Drug Interactions With Insulin Detemir

Several medications could potentially cause drug interactions with insulin detemir, including ACE inhibitors, beta blockers, and oral diabetes medications. When these medicines are taken with insulin detemir, blood sugar levels may become too low, which can be quite dangerous. These drug interactions with insulin detemir may require your healthcare provider to monitor you more closely or adjust your dosage as needed.

 

Drug Interactions With Insulin Detemir: An Overview

Insulin detemir (Levemir®) can potentially interact with several medications, too many to list. Some drug interactions with insulin detemir can result in low blood sugar levels (hypoglycemia), which can be quite dangerous. Other drug interactions, which are not discussed in this article, may increase blood sugar levels, which is not healthy, but is usually not dangerous. Some of the medicines that may cause dangerously low blood sugar when combined with insulin detemir include:
 
  • ACE inhibitors, such as:
 
 
  • Alcohol
  • Beta blockers, such as:
 
 
  • Disopyramide (Norpace®, Norpace® CR)
  • Fibrates, such as:
 
 
  • Monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs), such as:
 
 
  • Octreotide (Sandostatin®)
  • Oral diabetes medications
  • Propoxyphene (Darvon®, Darvocet®)
  • Reserpine
  • Salicylates, such as:
 
    • Aspirin (Ecotrin®, Bayer®, Anacin®)
    • Choline magnesium trisalicylate (Trilisate®)
    • Diflunisal (Dolobid®)
    • Salsalate (Salflex®, Disalcid®, Amigesic®)
 
  • Sulfonamide antibiotics ("sulfa drugs"), such as:
 
    • Sulfadiazine
    • Sulfadoxine (Fansidar®)
    • Sulfamethoxazole (Bactrim®, Septra®)
    • Sulfisoxazole (Gantrisin®).
 
(Drug Interactions With Insulin Detemir Continued: Page 2)
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Written by/reviewed by: Kristi Monson, PharmD; Arthur Schoenstadt, MD
Last reviewed by: Kristi Monson, PharmD;