If you are having trouble managing your type 2 diabetes with diet and exercise alone, it is likely that your doctor may prescribe an oral diabetic medication to improve your blood glucose control. Some people with type 2 diabetes may also require insulin at some point, but oral medications are almost always given an adequate trial before moving on to insulin. Sometimes, insulin therapy will be combined with an oral medication.
There are 5 main classes of diabetic medications for type 2 diabetes – sulfonylureas, alpha-glucosidase inhibitors, biguanides, meglitinides and thiazolidinediones. In addition, combination drugs, which combine medications across two classes of drugs, are also prescribed. These drugs are helpful in stimulating insulin production or inhibiting the production of glucose, hence controlling a normal blood glucose level.
Sulfonylureas, the most commonly prescribed diabetic drug, work by causing the pancreas to release more insulin, which in turn lowers blood glucose levels. For this reason, sulfonylureas may no be effective for people with long-standing diabetes who have lost most pancreatic cell function.
Another type of diabetic medication, alpha-glucosidase inhibitors are also known as ” starch blockers”and consist of Glyset and Precose. This is because they work by slowing digestion and blocking the enzymes responsible for breaking down the carbohydrates. Thus, these diabetic drugs must be taken before each meal in order to be effective.
Meglitinides are short-acting oral hypoglycemic agents that bind to and stimulate the insulin-producing beta cells of the pancreas in response to the level of glucose in the bloodstream. Taken before a meal, meglitinides can boost what is known as first phase insulin release, the production of insulin that is a response to the initial boost of carb-generated blood glucose after a meal. Prandin and Starlix are examples of such diabetic medication which can be taken anywhere from right before up to thirty minutes prior to a meal.
Diabetic drugs are never a substitute for appropriate diet and exercise in the treatment of type 2 diabetes and ignoring these other two fundamentals of diabetes management is a recipe for disaster!