Repaglinide
About Repaglinide
Repaglinide is used for the management and treatment of type 2 diabetes. Type 2 diabetes occurs when the body does not make enough insulin or cannot use it properly, causing high blood sugar.
Repaglinide contains 'Repaglinide', which works by increasing the amount of insulin released by the pancreas. It starts acting so quickly to control blood sugar levels immediately after a meal.
In some cases, you may experience headache, stomach pain, a sign of a common cold, diarrhoea, joint pain and back pain. Most of these side effects do not require medical attention. However, talk to your doctor if you experience these side effects persistently.
Please inform your doctor if you have any heart disease, are planning to get pregnant, or are breastfeeding. Do not stop Repaglinide without your doctor, as sudden stoppage can raise sugar levels and risk eye, kidney, and nerve damage.
Uses of Repaglinide
Medicinal Benefits
- Repaglinide belongs to the group of medicines called “anti-diabetic” indicated in the treatment of type 2 diabetes or non-insulin-dependent diabetes (NIDDM).
- This medicine is primarily prescribed for individuals whose blood sugar levels are high and cannot be controlled by diet and exercise alone.
- Repaglinide consists of Repaglinide, which belongs to a class of meglitinide that works by increasing the amount of insulin released by the pancreas.
- Repaglinide starts acting quickly to control blood sugar levels immediately after a meal.
- Repaglinide may be advised with or without other medications, along with diet and exercise to control blood sugar levels.
Directions for Use
- Repaglinide can be taken before meals, anytime from 30 minutes prior to just before eating.
- Follow your doctor’s instructions on the dosage and timing of this medication.
- Swallow Repaglinide as a whole with a glass of water.
- Do not crush, break, or chew it.
Storage
Side Effects of Repaglinide
- Headache
- Stomach pain
- Sign of a common cold
- Diarrhoea
- Joint pain
- Back pain
Drug Warnings
- Repaglinide should not be used in patients with type 1 diabetes or with diabetic ketoacidosis (in this condition, there is too much lactic acid accumulated in the blood).
- Inform your doctor if you take other antidiabetic drugs to adjust the dosage of Repaglinide accordingly.
- Do not abruptly stop taking Repaglinide midway if the doctor did not advise you.
- Repaglinide may cause hypoglycaemia (low blood sugar); therefore, it is advisable to consume healthy foods with sufficient calories and avoid strenuous exercise.
- Repaglinide is not recommended for use during pregnancy and breastfeeding. Your doctor may advise alternative medications to control your diabetic condition in such cases.
- Repaglinide is not recommended for people younger than 18 years or over 75 years of age.
- Before you start taking Repaglinide, tell your doctor if you have serious heart disease or if you have had a stroke, low blood pressure (hypotension), or severe liver or kidney disease.
- Avoid drinking alcohol while on this drug as it increases the risk of hypoglycaemia (a decrease in blood sugar which might be fatal in some cases) and lactic acidosis (when the lactic acid increases in the body, impacting the functioning of various organs in the body).
Drug Interactions
Drug-Drug Interactions: Repaglinide may interact with insulin, high blood pressure-lowering pills (amlodipine, metoprolol, atenolol, propranolol, bisoprolol, benazepril, enalapril), water pills/diuretics (hydrochlorothiazide, furosemide), heart failure-related medicines (digoxin), painkiller (aspirin), a medicine used to treat cancer (octreotide, danazol), antibiotics (clarithromycin, trimethoprim, rifampicin), antifungal (itraconazole, ketoconazole), a medicine used to treat high blood fats (gemfibrozil), a medicine used to suppress the immune system (ciclosporin) steroids (prednisolone), medicine prevents blood clots (clopidogrel), a medicine used to treat epilepsy (phenytoin, carbamazepine, phenobarbital), thyroid hormones.
Drug-Food Interactions: Taking Repaglinide with St. John’s wort (herbal medicine) and alcoholic beverages may increase the risk of a rare but serious and potentially life-threatening condition known as lactic acidosis (build-up of lactic acid in the blood) and hypoglycemia.
Drug-Disease Interactions: Repaglinide should be avoided in patients with kidney problems, liver problems, cardiovascular disease (heart-related issues), and low blood sugar levels (hypoglycemia), as they may worsen the condition.
Drug-Drug Interactions Checker List:
Safety Advice
Alcohol
unsafeYou are recommended not to consume alcohol along with Repaglinide to avoid unpleasant side-effects.
Pregnancy
consult your doctorRepaglinide is a pregnancy category C drug. Use of Repaglinide in pregnant women is limited or restricted. It is highly recommended talk to your doctor before taking this drug in case you are pregnant.
Breast Feeding
consult your doctorIt is unknown whether Repaglinide is excreted in human milk. Please consult a doctor before using Repaglinide while breastfeeding.
Driving
unsafeYour driving may be affected if your blood sugar levels are too high or too low. Do not drive or operate machinery if you also experience blurred vision, dizziness or drowsiness due to extremely low or high blood sugar.
Liver
cautionRepaglinide to be taken with caution, especially if you have a history of liver diseases/conditions. The dose may have to be adjusted by your doctor. However, Repaglinide is not recommended for severe liver disease.
Kidney
cautionRepaglinide to be taken with caution, especially if you have a history of Kidney diseases/conditions. The dose may have to be adjusted by your doctor. However, Repaglinide is not recommended for severe kidney disease.
Children
unsafeThe safety and efficacy of Repaglinide in children have not been established. Repaglinide is not recommended in children.
Habit Forming
Diet & Lifestyle Advise
- Fill your half plate with starchy veggies, a quarter with proteins, and a quarter with whole grains.
- Eat at regular intervals. Do not take a long gap between a meal or snack.
- Monitor your blood sugar level regularly, especially when there are a lot of fluctuations.
- Invest in at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity and 15 minutes of high-intensity exercise every week.
- Lose weight gradually to achieve a healthy body mass index (18.5 to 24.9).
- Replace refined carbohydrates with whole-grain foods and increase intake of fruits and veggies and other fibre-enriched foods.
- Reduce intake of saturated fat (or hidden fats) in food like chips, crisps, pastries, biscuits, and samosas. Choose omega-3 fatty acid-containing oils for daily cooking. You may use palm oil, mustard oil, groundnut oil, rice bran oil, and safflower oil for frying.
- Do not take stress as it may elevate your blood sugar level. You may adopt stress management techniques like mindfulness, yoga, or meditation to control stress-related blood sugar changes.
- Opt for low-fat dairy products (low-fat yoghurt, fat-free milk, and cheese, etc.).
- Keep your blood pressure as normal (120/80) as possible, as it reduces the risk of cardiovascular diseases in diabetes patients.
Special Advise
- It is advised to monitor your blood sugar levels regularly.
- Take short, frequent meals, and avoid prolonged fasting when taking this drug. Beware of hypoglycaemia symptoms, which include sweating, dizziness, palpitations, shivering, intense thirst, dry mouth, dry skin, frequent urination, etc. Whenever you experience the above-mentioned symptoms, immediately consume 5-6 candies or 3 glucose biscuits or 3 teaspoons of honey/sugar and get in touch with your physician. Make sure to carry these with you at all times, especially for long travels.
Patients Concern
Disease/Condition Glossary
Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus: Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus, also known as adult-onset diabetes, is a metabolic disease that causes high blood sugar levels. It is type 2 diabetes and occurs when the insulin (a hormone produced by the beta cells of the pancreas) is resistant to breaking the glucose to produce energy (insulin resistance) or the pancreas (an organ behind the stomach) produces little or no insulin at all. This disease mostly occurs in people aged above 40 years, but can also occur in childhood, depending on the risk factors. The treatment includes oral glucose-lowering medicines and insulin shots.
FAQs
Repaglinide is used for the management and treatment of type 2 diabetes, especially in persons whose sugar levels are too high and cannot be controlled only by dieting and exercising.
Repaglinide contains Repaglinide that works by increasing the amount of insulin released by the pancreas, which prevents blood glucose from rising very high after meals.
Hypoglycemia refers to low blood sugar levels, and it is one of the side effects of Repaglinide. Hypoglycemia can occur if you miss or delay your food, drink alcohol, over-exercise, or take other antidiabetic medicine along with this medicine. It is important to monitor blood sugar levels regularly.
Type-2 diabetes generally does not affect healthy children and teens, but it may affect children who are obese, which is also known as Childhood Obesity.
If a person is getting unusually thrust or passing urine more frequently than normal while taking Repaglinide, they should tell their doctor, as it may be a sign that there is too much sugar in their blood and treatment needs to be adjusted. It may also be because of dehydration, as Repaglinide can lead to loss of fluids. Increase intake of fluids; if even then you feel thirsty, please consult your doctor.
Your doctor may suggest you go for a regular test for sugar (glucose) in your blood or urine to monitor if diabetes has controlled or not.
Diabetes is a chronic medical condition that means lifelong, so its treatment should also continue for the whole life, so keep taking Repaglinide unless your doctor advises you to stop the medicine.
Repaglinide should be used with caution in heart, kidney or liver diseases, breathing problems, blood disorders, dehydration, alcohol use, foot ulcers, nerve damage, low blood pressure and severe infections. Repaglinide is contraindicated in patients with renal impairment and diabetic ketoacidosis.
If you feel that your blood sugar level is going down and you are feeling weak, immediately eat sugar candies or drink sugary beverages. It will help to balance the blood sugar level in your body. So, it is advisable to keep sugar candies with you.
Repaglinide is pregnancy category C drug. As the data around the use of Repaglinide in pregnant women is limited, the use of Repaglinide in pregnancy is restricted. It is highly recommended to consult your doctor before taking this drug in case you are pregnant.
Repaglinide begins working 30 minutes after it is taken.
Repaglinide is rapidly absorbed and has a half-life of less than 60 minutes.
You are recommended not to consume alcohol along with the Repaglinide to avoid unpleasant side effects. Also, alcohol may affect blood glucose levels in patients with diabetes.
Repaglinide may be used as monotherapy (supplemental to exercise and diet control) or combined with other antihyperglycemic agents. However, it should only be taken if prescribed by the doctor.
No, you should not breastfeed while taking Repaglinide without consulting your doctor. Although it is unlikely to pass into breast milk significantly, it can cause low blood sugar in breastfed infants.
Taking clopidogrel and Repaglinide together may cause a drop in blood sugar levels, known as hypoglycemia. If you are taking clopidogrel and need to take Repaglinide, let your doctor know; your healthcare provider may guide an alternative approach.
Repaglinide should be taken before or up to 30 minutes before each main meal.
Do not use this medicine if you are under 18 years of age.
No, it is a prescription medication and should be taken only if prescribed by the doctor.
Common side effects of Repaglinide may include headache, stomach pain, a sign of a common cold, diarrhoea, joint pain, and back pain. Most of these side effects do not require medical attention and gradually resolve over time. However, if the side effects persist, contact your doctor.
Do not take other medicines when you take Repaglinide unless they have been discussed with your doctor. Limit or avoid the consumption of alcohol. You may want to limit your consumption of grapefruit and grapefruit juice during treatment with repaglinide.
Store in a cool and dry place away from sunlight. Keep Repaglinide out of sight and reach of children.
Repaglinide contains Repaglinide, an antidiabetic drug in the class of medications known as meglitinides.
No, it is not recommended to treat type 1 diabetes mellitus.
Repaglinide should be continued even if you feel better, without consulting your doctor as your sugar level keeps changing. If you stop taking Repaglinide abruptly, it may increase your sugar levels, which could further increase the risk of eyesight loss (retinopathy), kidney (nephropathy), and nerve damage (neuropathy).
Diabetes mellitus 2, also known as adult-onset diabetes, is a metabolic disease that causes high blood sugar levels.
Your driving ability may be affected if your blood sugar levels are too high or too low. Do not drive or operate machinery if you also experience blurred vision, dizziness or drowsiness due to extremely low or high blood sugar.
