Prandial glucose regulators are a type of medication you might need to take if you have type 2 diabetes. They are also referred to as glinides, meglitinides, or meal-time glucose regulators.
- How do prandial glucose regulators work?
- Who can take prandial glucose regulators?
- How do you take prandial glucose regulators?
- Your prescription
- Prandial glucose regulators side effects
- More information and support
How do prandial glucose regulators work?
Like the drug class sulphonylureas, prandial glucose regulators help your pancreas make more insulin, which helps to lower blood sugar levels.
However, unlike sulphonylureas, they work very quickly but only last for a short time.
There is one type of prandial glucose regulator that can be prescribed to people living with type 2 diabetes called repaglinide, which has the brand name Prandin.
Who can take prandial glucose regulators?
Adults over 18 years with type 2 diabetes can take prandial glucose regulators.
They can be taken on their own as an alternative to metformin or alongside metformin.
Who can’t take prandial glucose regulators?
Some medications might not be suitable for some people, which might be because of medical conditions or other reasons:
- Your doctor will tell you to stop taking prandial glucose regulators if you develop diabetic ketoacidosis, or DKA;
- If you have kidney disease you might not be able to take a prandial glucose regulator, or your dose might need to be changed;
- If you have severe liver disease you might not be able to take a prandial glucose regulator;
- You should not take prandial glucose regulators if you are pregnant of breastfeeding. If you’re planning a pregnancy speak with a healthcare professional if you are using this medication;
- You might need to temporarily stop this medication if you’re going to have an operation.
When you start a new medication always check with your healthcare team that it’s suitable for you to take.
How do you take prandial glucose regulators?
You take prandial glucose regulators as tablets up to three times a day.
It’s recommended to take this medication immediately before or up to half an hour before each main meal, to help manage blood sugar levels. If you miss a meal, then you must not take your tablet.
Always take a prandial glucose regulator exactly as your healthcare professional has told you. The Patient Information Leaflet inside the box will tell you how to take it but always check with a doctor or pharmacist if you are not sure.
Your prescription
Your healthcare team should explain your prescription to you but it's important to make sure you ask if you don't feel you know enough.
And make sure you talk to your GP or your diabetes team if you struggle to take your medication. They might be able to help by giving you a different dose.
In England, if you need to take any medication to manage your diabetes, your prescriptions will be free. Ask your healthcare team about a prescription exemption certificate if you don't have one, to make sure you don't get charged for your medication. Prescriptions are already free for everybody in the rest of the UK, so you shouldn't pay for your prandial glucose regulator.
Prandial glucose regulators side effects
Like all medicines, prandial glucose regulators have side effects. But when side effects are listed as common in the Patient Information Leaflet, it doesn’t mean that everyone that takes the medication will get them.
The information about side effects is based on the likelihood of people having them. For example, if a side effect is very common then it can affect more than one in ten people, and if a side effect is very rare then it affects fewer than one in 10,000 people.
Because medicines can affect people differently, your healthcare team will speak to you about what’s best for you and discuss any side effects.
Common side effects can include stomach pain and diarrhoea.
You might also have an increased risk of hypoglycaemia, or a hypo. This is when the level of sugar in your blood drops too low, normally below 4mmol/l.
These are not all the side effects. You will find a full list of known side effects in the Patient Information Leaflet. This comes in the medication box.
It’s also important that you take individual advice from your healthcare team before starting treatment with a prandial glucose regulator and report any side effects to your healthcare professionals, if you experience any.
You can also report these side effects to the Yellow Card Scheme, which is the government system used for recording side effects with medicines in the UK.
Driving and prandial glucose regulators
Prandial glucose regulators can increase the risk of hypos while driving.
Speak to your healthcare team if you’re not sure whether you’re at risk of having these and what you can do to prevent them.
More information and support
Still have more questions? Or is there anything you're not sure about prandial glucose regulators after reading this page? Contact our helpline on 0345 123 2399.
You can visit the NHS website for more information on prandial glucose regulators.
