Patient was educated upon precautions to be taken while taking Glimepiride as follows:
- Glimepiride carries the risk of causing photosensitivity. Individuals taking glimepiride can present with sunburns and hives with itching and rashes on the sun exposed body parts. Report to your physician regarding presentation with any sunburns and rashes while taking glimepiride. If the photosensitive reaction to glimepiride is not self-limited and progressively worsening, your physician could discontinue you on glimepiride and suggest an alternative measure for blood sugar control. Individuals with history of photosensitivity and taking glimepiride must observe compliance with safety measures, such as, wearing hats, sunglasses, and long-sleeved shirts. Regular application of sunscreen on all the exposed body parts before getting out of the house can also help prevent any photosensitive response.
- Patients taking glimepiride can sometimes present destruction to red blood cells (hemolysis), resulting in anemia. Intake of glimepiride can also lead to hematological disturbances, such as, low platelet count (thrombocytopenia) and low white blood cell count (leukopenia). Periodical blood work with evaluation of blood cell count could be ordered at timely intervals on individuals taking glimepiride.
- Glimepiride acts immediately with the first dose of medication, but it can take some time, about 10 days to two weeks, to fairly adjust to your body, before improvement in blood sugar control and stabilization of blood sugar readings is noticed. So, do not discontinue taking the medication without your physician’s consult, as you failed to see the desired result immediately after taking the medication.
- Observe compliance with taking your daily blood sugar readings, as recommended. Log maintenance of all the blood sugar readings helps for a comparative feedback, as to how well the drug is helping control the blood sugars. This can help your physician make necessary changes on your medication dose and suggest other treatment measures to help your blood sugar numbers fall into the target range. Also, observe compliance with any other regular diabetic lab work ordered, such as, hemoglobin A1c, which tells how your average blood sugars have been doing over the past 2 to 3 months.
