Known brand names include Glucotrol.
A sulfonylurea pill for type 2 diabetes, taken about 30 minutes before a meal along with diet and exercise. It lowers blood sugar by making the pancreas release more insulin, so low blood sugar is its main risk.
Glipizide acts on the beta cells of the pancreas, the cells that make insulin, and makes them release more of it. This boost is strongest when a person eats, and it begins within 30 minutes of a dose. Insulin is the natural substance the body needs to handle sugar, so the extra insulin brings blood sugar down. Because it works through those cells, it helps only when they still make insulin.
Blood sugar control can last up to 24 hours after a single dose, even though blood levels of the drug have dropped to a small fraction by then. The liver breaks most of it down into inactive forms that leave in the urine. Since it raises insulin, it can drive blood sugar too low, especially with skipped meals, alcohol, hard or long exercise, or weak kidneys or liver. Over time, it may control blood sugar less well than it did at first.
Glipizide is a pill for type 2 diabetes, a condition where the body cannot use its insulin properly, so blood sugar runs too high. It is taken along with diet and exercise to bring blood sugar down and keep it under better control. It helps control blood sugar but does not cure diabetes.
It is for adults and is taken by mouth, sometimes along with other diabetes medicines. It helps only people whose pancreas still makes insulin. It has not been shown to be safe or effective in children. It is not used for type 1 diabetes or diabetic ketoacidosis, a dangerous result of untreated high blood sugar, because those conditions need insulin.
Nausea, diarrhea, constipation, stomach pain, dizziness, drowsiness, headache, and itchy rashes are the common complaints. The label treats severe low blood sugar as the main danger, especially in older, frail, or malnourished people and those with kidney or liver disease. It also warns about a possible higher risk of death from heart disease with this class of drugs, breakdown of red blood cells in people with G6PD deficiency, rare liver and blood problems, and low sodium.