# gliclazide and weight gain



## simonrudd

i just spoke to my DN about gliclazide, she said she had wanted me to start a different type of medication not gliclazide (i was put on it by a doctor i saw regarding my foot problems) as it makes you put weight on.  i'm wondering if anyone else has experienced this?  i really hope it doesnt as its taken me years to loose the little weight i have  

she said she couldnt just stop it and put me on this other medication - i'm not sure why.  I'm a bit annoyed now as i really dont want to pile weight on just because i'm taking a pill to lower my blood sugar.


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## AlisonM

That was one of the excuses my doctor gave for taking me off it, also I was having hypos and she didn't want to prescribe test strips. that last was, I believe, the main reason for taking me off them. It didn't work as I had to go on Sitagliptin instead a few weeks later because the Metformin wasn't working on it's own.


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## Caroline

I have a tummy any way so can't say for certain glicilzide makes you gain weight.

When I asked about it on a course, I was told that gliclizide encourages the pancreas to produce more insulin and should be taken 20 or 30 minutes before meals.

If in doubt ask her why she can't take you off it and give you something else or have a chat to the doctor.


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## SweetGuy

I was never a candidate for Glicizide because I was overweight to begin with.  The favoured alternative oral meds for people who are err... plump now seem to be metformin either with or without  sitagliptin as well. Ask you doc about them.


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## Lizzie53

Hi Simon, I take Gliclazide and yes I did put on weight. Prior to that I took Actos (pioglitazone) and that was even worse. I gained about 3 -4 stone with that, the hunger was unbelievable. I also take metformin but didn't lose weight with that like some do. The weight gain led me to the hossie where the lovely consultant told me to stop beating myself up as many people gain weight with these 2 drugs. Anyway that was when I got put on Byetta which I know you are not keen on. I wasn't either and it took me several months to agree to it. I should have said yes to it straight away as I now take a lower dose of Gliclazide and I am losing the weight I gained. I would like to ditch the gliclazide but the doc wants me to lose more weight and get the BG even lower before I can do that. What is the othr drug they have suggested for you?


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## simonrudd

i cant remember the name of the other drug she said - i have a terrible memory for these sort of things.  She said it was weight neutral.  I'm going to e-mail my doctor about it.  I'm not happy with a  drug that makes you put weight on, i'm fairly big any way (18 stn) and i dont want to be larger.  Metformin has never really worked for me - my bs never went down and i didnt loose weight with it.  they upped that to 4 tablets a day too.  

she also said that i should increase the tablets to 2 a day.  i've been taking them after tea - maybe i should take them before. 

oh also my HbA1c - she said it was 11% (if that makes sense to anyone) 

bl**dy diabetes


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## Ellie Jones

The HbA1c of 11% sadly isn't good at all sorry, and would explain why they want to put you on more mediaction to bring down your levels more..

The weight gain issue with Glicizide is two fold.. it stimulates the pancreas to make more insulin because the body isn't utilises what is already there, the downside to this insulin as other purposes than just lowering blood glucose...

It's part of the growth hormones, and it other job is to help store excess carbs as fat around the body,  So because there is more insulin around what isn't being used to sort out the blood glucose diverts off to fat storing duties..

Also because it is more active lowering the blood glucose by increasing insulin, sometimes you have to feed this spare insulin otherwise you will have a diabetic hypo with similar problems faced by T1 insulin users..


Not all user do put on weight some are lucky that they can find the fine balance between dose, food intake etc to avoid it, but it's a difficult balance to achive..


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## Lizzie53

Oh Simon I echo the b****y diabetes sentiment and there are days I call it far worse. An hba1c of 11 is much more than you want it really and you must get it down. For a long time the metformin kept mine around 7 but then it crept up and the Actos and later gliclazide got it down a bit but the weight piled on and I got quite distressed about it. When it was 10.5 they got very twitchy about it and packed me off to the hossie where I got the Byetta last June. It's now 6 and they all seem happy with that.  I was very depressed and felt really rotten with no energy to do anything. Don't dismiss this drug because if you can't get your BG down with diet, exercise and other drugs it could well work for you too. You just have to get your head round those teeny needles. The difference in how I feel is amazing and now I am able to tackle the diet and exercise, something I failed to do before.
I'd be interested to know what it is they propose to give you. If it doesn't make you hungry you have a chance to get control of your weight which my doc says is the main goal I must have. She says it is essential for me to get out of the obese range. I'm gradully doing it mainly by reducing portion sizes and reducing my intake of carbs. I still eat them but nowhere near as many. Good luck Simon I think there are plenty of us who have been in your shoes.


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## sparxx88

*pioglitazone*

pioglitazone are dangerous have been linked to cancer and heart problems banned in the usa now so im told and when you are told your going to be put on them they are supposed to inform you of the risks my other nurse didnt and my doctor went mad n took me off them im as skinny as a rake and just gone on glics 8 weeks ago and have now put on a stone already and i hardly eat anything go figure ??


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## AlisonM

11% is pretty high Simon, I'm sorry to say, but there are alternatives to Metformin out there. Maybe you could talk to your doctor about one of the jabs such as Exenatide/Byetta or Liraglutide/Victoza, they've worked really well for a number of folk on here. 

Although Pioglitizone has not in fact been banned in the US (as fas as I can tell from a quick Google, the US has recommended that patients taking it should be carefully monitored), a friend of mine has just been taken off it and put on Sitagliptin instead because of the cancer scare.


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## Northerner

Psst! This thread is three years old...


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## AlisonM

Northerner said:


> Psst! This thread is three years old...



Didn't notice that, just saw the weird post and replied.


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## Northerner

sparxx88 said:


> pioglitazone are dangerous have been linked to cancer and heart problems banned in the usa now so im told and when you are told your going to be put on them they are supposed to inform you of the risks my other nurse didnt and my doctor went mad n took me off them im as skinny as a rake and just gone on glics 8 weeks ago and have now put on a stone already and i hardly eat anything go figure ??



Hi sparxx88, welcome to the forum  How are your blood sugars? Are you still a healthy weight, despite the weight gain? Whilst gliclizide may encourage weight gain a lot will depend on what you are eating and also how much exercise you are getting. It would be worth doing a food diary to find out what your carbohydrate intake is like - a high carb diet is most likely to cause weight gain when using meds like gliclizide or insulin


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## pav

To add to Alan's info now that I have been on gliclazide for a while, I always feel hungry. My weight was coming off, but think its started coming back on slowly now


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