Glucovance
Glucovance tablets pair metformin with glyburide for type 2 diabetes, available in 400/2.50mg and 500/5mg strengths in packs of 30 to 360 tablets.
All strengths and pack prices
| Strength | Pack | Price | Per tablet |
|---|---|---|---|
| 400/2.50mg | 30 tablets | $37.80 | $1.26 |
| 400/2.50mg | 60 tablets | $61.80 | $1.03 |
| 400/2.50mg | 90 tablets | $79.20 | $0.88 |
| 400/2.50mg | 120 tablets | $93.60 | $0.78 |
| 400/2.50mg | 180 tablets | $104.40 | $0.58 |
| 400/2.50mg | 240 tablets | $120.00 | $0.50 |
| 400/2.50mg | 360 tablets | $158.40 | $0.44 |
| 500/5mg | 30 tablets | $40.80 | $1.36 |
| 500/5mg | 60 tablets | $75.00 | $1.25 |
| 500/5mg | 90 tablets | $99.90 | $1.11 |
| 500/5mg | 120 tablets | $122.40 | $1.02 |
| 500/5mg | 180 tablets | $162.00 | $0.90 |
| 500/5mg | 240 tablets | $192.00 | $0.80 |
| 500/5mg | 360 tablets | $259.20 | $0.72 |
- Category
- Diabetes Management
- Route
- Oral
- Form
- Tablet
- Strengths
- 400/2.50/500/5mg
You will receive a quality generic equivalent, depending on stock.
Shipped in a discreet, unmarked envelope.
Details
- Conditions
- Type 2 Diabetes
- Brands with the same ingredient
- Metformin/Glyburide
- Therapeutic Class
- Antidiabetic combination
- Pharmacological Class
- Biguanide/Sulfonylurea
- Minor Side Effects
- Gastrointestinal upset
- Moderate Side Effects
- Metallic taste, Dizziness
- Dosage Forms
- Tablet
- Administration Route
- Oral
- Originator
- Bristol-Myers Squibb
- Onset Time
- 2–4 hours
- Duration
- 24 hours
- Storage Instructions
- Store at room temperature.
- Drug Interactions
- Iodinated contrast, Alcohol
What you will receive
Glucovance is the originator brand name, made by Bristol-Myers Squibb. We use it to identify the medicine; the pack you receive is a generic equivalent, not the original Glucovance.
- The same active ingredient (Metformin / Glyburide) at the same strength.
- The exact brand supplied depends on what is in stock when your order ships.
FAQ
Which Glucovance strengths and pack sizes are available?
Glucovance tablets come in 400/2.50mg and 500/5mg. Packs run from 30 to 360 tablets. It is generic metformin plus glyburide, not the original Glucovance. The page lists the price per tablet in Hong Kong dollars, and larger packs cost less per tablet.
How discreet is Glucovance delivery to Hong Kong?
Orders ship in plain, unbranded packaging with nothing outside about the contents. Tracked courier takes 5 to 9 business days and includes online tracking. If a parcel does not arrive within the delivery window, it is sent again free or refunded.
How long does Glucovance take to work?
Glyburide begins lowering blood sugar within a couple of hours of a dose, so the first effect is quick. Metformin works more gradually, building up over several days of steady dosing. Because both sit in the same tablet, a change of strength shows in your readings over the days that follow rather than straight away.
Can I drink alcohol with Glucovance?
Alcohol raises the risk of lactic acidosis from the metformin part and can push blood sugar too low, especially after heavy drinking or drinking on an empty stomach. The danger grows with the amount you drink and with meals missed along the way; a single drink beside a proper meal is a far smaller matter.
Does Glucovance cause weight gain?
It can. Glyburide belongs to the sulphonylurea group, which tends to add a little weight over time, while metformin on its own usually leaves weight steady. With both in one tablet, the glyburide side of the equation is the one to watch if the scales keep creeping up.
What is the difference between Glucovance and Janumet?
Both pair metformin with a second diabetes medicine, but the second ingredient is not the same. Glucovance uses glyburide, a sulphonylurea that pushes the pancreas to release more insulin; Janumet uses sitagliptin, which acts on gut hormones instead. Their side-effect patterns differ accordingly.
Can I take ibuprofen with Glucovance?
Ibuprofen and similar NSAID painkillers interact with both parts of the tablet: they can reduce kidney function, letting metformin build up and making lactic acidosis more likely, and they add to the blood-sugar-lowering effect of glyburide. Occasional use is not the same as a daily habit over long stretches.
About Glucovance
A two-in-one tablet for type 2 diabetes
Type 2 diabetes that a single medicine no longer holds steady is where Glucovance comes in. Each tablet carries metformin and glyburide together, for when diet, exercise and one drug on its own have not brought blood sugar down far enough. Both ingredients sit in the same dose, so a day's treatment is one or two tablets rather than two separate medicines — either 400mg metformin with 2.5mg glyburide, or 500mg with 5mg.
How metformin and glyburide work together
They lower blood sugar in different ways, which is the point of pairing them. Glyburide is a sulphonylurea: it prompts the pancreas to release more insulin, the hormone that moves sugar out of the blood and into muscle. Metformin is a biguanide, working on the liver and the gut — it slows glucose production in the liver, reduces how much sugar is absorbed from food, and helps the body make better use of the insulin it already has. Neither ingredient cures diabetes, and both work only while you keep taking them.
Fitting the tablets around meals
Take Glucovance with food. Breakfast or the first main meal suits a once-daily pattern; a twice-daily schedule splits the dose between two meals, and keeping to the same times each day steadies the effect. Skipping meals is the commonest reason blood sugar dips too low on the glyburide part — shakiness, sweating, hunger, a pounding heartbeat and confusion are the signs, and a sugary drink or glucose tablets bring it back up. Alcohol makes that dip more likely and also raises the risk of lactic acidosis, the rare metformin problem. NSAID painkillers such as ibuprofen, salicylates, cimetidine and bosentan are among the medicines that change how these ingredients behave.
Side effects, common and rare
Stomach upset is the usual early complaint: nausea, loose stools, a heavy full feeling, sometimes a metallic taste. Most of it fades as the body adjusts. Low blood sugar is the everyday risk that comes with glyburide. Lactic acidosis is far rarer, but extreme tiredness, muscle aches, stomach pain, feeling cold and fast, deep breathing need urgent treatment. People whose kidneys are working poorly are not given this combination.
Glucovance or Metformin + Glyburide tablets?
Alongside this one, the shop stocks Metformin + Glyburide tablets — the same two ingredients at the same strengths, 2.5mg glyburide with 400mg metformin and 5mg with 500mg, as plain tablets. Glucovance is the name this pairing is best known by, so the choice between the two comes down to the name on the pack. Whichever you order, keep the strip out of the sun and away from the stove.
Sources
- Metformin: MedlinePlus Drug Information — MedlinePlus / National Library of Medicine
- Glyburide: MedlinePlus Drug Information — MedlinePlus