Would I Recommend It?: was Roger -Glyburide?

[Guest guest]

Glyburide works by forcing the pancreas to produce insulin, whether you need

it or not.

After diagnosis almost 8-yrs ago, I was prescribed Glyburide 10mg 2x/day & I

stayed on it for about 3 months. My bg's did come down, but it was a

roller-coaster & when I would get near I'd have to eat something (or use

glucose

tabs).

I discovered Dr Bernstein's book (on one of these lists) & began with LC

WOE, & maintained HbA1c 5.6-6.0% since.

So why am I experimenting with Glyburide now? Well, I've become convinced

that the " truly non-diabetic will have an HbA1c nearer 5.0% than 6.0%, & to

further reduce complication risk, that's what I'm shooting for now.

As originally prescribed by my Dr (2x/day), morning & night didn't work for

me. There was either too much insulin or too little with resulting high-low

swings.

What I've done now is is look at the Glyburide monograph on _www.rxlist.com_

(http://www.rxlist.com) & finding that the maximum serum level is 2 hours

after taking the med, with a pretty wide possible variation in that time. I've

made an assumption (that I can't prove), that maximum serum level coincides

with maximum insulin production, I had my Dr prescribe 10mg/day in 2ea 5mg

tabs. The tabs have a score line making it easy to break them into 2.5mg

pieces.

So, I'm tailoring how much I take to my current bg & what I'm expecting to

eat, & timing it about 2hrs before meals. Also, I take some amount directly

after getting up in the morning, how much depending on what my fasting bg is.

I've been at this now over a month & it works about 3 out of 4 days, & on

that 4th day, things just seem different, with higher bg's than expected at

unexpected times! Why? Don't know yet. But then that's what experiments are

about.

Would I recommend Glyburide as prescribed by most Drs? No, IMHO, but that's

not necessarily the fault of the drug, it's the " one size fits all " way it's

prescribed.

Also, I'm doing the same type of thing, timing my metformin relative to

meals, so that's another variable to confuse things.

Why did I pick these two " old " meds? Well, since I went on Medicare, I'm

buying my own meds & both of these are CHEAP!!! Even if I sign up for the new

medicare drug plan (ick!), I'd spend about the same with co-pays as I'm paying

now plus having a monthly payment.

If you've got drug-coverage with insurance & reasonable co-pay, a better

choice would be one of the newer drugs that do the same thing as Glyburide, but

are much more expensive if you've got to pay out-of-pocket.

The experiment continues---

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, T2, dx'ed 4/98 with Fasting bg 350mg/dl & HbA1c 15.5%

Controlling until last month with LC-D & very little E

Average Fasting bg 105mg/dl, Last HbA1c 6.0%

7+ Year Historical HbA1c 5.6%-6.0%

Now Experimenting with Metformin, Glyburide & " Merlot Therapy " for HbA1c

nearer 5.0%

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>>> ,

Can you tell me a little about Glyburide? Are there pros and cons of

taking it?

I was diagnosed in July. I am taking METFORMIN ER (1000 2X A DAY) and

Actos (30). I don't think the Actos is doing much for me.

My numbers have come down considerably -- from 315 at dx to a 30-day

average (according to my meter) of 124.

I can't seem to get down to 100! Should I talk with my doctor about

Glyburide?

I am doing low carb (I strive for less than 60 a day). Have to admit

that I'm not doing well at the exercise (sigh). It's my new year's

resolution.

Thanks for anything you can tell me. I realize that my MMV. <<<