Gliclazide making BG worse after three years

[Criochan]

I'm a type 2. I controlled it with diet from 95 until 03, then with Metformin. Dehydrated in India, the local hospital in Bangalore put me on Gliclazide in 2010 and I've been on it since - my GP upped it to 80mg / day a month ago and it suddenly no longer works, to the point I'm off medication and my BG has actually fallen slightly.

Has anyone else experienced this?

Oh, and I'm a regular hill-walker, which is why my weight is, just about, stable; if I stopped the exercise I'd balloon.

 

[Northerner]

Hi Criochan, welcome to the forum 🙂 I don't personally have any experience of gliclazide, but I believe it works by stimulating the pancreas to release more insulin. However, if your pancreas is unable to do that due to losing beta cell function, then it won't work - the pancreas can become 'exhausted'. Perhaps this is what has happened to you, and stopping it has allowed it to 'rest' and recover some function?

When you say your BG has fallen slightly, what measure do you mean? Has your HbA1c fallen, or are you experiencing better fasting levels? Are there any other changes you have made which might account for the fall?

 

[pav]

I have been on gliclazide for a few months, now up to 160 mg and it certainly drops my blood sugar down from the 20's to between 4.4 and 9 with the odd peak above that. If I eat late or don't have some carbs with a meal it can cause a hypo, which I have had a few.

If its not making any difference it would suggest, in my very limited experience of gliclazide it could be what northerner says.

When I first started on gliclazide my sugar levels came down, then after a few weeks my levels started rising again and it was increased from the orig 80 mg to the present 160 mg.

If I stopped taking it my BS I would guess it would shoot back up into the 20's again.

 

[Highlander]

Hi, I was on four Gliclazide a day for several years and they appear to have stopped working, particularly since I stopped Pioglitazone as well. My BG started getting very high and difficult to get down, so now I have just started on NovoMix 30 twice a day. I have not been on the Novomix very long, but it does appear to suit me OK and the injections are not a problem. It might be worth having a chat with your GP to see what they suggest as the best for you.

Try not to worry as there is often an alternative solution.

 

[Criochan]

Hi Criochan, welcome to the forum 🙂 I don't personally have any experience of gliclazide, but I believe it works by stimulating the pancreas to release more insulin. However, if your pancreas is unable to do that due to losing beta cell function, then it won't work - the pancreas can become 'exhausted'. Perhaps this is what has happened to you, and stopping it has allowed it to 'rest' and recover some function?

When you say your BG has fallen slightly, what measure do you mean? Has your HbA1c fallen, or are you experiencing better fasting levels? Are there any other changes you have made which might account for the fall?

No, it's just my mmol levels on my little tester that have fallen - my GP has taken me off medication for a week or two to see what transpires ... and since only yesterday I've dropped from 17.2 to 11.8. It does look like Gliclazide has stopped working, but the apparent reversal has my GP (temporarily) stumped.

 

[Criochan]

Hi, I was on four Gliclazide a day for several years and they appear to have stopped working, particularly since I stopped Pioglitazone as well. My BG started getting very high and difficult to get down, so now I have just started on NovoMix 30 twice a day. I have not been on the Novomix very long, but it does appear to suit me OK and the injections are not a problem. It might be worth having a chat with your GP to see what they suggest as the best for you.

Try not to worry as there is often an alternative solution.

Thanks, Highlander. Speaking as another Highlander, there's a meeting of diabetes professionals at the Raigmore in Inverness today ... my GP is bringing my case up there as curious, which I suppose is a good description of me !