Drug Interactions With Regular Insulin
Drug Interactions With Regular Insulin
A number of medications can cause drug interactions with regular insulin, including salicylates, MAOIs, and sulfa drugs. These interactions can result in dangerously low blood sugar levels, which can become very dangerous quickly. In order to help reduce your risk of regular insulin interactions, let your healthcare provider know any time you start, stop, or change the dose of any other medication.
Drug Interactions With Regular Insulin: An Overview
Regular insulin (Humulin? R, Novolin? R) is identical to the insulin hormone produced naturally in the human body. As a result, regular insulin does not "interact" with other medications, at least in the traditional sense. However, many medications can affect blood sugar and may, therefore, be considered to interact with regular insulin.
Many of these potential drug interactions are dangerous, while others are less significant. Some interactions may increase blood sugar levels, which is not healthy, but is usually not dangerous right away (although extremely high blood sugar can be dangerous if left untreated). These drug interactions are not discussed in this article. Typically, such interactions are discovered (by regular blood sugar monitoring) and managed before any problems occur.
Other regular insulin drug interactions can result in dangerously low blood sugar levels (hypoglycemia), which can become quite dangerous very quickly. Some of the medicines that may cause dangerously low blood sugar when combined with regular insulin include:
* Alcoholic beverages
* Angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (ACE inhibitors), such as
o Benazepril (Lotensin?, Lotensin? HCT, Lotrel?)
o Captopril (Capoten?, Capozide?)
o Enalapril (Vasotec?, Vaseretic?, Lexxel?)
o Fosinopril (Monopril?, Monopril-HCT?)
o Lisinopril (Prinivil?, Prinizide?, Zestril?, Zestoretic?)
o Quinapril (Accupril?, Accuretic?)
o Ramipril (Altace?)
* Beta blockers, including (but not limited to):
o Atenolol (Tenormin?)
o Bisoprolol (Zebeta?)
o Metoprolol (Lopressor?, Toprol XL?)
o Nadolol (Corgard?)
o Propranolol (Inderal?)
o Sotalol (Betapace?)
o Timolol (Blocadren?)
o Carvedilol (Coreg?)
o Labetalol (Trandate?)
* Disopyramide (Norpace?, Norpace? CR)
* Fibrate cholesterol medications, such as:
o Fenofibrate (AntaraÙ, LofibraÙ, Tricor?, TriglideÙ)
o Gemfibrozil (Lopid?)
* Monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs), such as:
o Isocarboxazid (Marplan?)
o Phenelzine (Nardil?)
o Rasagiline (Azilect?)
o Selegiline (Eldepryl?, Emsam?, Zelapar?)
o Tranylcypromine (Parnate?)
* Octreotide (Sandostatin?)
* Oral diabetes medications
* Propoxyphene (Darvon?, Darvocet?)
* Reserpine
* Salicylates, such as:
o Aspirin (Ecotrin?, Bayer?, Anacin?)
o Choline magnesium trisalicylate (Trilisate?)
o Diflunisal (Dolobid?)
o Salsalate (Salflex?, Disalcid?, Amigesic?)
* Sulfonamide antibiotics ("sulfa drugs"), such as:
o Sulfadiazine
o Sulfadoxine (Fansidar?)
o Sulfamethoxazole (Bactrim?, Septra?)
o Sulfisoxazole (Gantrisin?).
Regular Insulin Interactions Explained
Any of the medications discussed in this article may increase the risk of low blood sugar when combined with regular insulin (or any other insulin medications). Therefore, it is a good idea to check with your healthcare provider before you take any of these medications with regular insulin. Your healthcare provider may recommend that you monitor your blood sugar levels more closely for a while to see if you need to adjust your regular insulin dosage. In some cases, an alternative medication that does not cause interactions may be recommended.
It is also important to check with your healthcare provider any time you stop taking any of the medications listed in this article or any time your dose is adjusted. Again, you may need to monitor your blood sugar levels more closely for a while, and your healthcare provider may need to adjust your dose of regular insulin.
Final Thoughts on Regular Insulin Drug Interactions
Many regular insulin drug interactions were not discussed in this article, including interactions that may cause high blood sugar (hyperglycemia). These interactions are not usually dangerous, although they may become dangerous if left untreated. In these cases, you may need to have your regular insulin dosage adjusted. It is a good idea to get into the practice of checking with your healthcare provider any time you start, stop, or change the dose of any medication, including non-prescription medications.
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