Northerner
Admin (Retired)
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
SEATTLE ― Taking sulfonylureas sold as "street Valium" can lead to severe hypoglycemia that may result in emergency department (ED) visits, the latest of a handful of case reports suggests.
"Physicians should be aware of this possibility and consider intentional or unintentional sulfonylurea abuse, with or without other drugs," Amanda McKenna, MD, a first-year endocrinology fellow at the Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville, Florida, and colleagues say in a poster presented at the American Association of Clinical Endocrinology (AACE) Annual Meeting 2023.
The new case, seen in Florida, involves a 33-year-old man with a history of narcotic dependence and anxiety but not diabetes. At the time of presentation, the patient was unconscious and diaphoretic. The patient's blood glucose level was 18 mg/dL. He had purchased two unmarked, light blue pills on the street, which he thought were Valiums but turned out to be glyburide.
Divide mg/dl by 18 to get mmol/l - so 18 mg/dl=1.0 mmol/l 😱 Sounds like, afterthe first treatment, his liver sucked back the glucose it had released earlier to try and keep him alive, so he needed treating again after falling back 😱
Sulfonylureas work by stimulating the pancreas to release more insulin, which is why they are used in diabetes.
"Physicians should be aware of this possibility and consider intentional or unintentional sulfonylurea abuse, with or without other drugs," Amanda McKenna, MD, a first-year endocrinology fellow at the Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville, Florida, and colleagues say in a poster presented at the American Association of Clinical Endocrinology (AACE) Annual Meeting 2023.
The new case, seen in Florida, involves a 33-year-old man with a history of narcotic dependence and anxiety but not diabetes. At the time of presentation, the patient was unconscious and diaphoretic. The patient's blood glucose level was 18 mg/dL. He had purchased two unmarked, light blue pills on the street, which he thought were Valiums but turned out to be glyburide.
Sulfonylureas as Street Drugs: Hidden Hypoglycemia Cause
In a new case report, a person presented to the emergency department with severe hypoglycemia caused by inadvertent sulfonylurea overdose. There have been similar cases.
www.medscape.com
Divide mg/dl by 18 to get mmol/l - so 18 mg/dl=1.0 mmol/l 😱 Sounds like, afterthe first treatment, his liver sucked back the glucose it had released earlier to try and keep him alive, so he needed treating again after falling back 😱
Sulfonylureas work by stimulating the pancreas to release more insulin, which is why they are used in diabetes.
