Medication and Devices
People with non-insulin dependent diabetes who can't achieve adequate control with diet, exercise and weight loss, need medication. Most will be able to manage with oral medication, but some will have to switch to insulin. (by NN/DFI )
Insulin
Insulin is broken down in the stomach if taken by mouth, therefore it must be given by injection. It may be an unpleasant prospect to have to take insulin injections every day, but there could be advantages.
Insulin preparations often consist of insulin in a pen system. This is a complete injection system which includes both an insulin reservoir and syringe. With it, most people can treat themselves easily and virtually painlessly.
Fast- and slow-acting insulins
Insulin preparations are either fast-acting, slow-acting, or a mixture of both. Your doctor will help you find the correct dosage for you. It will depend on your weight, your level of physical activity and your diet.
Temporary insulin treatment
If you treat your diabetes with oral medication and need surgery or develop a serious illness, you will need to take insulin temporarily. The only potential side effect of insulin is that the blood sugar level can fall too low. In that case, you must immediately eat sugar or drink a sugary liquid.
Oral medication
Oral medication in the form of tablets is used to treat non-insulin dependent diabetes when diet and exercise have not achieved good results over a reasonable period of time. The tablets contain substances to increase the production of insulin by the pancreas and/or to increase the uptake of sugar by individual cells in your body.
Oral medication only works for people who still produce some insulin themselves. If you forget to take a tablet, your blood sugar can rise too high. Youll need to check your blood sugar and, possibly, supplement the tablets with some insulin. Never make up for a missed dose by doubling the next. This can cause an overdose of medication which will make your blood sugar fall too low. Symptoms of this include: dizziness, sweating, trembling and headache. If you develop these symptoms, you must immediately eat or drink some form of quickly absorbed carbohydrate such as sugar, cookies or fruit juice. More serious cases that lead to loss of consciousness must be treated with glucagon or intravenous glucose.
Oral medications for diabetes fall into three groups with different mechanisms of action. The groups are: beta-cell stimulating drugs; biguanides; and glucosidase inhibitors. If you need to take other medications, always tell the doctor that you take oral medication for diabetes. The effect of your diabetes medication may be strengthened when combined with certain other drugs. Tablets from these three groups can be used separately, in combination with each other, or, if necessary, in combination with insulin.