You should not use this medication if you are allergic to glyburide, or:

if you are being treated with bosentan (Tracleer);

if you have type 1 diabetes; or

if you are in a state of diabetic ketoacidosis (call your doctor for treatment with insulin).

To make sure you can safely take glyburide, tell your doctor if you have any of these other conditions:

hemolytic anemia (a lack of red blood cells);

an enzyme deficiency called glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase deficiency (G6PD);

a nerve disorder affecting bodily functions;

liver or kidney disease;

if you are allergic to sulfa drugs; or

if you have been using insulin or taking chlorpropamide (Diabinese).

Certain oral diabetes medications may increase your risk of serious heart problems. However, not treating your diabetes can damage your heart and other organs. Talk to your doctor about the risks and benefits of treating your diabetes with glyburide.

FDA pregnancy category C. It is not known whether glyburide will harm an unborn baby. Similar diabetes medications have caused severe hypoglycemia in newborn babies whose mothers had used the medication near the time of delivery. Tell your doctor if you are pregnant or plan to become pregnant while using this medication. It is not known whether glyburide passes into breast milk or if it could harm a nursing baby.

Do not use this medication without telling your doctor if you are breast-feeding a baby. Older adults may be more likely to have low blood sugar while taking glyburide.

Important safety information:

You should not use this medication if you are allergic to glyburide, if you are being treated with bosentan (Tracleer), if you have type 1 diabetes, or if you are in a state of diabetic ketoacidosis (call your doctor for treatment with insulin).

Before taking glyburide, tell your doctor if you are allergic to sulfa drugs, if you have been using insulin or chlorpropamide (Diabinese), or if you have hemolytic anemia (a lack of red blood cells), an enzyme deficiency (G6PD), a nerve disorder, liver disease, or kidney disease.

Take care not to let your blood sugar get too low. Low blood sugar (hypoglycemia) can occur if you skip a meal, exercise too long, drink alcohol, or are under stress. Symptoms include headache, hunger, weakness, sweating, tremor, irritability, or trouble concentrating. Carry hard candy or glucose tablets with you in case you have low blood sugar. Other sugar sources include orange juice and milk. Be sure your family and close friends know how to help you in an emergency.

Drug interactions

Tell your doctor about all other medications you use, especially:

a blood thinner such as warfarin (Coumadin, Jantoven);

cyclosporine (Gengraf, Neoral, Sandimmune);

disopyramide (Norpace);

fluconazole (Diflucan), ketoconazole (Nizoral);

fluoxetine (Prozac);

rifampin (Rifadin, Rimactane, Rifater);

an ACE inhibitor such as enalapril (Vasotec), lisinopril (Prinivil, Zestril), ramipril (Altace), and others; or

an antibiotic such as ciprofloxacin (Cipro), levofloxacin (Levaquin), and others.

Using certain medicines can make it harder for you to tell when you have low blood sugar. Tell your doctor if you use any of the following:

albuterol (Proventil, Ventolin);

clonidine (Catapres);

reserpine; or

beta-blockers such as atenolol (Tenormin), carvedilol (Coreg), metoprolol (Lopressor, Toprol), propranolol (Inderal, InnoPran), and others.

You may be more likely to have hyperglycemia (high blood sugar) if you take glyburide with:

isoniazid;

diuretics (water pills);

steroids (prednisone and others);

phenothiazines (Compazine and others);

thyroid medicine (Synthroid and others);

birth control pills and other hormones;

heart or blood pressure medications (Cartia, Cardizem, Nifedical, Covera, Verelan, and others);

niacin (Advicor, Niaspan, Niacor, Simcor, Slo-Niacin, and others);

seizure medicines (Dilantin and others); and

diet pills or medicines to treat asthma, colds or allergies.

You may be more likely to have hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) if you take glyburide with:

clarithromycin (Biaxin);

exenatide (Byetta);

probenecid (Benemid);

heart or blood pressure medication (Accupril, Altace, Lotensin, Prinivil, Vasotec, Zestril, and others);

some nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs);

aspirin or other salicylates (including Pepto-Bismol);

sulfa drugs (Bactrim, Gantanol, Septra, and others);

a monoamine oxidase inhibitor (MAOI); and

other oral diabetes medications, especially acarbose (Precose), metformin (Glucophage), miglitol (Glyset), pioglitazone (Actos), or rosiglitazone (Avandia).

These lists are not complete and there are many other medicines that can increase or decrease the effects of glyburide on lowering your blood sugar. Tell your doctor about all medications you use. This includes prescription, over-the-counter, vitamin, and herbal products. Do not start a new medication without telling your doctor.

Stop using glyburide and get emergency medical help if you have any of these signs of an allergic reaction: hives; difficulty breathing; swelling of your face, lips, tongue, or throat. Stop taking this medication and call your doctor at once if you have any of these serious side effects:

nausea, stomach pain, low fever, loss of appetite, dark urine, clay-colored stools, jaundice (yellowing of the skin or eyes);

pale skin, confusion or weakness;

easy bruising or bleeding, purple or red pinpoint spots under your skin; or

headache, trouble concentrating, memory problems, feeling unsteady, hallucinations, fainting, seizure, shallow breathing or breathing that stops.

Less serious side effects may include:

mild nausea, heartburn, feeling full;

joint or muscle pain;

blurred vision; or

mild itching or skin rash.

This is not a complete list of side effects and others may occur. Call your doctor for medical advice about side effects.