Drug Interactions With Insulin Glulisine

Alcohol, ACE inhibitors, and certain antibiotics are among the substances that can cause negative interactions with insulin glulisine. Drug interactions such as these can cause dangerously low blood sugar levels. To avoid this complication, your healthcare provider may recommend another medication or advise you to closely monitor your blood sugar levels for a while to see if you need to adjust your insulin glulisine dosage.

 

Drug Interactions With Insulin Glulisine: An Overview

Insulin glulisine (Apidra®) can potentially interact with numerous other medicines, too many to list here. Some interactions (which are not discussed in this article) may increase blood sugar levels, which is not healthy, but is usually not dangerous in the short term. Other drug interactions with insulin glulisine can result in dangerously low blood sugar levels (hypoglycemia). Some of the medicines that may cause dangerously low blood sugar when combined with insulin glulisine include:
 
  • Alcoholic beverages
  • Angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (ACE inhibitors), such as:
 
 
  • Beta blockers, 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 Glulisine Continued: Page 2)
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Written by/reviewed by: Kristi Monson, PharmD; Arthur Schoenstadt, MD
Last reviewed by: Kristi Monson, PharmD;