Short answer: The glimepiride label starts at 1 mg or 2 mg once daily with breakfast or the first main meal. People at higher risk of low blood sugar, such as older people or those with kidney problems, start at 1 mg. After 2 mg a day, the dose can go up by 1 mg or 2 mg, no more often than every 1 to 2 weeks, to a maximum of 8 mg once daily.
This is what the FDA label says. Follow your prescriber. Your prescriber may use a different dose or pace than the label's standard schedule.
What Glimepiride Tablets is approved for: Glimepiride is a sulfonylurea approved, along with diet and exercise, to improve blood sugar control in adults with type 2 diabetes. It is not for type 1 diabetes or diabetic ketoacidosis (section 1). Amaryl is the original brand; this page uses a current generic label because Amaryl has no current label on DailyMed.
Source
Glimepiride Tablets, USP 1 mg, 2 mg and 4 mg, prescribing information. Aurobindo Pharma. DailyMed, version published April 13, 2026. DailyMed setid 28eefc95-d92e-4555-b6c5-2933860b0610
Glimepiride is a tablet taken by mouth once daily with breakfast or the first main meal of the day (section 2.1).
It comes as 1 mg, 2 mg and 4 mg tablets (section 3).
The table below is the label's schedule, from the Dosage and Administration section. Numbers are copied exactly; the section is in brackets.
| Step | What the label says |
|---|---|
| Starting dose | 1 mg or 2 mg once daily |
| Starting dose at higher risk of low blood sugar (for example older people or kidney impairment) | 1 mg once daily |
| Increases after reaching 2 mg daily | 1 mg or 2 mg steps based on blood sugar response |
| How often the dose goes up | No more frequently than every 1 to 2 weeks |
| Maximum | 8 mg once daily |
A conservative titration is recommended for people at higher risk of low blood sugar.
With colesevelam, glimepiride is taken at least 4 hours before colesevelam, because colesevelam lowers glimepiride levels.
The recommended starting dose for all people with type 2 diabetes and kidney impairment is 1 mg daily.
The label advises caution when starting and increasing glimepiride in older people, since it is cleared by the kidneys and low blood sugar may be harder to recognize.
The glimepiride label gives no missed-dose rule. The prescribing information does not say what to do if a dose is missed.
More on this: missed a dose of Glimepiride Tablets.
When switching from a longer-acting sulfonylurea such as chlorpropamide, the two drugs' effects may overlap for 1 to 2 weeks, and the label calls for watching for low blood sugar.
In Dose Track you set up Glimepiride Tablets as a protocol with the dose and schedule your prescriber gave you. A protocol can hold dose steps, each with its own dose and length in days or weeks, so a step-up plan like the one on the label can be entered once and the app moves to the next step on its own. Reminders follow the schedule, and every dose is logged with the date and time, so you can see which step you are on and when your last dose was. The app follows what you enter; it does not choose or change a dose.
This page is what the FDA label says, in plain words. It is not medical advice. Follow your prescriber, and ask them or your pharmacist about anything here.