United Arab Emirates
A 27-year-old male asked about a 77-year-old female:
hyperglycemic patient, a sudden hyperglycemia to more than 430 ml/dl, what type of emergency drug can be used in home? pt use glimepiride & metformin
2 doctor answers • 2 doctors weighed in
Dr. Alvin Lin answered
Geriatrics 30 years experience
No emergency med: Instead, go see your doctor as s/he needs to look for hidden infection causing sugars to get out of control. While metformin won't cause hypoglycemia (low sugar) when used by itself, it's not an emergency drug. Glimerpiride can quickly lower sugar but it can also cause it to drop too much leading to hypoglycemia. This is especially worrisome in 77yo like yourself. Best to go see doc & find cause.
4944 viewsAnswered >2 years ago
Dr. Donald Alves answered
Emergency Medicine 24 years experience
Insulin: The only way to address rapid rise in blood glucose is with a sliding scale of regular Insulin (or its equivalent injectable). The pills take too long and are too broad-acting to use for this purpose. If happens more than once every several months, talk to dr about having an Insulin option to help 'reset' blood glucose when climbing too high.
4944 viewsAnswered >2 years ago
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Last updated Sep 3, 2015
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