Glyburide

Glyburide, also called glibenclamide, is a sulfonylurea tablet used to lower blood sugar in adults with type 2 diabetes, along with diet and exercise. This guide covers glyburide uses, how it works, dosage, side effects, precautions, drug interactions, use in pregnancy and breastfeeding, brand names and its approximate price in India.

What is Glyburide?

Glyburide is an oral sulfonylurea medication used to lower blood sugar in people with type 2 diabetes. It helps the pancreas release insulin to control blood glucose levels.

Glyburide and glibenclamide are two names for the same medicine. Formulations, strengths and prescribing instructions differ between countries and products, so always follow the leaflet and advice that come with your own product.

How Glyburide Works

Glyburide stimulates the pancreas to release insulin, which helps lower blood glucose levels in patients with type 2 diabetes. It works only while the pancreas can still make insulin.

When to Use Glyburide

• Type 2 diabetes in adults: Glyburide helps manage blood sugar in combination with diet and exercise. Doctors may use it alone or with other diabetes medicines.
• Because of the risks of low blood sugar and weight gain, current guidelines often favour other medicines. Sulfonylureas may still be considered when cost is a barrier, depending on the person’s risks.

Dosage and How to Take Glyburide

Glyburide doses are individual, and the numbers below come from US prescribing information. They do not apply to every product worldwide. Indian glibenclamide products may have different strengths and instructions, so follow your doctor’s prescription and your pack leaflet.

Standard (non-micronized) tablets, US labelling

• Usual adult starting dose: 2.5–5 mg once daily, with breakfast or the first main meal.
• Maximum recommended dose: 20 mg per day.
• Doctors may start lower in people who are more sensitive to low blood sugar.

Micronized tablets, US labelling

• Suggested starting dose: 1.5–3 mg daily with breakfast or the first main meal.
• Doses above 12 mg per day are not recommended.

Standard and micronized tablets are not interchangeable. They are not bioequivalent, so the same mg dose does not give the same effect. The dose must be re-worked by a doctor when switching. Never swap one for the other yourself.

India: Indian product information for Daonil and Euglucon advises taking the tablet just before or with a meal, and the listings reviewed show 5 mg tablets. I did not find micronized plain glibenclamide in the Indian listings reviewed. Combination products (glibenclamide with metformin) have different dosing from plain glibenclamide.

Your doctor adjusts the dose gradually based on your blood sugar. Take this medicine only as advised by your doctor or healthcare professional. Do not start, stop, or change the dose on your own.

Side Effects of Glyburide

Reported side effects:

• Hypoglycemia
• Weight gain
• Digestive effects, such as nausea, upper-stomach fullness and heartburn
• Allergic skin reactions, such as itching, redness, hives or rash
• Blurred vision, which may be related to changing blood sugar levels
• Headache and dizziness, which Indian product information lists as common effects

Serious side effects (seek medical help promptly):

• Severe or prolonged hypoglycemia
• Severe allergic reactions, such as swelling of the face or throat
• Liver injury, such as yellowing of the skin or eyes (jaundice)
• Blood-cell disorders, including hemolytic anemia, which have been reported with sulfonylureas

Low Blood Sugar (Hypoglycemia)

All sulfonylureas, including glyburide, can cause hypoglycemia. It can be severe, can last a long time, and can come back after you seem to have recovered.

Symptoms may include sweating, shakiness, hunger, dizziness, weakness, palpitations, confusion and difficulty concentrating. In severe cases, a person may faint or have a seizure.

The risk is higher with:

• Missed or delayed meals, or too little food
• Heavy or prolonged exercise

Alcohol

• A dose that is too high for the person
• Kidney or liver problems
• Older age
• Use with other glucose-lowering medicines, especially insulin
• Some other medicines (see Drug Interactions)

Your doctor should explain how to recognise and treat mild low blood sugar, usually with fast-acting sugar. Severe hypoglycemia is a medical emergency. Get urgent help if there is confusion that does not clear, fainting or a seizure.

Who Should Not Take Glyburide, and Precautions

Contraindications. These differ between products, so check your leaflet:

• Allergy to glyburide or the ingredients of the product
• Diabetic ketoacidosis
• Taking bosentan
• Type 1 diabetes, which is listed as a contraindication on some labels (for example Glynase and Daonil product information in some countries)

Some non-US Daonil product information also lists severe kidney or liver disease as a reason not to use it.

Precautions (not all of these are absolute contraindications):

• People who are malnourished, debilitated, or have adrenal or pituitary problems are more prone to low blood sugar.
• Beta-blockers can make low blood sugar harder to recognise.
• G6PD deficiency: People with G6PD deficiency may be at increased risk of hemolytic anemia with sulfonylureas, and the label suggests considering a non-sulfonylurea alternative.
• Fever, infection, injury or surgery can disturb blood sugar control, so tell your doctor.
• Children and teenagers: Safety and effectiveness are not established, and Indian product information does not recommend use under 18.

Older Adults

Glyburide is longer-acting and has a higher risk of prolonged hypoglycemia. The ADA Standards of Care in Diabetes—2026 state that it should be avoided in older adults. The AGS Beers Criteria likewise advise avoiding sulfonylureas in most people aged 65 and older, and prefer shorter-acting options if one is needed. Older adults and their carers should discuss safer options with a doctor rather than stopping the medicine abruptly.

Kidney Disease

Kidney problems can raise glyburide levels and the risk of prolonged hypoglycemia. The ADA advises that sulfonylureas be limited or discontinued in chronic kidney disease, and some references advise avoiding glyburide at reduced kidney function. US labelling advises conservative dosing in kidney impairment. Instructions are product-specific, so do not adjust your dose yourself.

Liver Disease

Liver impairment can raise glyburide levels and the risk of hypoglycemia, and US labelling advises conservative dosing. Some non-US labels advise against use in severe liver disease. Tell your doctor about any liver problems.

Monitoring

Your doctor may monitor your response with blood glucose tests and, in some patients, HbA1c.

Glyburide in Pregnancy and Breastfeeding

• Pregnancy: Glyburide is not recommended in pregnancy according to US labelling, and Indian product information says Daonil and Euglucon must not be used in pregnancy. The ADA lists insulin as the preferred medicine when drug treatment is needed in pregnancy. Glyburide is not recommended as a first-line treatment because it can reach the baby through the placenta. Newborns of mothers taking a sulfonylurea near delivery have had prolonged low blood sugar. If you are pregnant or planning pregnancy, speak to your doctor promptly. Do not stop your medicine on your own.
• Breastfeeding: US labelling says it is not known whether glyburide passes into breast milk, though some sulfonylureas do. Because the baby could develop low blood sugar, a doctor should decide whether to stop the medicine or breastfeeding. Indian product information for Daonil and Euglucon says not to use these products while breastfeeding. Always discuss this with your doctor.

Glyburide Drug Interactions

Medicines that can increase the risk of low blood sugar:

• NSAIDs and salicylates (such as aspirin)
• Sulfonamides, chloramphenicol, probenecid
• Coumarin blood thinners, MAO inhibitors, beta-blockers
• Certain antibiotics and antifungals: ciprofloxacin and other fluoroquinolones, clarithromycin, sulfamethoxazole-trimethoprim and metronidazole
• Fluconazole and oral miconazole
• Other glucose-lowering medicines, especially insulin

Doctors may reduce or pause sulfonylureas when some of these antimicrobials are prescribed.

Medicines that can raise blood sugar: Thiazide and other diuretics, corticosteroids, phenothiazines, thyroid products, estrogens, oral contraceptives, phenytoin, nicotinic acid, sympathomimetics, calcium channel blockers and isoniazid.

Specific interactions:

• Bosentan: Contraindicated, because it raises the risk of liver enzyme elevations.
• Colesevelam: Take glyburide at least 4 hours before colesevelam, because colesevelam reduces how much glyburide is absorbed.
• Alcohol: Alcohol makes low blood sugar more likely. Disulfiram-like reactions have been reported very rarely.

This list is not complete. Tell your doctor or pharmacist about all prescription medicines, over-the-counter medicines, supplements and herbal products you use.

Glyburide Brands in India

Examples of glibenclamide (glyburide) 5 mg tablets listed in India include:

• Daonil (Sanofi India)
• Euglucon (Abbott), which showed as sold out or out of stock on the pharmacy sites checked
• Glybovin (Aristo)

Availability changes, so confirm with your pharmacist. Some Indian brands combine glibenclamide with metformin (for example Gliben DM Plus and Glibenaid M). These are combination products with their own dosing and should not be treated as plain glibenclamide.

Glyburide (Glibenclamide) Price in India

These are MRPs of plain glibenclamide products. Combination products are excluded. Prices vary by pharmacy, location, batch, availability and pack size, so check with your pharmacist.

How HealthPil Can Help

Medicines should be started, adjusted, or stopped only under the guidance of a qualified healthcare professional. If you have questions about this medicine, its side effects, or your treatment plan, you can consult a doctor through HealthPil. HealthPil provides access to endocrinologists for personalized diabetes care.