Cardiovascular Warning

• The prescribing information for chlorpropamide carries the following warning in boldface: "The administration of oral hypoglycemic drugs has been reported to be associated with increased cardiovascular mortality as compared to treatment with diet alone or diet plus insulin." This risk increases as patients continue to take the medications for several years.
  
  

Hypoglycemia Warning

• When patients take chlorpropamide, their bodies produce more insulin. This rapidly lowers the amount of sugar in patients' bloodstreams. When patients take more chlorpropamide than prescribed or when they take the medication without eating or after exercising, they can experience dangerous drops in blood sugar. Hypoglycemia can lead to irritability, dry mouth, mental confusion and, in extreme cases, loss of consciousness and coma.
  
  

Other Warnings

• A small number of patients taking chlorpropamide have developed anemia and other blood disorders. Also, some patients have had allergic reactions such as hives while taking chlorpropamide. If such skin reactions persist, patients should stop using the medication and seek medical attention.
  
  

Reported Side Effects

• Fewer than 5 percent of patients taking chlorpropamide have experienced any side effects, according to the medication's prescribing information. Among patients experiencing problems, nausea, diarrhea, loss of appetite and excessive hunger occurred most frequently. Other side effects reported by patients taking chlorpropamide include dizziness, headache, colitis, itchiness, sensitivity to sunlight, liver dysfunction and rash.
  
  

Contraindications

• Patients with type 1 diabetes should not take chlorpropamide. Nor should patients who are experiencing diabetic ketoacidosis. A potentially fatal condition, ketoacidosis occurs when a patient's insulin level drops extremely low and proteins called ketones build up in the blood and poison organs.
  
  

Available Products

• Pfizer markets a branded version of chlorpropamide under the name Diabinese. The FDA has also approved generic versions of chlorpropamide made by Mylan, Pliva and Watson for sale in the United States.