What is Glimepiride (Amaryl)?
It is an oral prescription drug that is used to control blood glucose levels in type 2 diabetic people. This diabetes drug can be used with oral diabetes drugs or with insulin drugs to help regulate your blood glucose levels. Glimepiride is also sold as a brand name medication called Amaryl. Amaryl belongs to a class of medications known as sulfonylureas. When you take this drug, it helps your body produce more insulin. Insulin helps to move sugar into your body cells from the bloodstream. This helps to reduce high blood sugar to a normal range.
Glimepiride and alcohol consumption
If you are alcoholic and you have been diagnosed with diabetes, speak to your doctor about reducing your alcohol intake. Alcohol is a substance that is known to interact with glimepiride as it affects your blood sugar levels. Your doctor may be aware of glimepiride and alcohol interaction, and may have to monitor you for it. Depending on the level of consumption of alcohol, low blood sugar (hypoglycemia) may occur. In case your blood glucose is not properly controlled, you should avoid taking alcohol with amaryl. The symptoms of this diabetes drug can also worsen with alcohol consumption, like:
- irregular heartbeat
- nausea
- sweating
- vomiting
- low blood sugar
It is advisable you limit your alcohol consumption based on your doctor’s suggestions.
Doctor’s Recommendation
Generally, glimepiride should be an adjunct medication once metformin and other medications have not adequately controlled glucose. If many medications simultaneously are required to lower blood glucose, patients should ask themselves if they are doing enough exercise and adhering to a ketogenic diet. Some type 2 diabetic patients require multi-modality treatment despite excellent lifestyle adherence. In general, alcohol should be fully abstained from when taking this medicine.
Disclaimer: Please note that the contents of this community article are strictly for informational purposes and should not be considered as medical advice. This article, and other community articles, are not written or reviewed for medical validity by Canadian Insulin or its staff. All views and opinions expressed by the contributing authors are not endorsed by Canadian Insulin. Always consult a medical professional for medical advice, diagnosis, and treatment.
