Adults Type II Forum - Glucovance Drug Warnings & Precautions

Adults Type II Forum
American Diabetes Association

lan S said...

Hello Everyone....Ok I have a problem....while trying to lower my BG numbers and my A1C, they have been running very low in the mornings and evenings...45 (upon waking) and 160 (2 hours after eating) which drops to 109 to 114 (3 hours after eating)...what is puzzling is that I have cut back on my meds and numbers still drop....any help????
Remind us - what are your meds and what are you eating?

Alan, T2, Australia.

Alan S said...

Hello Everyone....Ok I have a problem....while trying to lower my BG numbers and my A1C, they have been running very low in the mornings and evenings...45 (upon waking) and 160 (2 hours after eating) which drops to 109 to 114 (3 hours after eating)...what is puzzling is that I have cut back on my meds and numbers still drop....any help????
Remind us - what are your meds and what are you eating?
I am taking Glucovance 5/500 3X a day and Actos 15 mg 2X a day

I'll let the others comment on those - the second part of the question was "and what are you eating?"
What did you eat for breakfast, lunch dinner, snacks? And have you done any tests at one hour after you finish to see what is happening then?

I eat almost anything that I want but not too much of it...my numbers in the morning has been 45-60 upon waking, 1 hour after I eat 140-160, 3 hours after eating 109-114 and at bedtime 86-110...so what now??? I have stopped taking the last Glucovance at night because I don't want to go into a diabetic coma or anything during the night because they were so low upon waking...now upon waking it has been 70-86k which for me is better....what do I do now????

I eat almost anything that I want but not too much of it...
Exactly what and when and in what portion size? What did you eat yesterday for breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks, in detail?

my numbers in the morning has been 45-60 upon waking,
What did you eat or drink between dinner and bedtime last night? What was the actual reading this morning?

1 hour after I eat 140-160, 3 hours after eating 109-114 and at bedtime 86-110...
Those 1hrs are a little high, but not terrible. The others look good.

I have stopped taking the last Glucovance at night because I don't want to go into a diabetic coma or anything during the night because they were so low upon waking...now upon waking it has been 70-86k which for me is better.
It looks to me like you've discovered the cause yourself. If the only thing that changed between seeing 45-60 and 70-86 was the Glucovance, it looks like your dietary and exercise changes have led to you no longer needing that level of meds. 70 is a bit low, but not extreme, but 86 is fine.

What is the timing of your other meds? Do you still take that final Glucovance, just at a different time, or have you cut it completely?

You're actually on three meds, because the Glucovance is a combination drug. From the web-site:

Glucovance is a combination of 2 drugs--glyburide (DiaBeta, Micronase) and metformin (Glucophage)--that attack high blood sugar levels in several ways. The glyburide component stimulates the pancreas to produce more insulin and helps the body use it properly. The metformin component also encourages proper insulin utilization, and in addition works to decrease sugar production and absorption

I am no expert on drugs, but my logic would suggest that of your three meds (metformin, actos and glyburide) the most likely culprit for lows is the glyburide.

Of course, there may be a different cause, but my first reaction would be to contact the doc to discuss trialling one drug at a time to see the result. I would, in consultation with the doctor, drop both Actos and Glucovance for a couple of weeks and see what happens. If the lows continue, at least you know that meds are not the cause. If the morning numbers return to normal, you've fixed the problem. If your numbers rise too high, then I would consider adding Metformin, alone, back in.

I stress that I am not a doctor and you shouldn't make major changes to medication without a doctor's advice.