyelm]

Sounds like too much glyburide to me. I tried the stuff (actually glipizide) and took 1/2 of the lowest dosage pill available, but was still forever going low. I was like you yesterday-- forever having to eat unplanned carbs to correct the lows. I ate a lot of candy during that period and learned to buy the giant sized jars of glucose tablets. I did not feel all that good during that time. I missed a lot of exercise including my favorite, because I would go so low if I added in exercise. If I even went for a neighborhood walk, I had to take my meter and glucose with me, and take my cell phone in case I had to call for a ride to get back home. That meant I felt I could only safely exercise when my spouse was home. Very limiting. And boy, no way would I be giving a wiggly 1-year old a bath during a low! So I was in worse shape when it came to stamina, strength, and caridovascular fitness. I absolutely could not lose any weight either, the way I was always having to add in extra carb calories to treat the lows.

The very last time I took the medicine, my BG went down to 42. That happened in the late afternoon and I treated with glucose tablets. (You should carry glucose tablets as long as you are on that med!) But my pancreas just kept cranking out the insulin like crazy. I had to keep eating glucose, testing, eating glucose testing. eating glucose testing. I'd get the BG up to 70 and it would fall right back down. Finally in the wee hours of the morning (I think 2:30-3:00 a.m.) I was able to stop the treating and go to sleep.

Yep, that was the last time I took that medicine. I ditched the medicine and switched instead to low carb eating. I feel overall much better and have better, more consistent BGs and A1Cs on low carb food. I can exercise. I can work alone. I am strong again and have stamina. I don't have glucose tablets stored with my meter, in my car's glove compartment, in my purse, in my back pack, in my kitchen, in my bedside table, in my laundry room, in my husband's pockets.

You know what? The other day I was playing with one of those calculators that estimates how many calories you need to weigh a certain amount given your sex, bone size, and activity level. For me, if I eat an extra 121 calories per day, I will come to weigh 30 more pounds! It is easy to eat an extra 121 calories if you are eating an extra sandwich, banana, etc every day. Then, you probably get more insulin resistant with the extra weight.

Personally, I will never take a sulfonylurea drug again. I would much rather inject insulin. I would prefer to have a controlled amount of insulin go into my system and when I need it, not frickin' all day long. I would prefer to have a controlled amount of injected insulin matched to the carbohydrates I eat.

But really I prefer not to inject insulin either, because of the increased health risks of a high insulin level. (What my pancreas already makes plus injected insulin.) And also because of the possibility that increased insulin levels leads to even more insulin resistance. Of course glyburide and glipizide would do the same thing by increasing insulin levels. So for me now, the better thing seems to be to use insulin-sensitizing drugs, exercise, try to get my weight down, try to keep my muscles strong, and eat low carbohydrate meals.

[xMenace]

Your dose seems high, but it is interesting that you felt awful at 4.2 and 4.8, fairly normal levels. This can happen when you've been high for long periods and suddenly drop. I've seen it happen at much higher levels. It can also happen when your sugar is dropping. Just be aware that these may be false hypos.

Under 4.0 is considered a hypo. Under 3.0 is dangerous. Get under 2.0 and passing out is an option.

[slipperyelm]

Did you do any better in the last two days?

[SVanderkolff]

That depends on how you look at it. I didn't do anything different from the first day, other than having a bowl of bran flakes for breakfast. BUT I don't think I was below a 7 all day. I didn't change what I ate and in fact had more excercise than the first day but was high all day. Today is the same thing, bowl of cereal for breakfast and a peanut butter sandwich for lunch. Just finished 2 hours of lawn mowing and right now have a reading of 10.4. I am mighty confused.
Steve