Diabetes - A Disease Of The Modern Age By Trevor Dace There are two major variations of diabetes – Type 1 and Type 2, and they are quite different in cause and treatment regime. There also exists a type of diabetes called gestational diabetes that is Read more...
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Diabetes Treatment Drugs Can Provide An Alternative To Insulin When we think of diabetes treatment drugs, insulin is usually the first word that springs to mind. However, many Type 2 diabetics do not need to take insulin to control their blood sugar levels, at least not in the early stages. There are a wide variety of diabetes treatment drugs available in tablet form that your doctor is likely to prescribe before you reach the stage where insulin is necessary. A few of the type 2 diabetes treatments available are discusses below, along with their potential side effects.
Some diabetes treatment drugs work by promoting insulin production in the body. One example of this type of diabetes treatment is sulphonylureas, which comes in a number of forms including glimepiride, chlorpropamide, and glibenclamide. There are a few side effects associated with sulphonylureas, the most significant being a lumpy red rash on the skin which occurs in rare cases. They can also cause nausea, weight gain and an upset stomach. Sulphonylureas are unlikely to be recommended for older diabetics as they work over a long period of time and cause blood sugar to drop too low causing a hypo.
An alternative diabetes treatment drug, which limits the manufacture of glucose in the liver, is biguanide. This also helps to carry insulin to the body's cells, and comes in a variety of forms including metformin. The side effects associated with this diabetes treatment drug are fairly mild. Biguanide can cause nausea and diarrhoea, but these can be reduced when tablets are taken with food, and rapidly disappear when the treatment is taken regularly over a period of time.
Thiazolidinediones are a relatively new diabetes type 2 treatment drug, that comes in two distinct forms, rosiglitazone and pioglitazone. This drug is designed to overcome insulin resistance in the body, enabling type 2 diabetics to use their naturally produced insulin more effectively. Side effects of this diabetes treatment include weight gain, fluid retention and headaches. It can also lead to upper respiratory track infections in rare cases.
Another diabetes treatment that can be used before insulin becomes necessary is prandial glucose regulators. This works by increasing the amount of insulin manufactured by the pancreas, and are effective over a short period, reducing the chances of experiencing a hypo due to overly low blood sugar. Prandial glucose regulators should be taken three times a day, and taking them with food should minimise the side defects such as an upset stomach and nausea. Another potential side effect of prandial glucose inhibitors is excessive weight gain, but this can be managed by altering your dosage.
Some diabetes treatment drugs reduce the rate at with
starchy foods are absorbed into the blood, thus ensuring that your blood sugar level does not rise too rapidly. These are known as alpha glucose inhibitors, or acarbose. There are a few side effects associated with acarbose, such as wind, bloating and diarrhoea, but these can be lessened by beginning with a low dose and building up to three tablets a day.
Type 2 diabetics are often deficient in a hormone known as incretin, which limits the amount of glucose produced by the liver, whilst also controlling insulin production. Taking a diabetes treatment known as DPP-4 inhibitors can increase incretin levels, enabling type 2 diabetics to better control their blood sugar. This diabetes treatment should nit be used by patients taking insulin, but can be very effective when used with drugs such as thiazolidinediones. The side effects associated with DPP-4 inhibitors depend largely on which other diabetes treatment drugs they are taken with.
At some point most type 2 diabetics will find that they do need to switch to insulin to treat their condition. This is often because after many years of diabetes treatment drugs the pancreas is no longer able to produce sufficient insulin. Although the idea of insulin injections can be terrifying to some people, the needles used are actually quite small as the injection occurs just under the skin. Insulin is injected into the stomach, buttocks or thighs, and the injection sites are varied to reduce insulin build up. For those that can't face injections, the switch form diabetes treatment drugs to insulin can be eased by the use of an inhaler or insulin pump.
Lisa Janse is a professional writer specialising in health topics. Learn more about living with Diabetes and read more useful and interesting articles on Diabetes Diets at www.sugardiabetes.net
Additional
Resources Types Of Diabetes By Peter Lenkefi, Fri Dec 9th Before we start discussion about type of diabetes we must knowwhat exactly is diabetes?Diabetes is a disorder of metabolism—the digestion system of ourbody for growth and energy. Almost Read more...
Additional
Resources What Is Diabetes? By Peter Lenkefi, Fri Dec 9th Diabetes is a disorder of metabolism the way our bodies usedigested food for growth and energy. Most of the food we eat isbroken down into glucose, the form of sugar in the blood.Glucose is the Read more...
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