Glipizide

Glipizide is a prescription medication used to treat type 2 diabetes. Glipizide belongs to a group of drugs called sulfonylureas, which help lower blood sugar levels by causing the pancreas to secrete insulin.

This medication comes in regular tablet and extended release tablet forms. The regular tablet is taken one or more times a day before meals. The extended-release tablet is taken once a day with breakfast.

Common side effects of glipizide include nausea, diarrhea, and gas. Glipizide can cause dizziness. Do not drive or operate machinery until you know how glipizide affects you.

 

G6PD is an enzyme in your body that is responsible for helping red blood cells to work properly. Some patients are born with less of this enzyme in their bodies, leading to the destruction of red blood cells. When glipizide is used in patients with G6PD deficiency, they have a higher chance of experiencing hemolytic anemia (a condition in which the body does not have enough red blood cells to deliver oxygen to your tissues).

G6PD testing may be done to determine whether you are at a higher risk of experiencing hemolytic anemia if you are to be treated with glipizide. 

Glipizide is a prescription medication used to treat type 2 diabetes. Glipizide lowers blood sugar levels along with exercise and an appropriate diet.

This medication may be prescribed for other uses. Ask your doctor or pharmacist for more information.

Glipizide may be found in some form under the following brand names:

• Glucotrol

• Metaglip

Serious side effects have been reported with glipizide. See “Drug Precautions” section.

Common side effects of glipizide include:

• nausea
• diarrhea
• gas
• weakness
• nervousness
• headache
• shakiness
• dizziness

This is not a complete list of glipizide side effects. Ask your doctor or pharmacist for more information.

Call your doctor for medical advice about side effects. You may report side effects to the FDA at 1-800-FDA-1088.

Tell your doctor about all the medicines you take including prescription and non-prescription medicines, vitamins, and herbal supplements. Especially tell your doctor if you take:

• non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), such as aspirin (Ecotrin), ibuprofen (Advil), naproxen (Aleve, Naprosyn), and others
• azoles, such as miconazole (Lotrimin and Monistat) and fluconazole (Diflucan)
• salicylic acid containing products, such as Pepto-Bismol
• chloramphenicol (Chloromycetin)
• probenecid (Probalan)
• anticoagulants, or "blood thinners", such as warfarin (Coumadin, Jantoven)
• monoamine oxidase (MAO) inhibitors, such as selegiline (Emsam), phenelzine (Nardil), and others
• beta-adrenergic blocking agents (beta blockers), such as atenolol (Tenormin), propranolol (Inderal) metoprolol (Lopressor), and others
• diuretics such as hydrochlorothiazide (Microzide, HCTZ), furosemide (Lasix), and others
• corticosteroids such as hydrocortisone (Cortef), prednisone (Deltasone), methylprednisolone (Medrol), triamcinolone (Kenalog, Aristospan), and others
• thyroid products such as levothyroxine (Levothroid, Levoxyl, Synthroid, Tirosint, Unithroid), thyroid (Armour Thyroid), and others
• estrogens
• oral contraceptives (birth control pills)
• phenytoin (Dilantin)
• nicotinic acid, or niacin (Niaspan, Niacor, Nicolar)
• albuterol (Proventil) 
• calcium channel blockers, such as amlodipine (Norvasc), diltiazem (Cardizem, Dilacor, Tiazac), nifedipine (Adalat, Procardia), and Verapamil (Calan, Verelan), and others
• isoniazid
• phenothiazine medications such as promethazine (Phenergan), thioridazine (Mellaril), and others

This is not a complete list of glipizide drug interactions. Ask your doctor or pharmacist for more information.

Serious side effects have been reported with glipizide including:

• Glipizide may increase your chance of death from heart disease.
• Glipizide can cause low blood sugar levels (hypoglycemia) in patients. Tell your doctor if you have a history of kidney or liver disease or drink alcohol. Symptoms of low blood sugar include:
  • shakiness
  • tremors
  • cold sweat
  • fast heart rate
  • headache
  • moodiness
  • dizziness
  • blurred vision
  • confusion
• After exposure to stress, such as fever, trauma, infection, or surgery, glipizide may cause you to lose control over your blood glucose levels.
• Glipizide can decrease the number of red blood cells in people with glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) deficiency.  Alert your doctor if you have a history of G6PD deficiency or anemia.
• A severe allergic reaction to glipizide is possible.  Tell your healthcare provider right away if you have some or all of the following symptoms of a hypersensitivity reaction:
  • difficulty breathing or swallowing
  • hoarseness
  • rash or hives
  • swelling
• Glipizide can cause dizziness.  Do not drive or operate machinery until you know how glipizide affects you.  Alcohol may increase the severity of side effects.

Do not take glipizide if you:

• are allergic to glipizide (Glucotrol)
• have type 1 diabetes

Medicines can interact with certain foods. In some cases, this may be harmful and your doctor may advise you to avoid certain foods. In the case of glipizide, there are no specific foods that you must exclude from your diet when receiving glipizide.

Alcohol can intensify the side effects of glipizide. Glipizide should be taken with a healthy diet to maximize its blood glucose lowering effects.

Before taking glipizide, tell your doctor about all of your medical conditions. Especially tell your doctor if you:

• have kidney, heart, or liver disease
• consume alcohol
• have digestive problems
• have a history of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) deficiency
• have a history of anemia
• are allergic to glipizide (Glucotrol)
• are pregnant or breastfeeding

Tell your doctor about all the medicines you take including prescription and non-prescription medicines, vitamins, and herbal supplements.

Tell your doctor if you are pregnant or plan to become pregnant.

The FDA categorizes medications based on safety for use during pregnancy. Five categories - A, B, C, D, and X, are used to classify the possible risks to an unborn baby when a medication is taken during pregnancy.

Glipizide falls into category C. Studies in animals have shown a harmful and undesired effect on the unborn baby, yet there are no adequate and well-controlled studies in pregnant women.

• This medication may be given to a pregnant woman if her healthcare provider believes that its benefits to the pregnant woman outweigh any possible risks to her unborn baby.
• Many experts encourage pregnant mothers to take insulin to treat their high blood sugar levels.  Glipizide should not be taken in the last month of pregnancy.

Tell your doctor if you are breastfeeding or plan to breastfeed.

You should not take glipizide if you are breastfeeding. It may be excreted in your breast milk and may harm your nursing child.

• Take glipizide exactly as prescribed.
• The regular tablet is taken one or more times a day before meals.
• The extended release tablet is taken once a day with breakfast.
• Swallow the extended release tablets whole without chewing, crushing, or splitting.
• Alcohol can increase the side effects of glipizide.
• Glipizide should be taken with a healthy diet to maximize its blood glucose lowering effects.
• If you miss a dose, take the missed dose as soon as you remember. If it is almost time for the next dose, skip the missed dose and take your next dose at the regular time. Do not take two doses of glipizide at the same time.

Take glipizide exactly as prescribed by your doctor. Follow the directions on your prescription label carefully.

The dosage range for regular glipizide tablets is between 2.5 and 40 mg each day.  The maximum once daily dose is 15 mg.  Amounts above 15 mg per day should be split into different doses throughout the day.  The maximum daily dose is 40 mg.

The dosage range for extended-release glipizide tablets is 5 to 20 mg in one dose each day.  The maximum daily dose is 20 mg.

If you take too much glipizide, call your healthcare provider or local Poison Control Center, or seek emergency medical attention right away.

• Store glipizide at room temperature.
• Keep this and all medicines out of the reach of children.