Drug Interactions With Insulin Lispro

Numerous medications can cause drug interactions with insulin lispro, including oral diabetes medicines, sulfonamide antibiotics, monoamine oxidase inhibitors, and beta blockers. These medications can increase the risk of low blood sugar when combined with insulin lispro. Drug interactions can be potentially dangerous, so be sure to tell your healthcare provider about all other medicines you are taking before starting insulin lispro.

 

An Overview of Drug Interactions With Insulin Lispro

Insulin lispro (Humalog®) can potentially interact with numerous other medicines, too many to list. Many of these drug interactions are dangerous, while others are not. Some interactions (which are not discussed in this article) may increase blood sugar levels, which is not healthy, but is usually not dangerous right away. Other insulin lispro drug interactions can result in dangerously low blood sugar levels (hypoglycemia), which can be quite dangerous. Some of the medicines that may cause dangerously low blood sugar when combined with insulin lispro 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 Lispro Continued: Page 2)
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Written by/reviewed by: Kristi Monson, PharmD; Arthur Schoenstadt, MD
Last reviewed by: Kristi Monson, PharmD;