Question about gliclazide 30 mg

Treatment
#1

Hello all I’ve been working my way through reading different older posts about Gliclazide but I was wondering if anyone has current results from using it. Yesterday my doctor added this medication to my 1250 mg of Metformin in an effort to bring down my fasting blood sugars. 9.2 is as good as I get for my morning readings. I have brought my A1C down to 6.5 … not great but an improvement. I’m also being encouraged to eat 20-25 grams of protein at each meal. I have a couple of concerns about the new medication…

  1. Does it really cause weight gain?
  2. Does it cause the pancreas to where out sooner?

Thanks for any information

Fern

#2

Gliclazide is a sulfonylurea. It definitely pushes the beta cells into overdrive and makes them work harder. Whether or not that actually causes them to “wear out” is still a matter of debate. Personally, my view is, why take the chance if there are alternatives?

Have you considered insulin? It is the most direct and powerful tool available for knocking down high blood sugars. It’s becoming more common all the time for T2s to use it, even if only as a temporary measure until control can be reestablished.

Regarding weight gain, anything that increases the insulin supply (which is what a sulfonylurea drug does, indirectly) has the potential to cause weight gain since it causes glucose to be absorbed by the cells instead of just continually circulating in the blood. The key is to balance food intake with energy needs. There’s no “get out of jail free” card, unfortunately. If your body is doing a better job of using the nutrients it has, you don’t need to eat as much. The answer, as always, is balance, balance, balance.

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#3

I’m with David, why chance it with the sulfonylurea if you don’t have to. I don’t know it it burns out beta cells, I took it for more years that I care to mention but not in the last five years, I still have a fair amount of insulin production, don’t know if beta cells have regenerated of just never went away.

I would vote for insulin, that way you would have a chance at control without putting your beta cells into possible jeopardy. Your doctor may have the best plan but it would be worth mentioning insulin.

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#4

My doctor is opposed to insulin or even to increasing my Metformin. She added this medication for me to take until I see her again mid January. After lots of reading, I’ve decided that I will eat super clean for the next 2 weeks, following the advice of increasing protein to 20-25 grams per meal and adding some healthy fats while cutting back on refined carbs. I will keep up my exercise amd continue taking my Metformin and I will document everything to have a baseline before I begin to take the gliclazide. Then I will take the gliclazide and continue to document. I feel somewhat better about this medication not being likely to cause a lot of damage in the month before seeing my doctor.

Thanks for your help

Fern