Diazoxide: uses, dosing, side effects & brands
Diazoxide is a medicine sold in the U.S. under one brand, for hyperphagia, malignant hypertension and hypoglycemia. Below: what the FDA label says, every product that contains it, what the pills look like, and its recall record.
Key facts
- Treats
- Hyperphagia, Malignant Hypertension and Hypoglycemia
- Available as
- Suspension
- Sold as
- Proglycem
- Prescription?
- Prescription only
- Generic available?
- Not in our catalog
- What the pharmacy pays
- about $7 per ml — not your price
How diazoxide is dosed
From the FDA label for Proglycem (application NDA017453). Other diazoxide products — different forms, different strengths — are dosed differently. Follow the label for the one you were prescribed.
Patients should be under close clinical observation when treatment with PROGLYCEM is initiated. Carefully monitor the clinical response and blood glucose until the patient’s condition has stabilized satisfactory; in most instances, this may be accomplished in several days. If administration of PROGLYCEM is not effective after 2 or 3 weeks, discontinue PROGLYCEM. Individualize the dosage of PROGLYCEM based on the severity of the hypoglycemic condition and the blood glucose level and clinical response of the patient. Adjust the dosage until the desired clinical and laboratory effects are produced with the least amount of PROGLYCEM. Take special care to ensure the accuracy of the dosage in infants and young children. Adults and children: The recommended starting dosage is 3 mg/kg/day, administered orally, divided into 3 equal doses every 8 hours or 2 equal doses every 12 hours. The dosage may be titrated to a maximum of 8 mg/kg/day. Patients with refractory hypoglycemia may require higher dosages. Infants and newborns: The recommended starting dosage is 8 mg/kg/day, administered orally, divided into 3 equal doses every 8 hours or 2 equal doses every 12 hours. The dosage may be titrated to a maximum of 15 mg/kg/day.
Diazoxide side effects
Frequent and Serious: Sodium and fluid retention is most common in young infants and in adults and may precipitate congestive heart failure in patients with compromised cardiac reserve (see DRUG INTERACTIONS ). Infrequent but Serious: Diabetic ketoacidosis and hyperosmolar nonketotic coma may develop very rapidly. Monitor patients for up to 7 days due to the long half-life of PROGLYCEM (see OVERDOSAGE ). Other frequent adverse reactions: Hirsutism of the lanugo type, mainly on the forehead, back and limbs, occurs most commonly in children and women and may be cosmetically unacceptable. It subsides on discontinuation of PROGLYCEM. Hyperglycemia or glycosuria may require reduction in dosage in order to avoid progression to ketoacidosis or hyperosmolar coma. Gastrointestinal intolerance may include anorexia, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, ileus, diarrhea, transient loss of taste. Tachycardia, palpitations, increased levels of serum uric acid are common. Thrombocytopenia with or without purpura may require discontinuation of PROGLYCEM. Neutropenia is transient, is not associated with increased susceptibility to infection, and ordinarily does not require discontinuation of PROGLYCEM. Skin rash, headache, weakness, and malaise may also occur. Other adverse reactions: Cardiovascular: Hypotension occurs occasionally, which may be augmented by thiazide diuretics given concurrently.…
Who shouldn’t take diazoxide
PROGLYCEM is contraindicated in patients with: Functional hypoglycemia Hypersensitivity to diazoxide, any of the excipients in PROGLYCEM, or other thiazides
Diazoxide drug interactions
Since diazoxide is highly bound to serum proteins, it may displace other substances which are also bound to protein, such as bilirubin or coumarin and its derivatives, resulting in higher blood levels of these substances. Concomitant administration of PROGLYCEM and diphenylhydantoin may result in a loss of seizure control. Consider these potential interactions when administering PROGLYCEM. The concomitant administration of thiazides or other diuretics may potentiate the hyperglycemic and hyperuricemic effects of PROGLYCEM.
Every diazoxide product we track (1)
Same active ingredient — different manufacturer, form, price and FDA recall record. That last one is what our independent score measures.
Only one: Proglycem.
What diazoxide pills look like
Imprint codes, colour and shape from the FDA’s labelling data. Match the imprint on your pill — or search any imprint.
How long diazoxide keeps
No diazoxide label we read sets a separate limit for after opening, but they do specify how it must be stored — and the stability behind any date assumes those conditions.
Does diazoxide expire? The in-use limits and storage rules from its labelsWhat people report to the FDA about diazoxide
The FDA Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS) collects reports from patients and clinicians. It holds 872 reports naming diazoxide, and the FDA flagged 78% of those reports as serious. The effects reported most often — leaving out reports about overdose, misuse or the condition being treated, which dominate the raw list for common medicines:
- hypoglycaemia89 reports
- oedema peripheral59 reports
- hyperglycaemia58 reports
- oedema57 reports
- fluid retention44 reports
- weight increased35 reports
- blood glucose increased34 reports
- peripheral swelling34 reports
Read these as a signal, not a rate. A report does not mean diazoxide caused the effect — anyone can file one, and many describe people taking several medicines for several conditions. Crucially there is no denominator: FAERS does not record how many people took the drug, so these counts cannot be turned into “X% of patients” — a bigger number often just means a more widely used or more talked-about drug. Duplicates exist, and publicity drives reporting. For what is actually established, read the FDA label section above.
Source: openFDA drug/event (FAERS), retrieved July 25, 2026.
Related calculators
Frequently asked questions
What is diazoxide?
PROGLYCEM ® (diazoxide) oral suspension is a nondiuretic benzothiadiazine derivative taken orally for the management of symptomatic hypoglycemia. PROGLYCEM oral suspension contains 50 mg of diazoxide in each milliliter and has a chocolate-mint flavor; alcohol content is approximately 7.25%. Other ingredients include sorbitol solution, chocolate cream flavor, propylene glycol, magnesium aluminum silicate, carboxymethylcellulose sodium, mint flavor, sodium benzoate, methylparaben, poloxamer 188, propylparaben, and purified water. Hydrochloric acid or sodium hydroxide may be added to adjust pH.
Can you take diazoxide with other medicines?
It depends on the medicine. We check it against the FDA labels rather than guessing: our interaction checker searches each drug's own label for the other and quotes what it says, naming the section it came from. Run diazoxide against whatever else you take — and remember that a label not naming a drug is not the same as that combination being safe.
What forms does diazoxide come in?
Across the brands we track, diazoxide is currently marketed as suspension, per the FDA's National Drug Code Directory. Each form is dosed differently — follow the label for the exact product you were prescribed.
Is there a generic diazoxide?
We do not currently list a generic-labelled diazoxide product. That does not always mean none exists — it means none appears under a generic name in the FDA data we track. Ask your pharmacist.
Cite this page
- APA
- pharmaranks. (2026, July 24). Diazoxide: uses, dosing, side effects & brands. https://pharmaranks.com/drugs/diazoxide
- MLA
- “Diazoxide: uses, dosing, side effects & brands.” pharmaranks, 24 July 2026, https://pharmaranks.com/drugs/diazoxide.
We summarise public FDA and NIH sources — for a clinical claim, cite the primary source we link to as well.
Sources: FDA openFDA drug label, National Drug Code Directory, and Enforcement (recall) database. This page reproduces public FDA data and is not medical advice. Dosing is set by your prescriber.
Read the full FDA label for diazoxide on DailyMed (NIH) ↗.