Medical Editor: John P. Cunha, DO, FACOEP
What Is Glucotrol?
Glucotrol (glipizide) is blood glucose lowering drug of the sulfonylurea class used to help maintain glucose control in type 2 diabetics, in conjunction with an appropriate diet and exercise program. Glucotrol is available as a generic named glipizide.
What Are Side Effects of Glucotrol?
Side effects of Glucotrol may include:
- diarrhea
- constipation
- irritability,
- nausea,
- dizziness,
- vomiting
- upset stomach
- loss of appetite
- headache
- weight gain,
- skin changes (skin rash, hives, redness, itching, and blisters)
- gas
- drowsiness, and
- feeling anxious or shaky.
Tell your doctor if you experience serious side effects of Glucotrol including
- easy bruising or bleeding (nosebleeds, bleeding gums),
- tiredness,
- shortness of breath,
- upper stomach pain,
- itching,
- dark urine,
- clay-colored stools,
- jaundice (yellowing of the skin or eyes); pale skin,
- fever,
- confusion; or throbbing headache,
- severe nausea and vomiting,
- fast or pounding heartbeats,
- sweating or thirst, or
- feeling like you might pass out.
Dosage for Glucotrol
Glucotrol is available in 5 and 10 mg strength tablets. The usual starting dose is 5 mg about 30 min before breakfast. Serious side effects of Glucotrol include hypoglycemia, jaundice, liver damage, fever, bleeding or bruising, skin changes, SIADH, and porphyria.
What Drugs, Substances, or Supplements Interact with Glucotrol?
Many drugs may interact with Glucotrol; patients should carefully check glucose levels and inform their doctors about what medications they are taking.
Glucotrol During Pregnancy and Breastfeeding
There are no adequate and well controlled studies of Glucotrol in pregnant women. Glucotrol (glipizide) should be used during pregnancy or breastfeeding women only if the potential benefit justifies the potential risk to the fetus and infant. Safety and effectiveness of Glucotrol in children have not been established.
Additional Information
Our Glucotrol Side Effects Drug Center provides a comprehensive view of available drug information on the potential side effects when taking this medication.
This is not a complete list of side effects and others may occur. Call your doctor for medical advice about side effects. You may report side effects to FDA at 1-800-FDA-1088.
SLIDESHOW
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Get emergency medical help if you have signs of an allergic reaction: hives; difficulty breathing; swelling of your face, lips, tongue, or throat.
Call your doctor at once if you have symptoms of low blood sugar:
- headache, irritability
- sweating, fast heart rate;
- dizziness, nausea; or
- hunger, feeling anxious or shaky.
Common side effects may include:
- diarrhea, constipation, gas;
- dizziness, drowsiness;
- tremors; or
- skin rash, redness, or itching.
This is not a complete list of side effects and others may occur. Call your doctor for medical advice about side effects. You may report side effects to FDA at 1-800-FDA-1088.
QUESTION
______________ is another term for type 2 diabetes. See AnswerSIDE EFFECTS
In U.S. and foreign controlled studies, the frequency of serious adverse reactions reported was very low. Of 702 patients, 11.8% reported adverse reactions and in only 1.5% was GLUCOTROL discontinued.
Hypoglycemia
See PRECAUTIONS and OVERDOSE sections.
Gastrointestinal
Gastrointestinal disturbances are the most common reactions. Gastrointestinal complaints were reported with the following approximate incidence: nausea and diarrhea, one in seventy; constipation and gastralgia, one in one hundred. They appear to be dose-related and may disappear on division or reduction of dosage. Cholestatic jaundice may occur rarely with sulfonylureas: GLUCOTROL should be discontinued if this occurs.
Dermatologic
Allergic skin reactions including erythema, morbilliform or maculopapular eruptions, urticaria, pruritus, and eczema have been reported in about one in seventy patients. These may be transient and may disappear despite continued use of GLUCOTROL; if skin reactions persist, the drug should be discontinued. Porphyria cutanea tarda and photosensitivity reactions have been reported with sulfonylureas.
Hematologic
Leukopenia, agranulocytosis, thrombocytopenia, hemolytic anemia (see PRECAUTIONS), aplastic anemia, and pancytopenia have been reported with sulfonylureas.
Metabolic
Hepatic porphyria and disulfiram-like reactions have been reported with sulfonylureas. In the mouse, GLUCOTROL pretreatment did not cause an accumulation of acetaldehyde after ethanol administration. Clinical experience to date has shown that GLUCOTROL has an extremely low incidence of disulfiram-like alcohol reactions.
Endocrine Reactions
Cases of hyponatremia and the syndrome of inappropriate antidiuretic hormone (SIADH) secretion have been reported with this and other sulfonylureas.
Miscellaneous
Dizziness, drowsiness, and headache have each been reported in about one in fifty patients treated with GLUCOTROL. They are usually transient and seldom require discontinuance of therapy.
Laboratory Tests
The pattern of laboratory test abnormalities observed with GLUCOTROL was similar to that for other sulfonylureas. Occasional mild to moderate elevations of SGOT, LDH, alkaline phosphatase, BUN, and creatinine were noted. One case of jaundice was reported. The relationship of these abnormalities to GLUCOTROL is uncertain, and they have rarely been associated with clinical symptoms.
Post-Marketing Experience
The Following Adverse Events Have Been Reported In Post-Marketing Surveillance
Hepatobiliary
Cholestatic and hepatocellular forms of liver injury accompanied by jaundice have been reported rarely in association with glipizide; GLUCOTROL should be discontinued if this occurs.
Read the entire FDA prescribing information for Glucotrol (Glipizide)
© Glucotrol Patient Information is supplied by Cerner Multum, Inc. and Glucotrol Consumer information is supplied by First Databank, Inc., used under license and subject to their respective copyrights.
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