In addition to injected insulin, diabetes medication comes in the form of pills known as oral hypoglycemic agents, which lower the blood sugar level. They have been used since 1956 when the first of the drugs became available. Because the American Diabetes Association recommends thai the basis of treatment in most cases of non-insulin-dependent diabetes should be diet, they say that oral drugs (as well as insulin) should most usually be prescribed only after diet therapy alone has failed. At times, however,they can be. used as weight reduction is being achieved and medical conditions require blood sugar to be lowered.

Your physician may Initially recommend that you use the blood sugar-lowering pills to determine if you can control your disease that way. Along with taking the pills it will be important to follow your diet, exercise, try to remove some of the stressful factors from your life, and monitor your sugar level. This may be effective for patients who are still producing insulin but not enough of it to control their blood sugar without these drugs. Diabetes pills are not oral insulin. While they can significantly reduce the blood sugar level in non-insulin dependent diabetics, they reduce the blood sugar level only to a small degree in most insulin dependent diabetics. If the pills are effective, they cause the pancreas to produce extra insulin.

The pills work only if the pancreas can still produce insulin. If you are a stress severely afflicted non-insulin-dependent diabetic, your. physician may prescribe the pills for you. Pills may be prescribed for non-insuln­dependent diabetics whose activities don’t permit regular meals or for those whose irregular schedules would interfere with the use of insulin. Some people, such as those with poor vision, have difficulty using syringes and are not given insulin for that reason if sufficient, though less than ideal, control can be achieved. If necessary, a support system involving friends, relatives, neighbors, or your health care team may be developed. Such a system can provide help in working out methods for your treatment. The various oral medications available have different instructions and different degrees of effectiveness for different people. Some are taken only once a day, and others have to be taken as often as three times a day.

Hypoglycemic reactions are much less frequent with pills because pills work more slowly than injected insulin and are usually less potent. If you take insulin, the blood sugar level goes down, whether or not you eat. With pills the pancreas still produces some insulin as a response to the chemical action within your body. Some researchers say that use of pills makes the body tissues more receptive to the insulin that is produced, and thus the insulin you have is used more efficiently. Another advantage of pills is that you will be less hungry than with injected insulin, because while your blood sugar won’t drop as low or as fast, your appetite won’t be stimulated as much. If you take oral medication for diabetes, it. is important to know that these pills may Intel:act unfavorably with some other medications. For example, aspirin and some prescription drugs intensify the effects of diabetes pills. Additionally, you should know that some drugs, such as diuretics, steroids, nicotinic acids, and birth control pills may interfere with the effectiveness of diabetes pills. That’s why it is essential that you tell your physician that you are taking other medications if you are advised to take a medication for your diabetes.

Share This

This entry was posted on Monday, October 15th, 2007 at 5:16 am and is filed under Diabetes Care. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.