Things to Know about diabetes medicine

Diabetes is a chronic health disease that occurs when your pancreas loses its ability to produce a hormone called insulin or when your body cannot use the insulin produced by your pancreas.

The condition, when you cannot produce insulin or use it effectively is known as hyperglycemia. The glucose level in your blood increases, and in the long run, it damages your body and fails various organs and tissues.

Types of diabetes:

• Type 1 diabetes: very little or at times no insulin is produced by the pancreas.
• Type 2 diabetes: the body doesn't make good use of the produced insulin
• Gestational diabetes: high blood glucose level during pregnancy causing complications in both mother and child. Women have an increased risk of developing type2 diabetes after 3 to 6 years of delivery. Additionally, exposure to hyperglycemia in the womb results in a high chance of a child becoming overweight or obese and is associated with type 2 diabetes.

What are the various medicines to manage Type 1 Diabetes?

For type 1 diabetes, patients must take insulin as their bodies can no longer make it. Insulin is of different types that work at different speeds and have other effects which last for varying lengths of time. To understand what insulin you need, ask your healthcare provider to measure your blood glucose and suggest your insulin type. 

Insulin is mainly taken with a needle and a syringe, an insulin pen, or an insulin pump. You need to take insulin several times a day with a needle and a syringe, even with meals. However, you can take small doses with an insulin pump throughout the day. Few people use inhalers, injection ports, and jet injectors to take insulin. 

What are the different medicines to manage Type 2 Diabetes?

After you are diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, you need to change your lifestyle. Type2 diabetes management includes healthy eating, regular exercise, weight loss, diabetes medication or insulin therapy, and blood sugar monitoring.

A few diabetes medications are listed below:

• Metformin (Fortamet, Glumetza): lowers glucose production in the liver and allows your body to use the insulin effectively.

Possible side effects: B-12 deficiency, nausea, abdominal pain, bloating and diarrhoea

• Sulfonylureas (Glyburide, Glipizide, Glimepiride): helps to secrete more insulin in the body.

Possible side effects: low blood sugar and weight gain

• Glinides (Repaglinide, Nateglinide): help to stimulate the pancreas to secrete more insulin.

Possible side effects: low blood sugar and weight gain

• Thiazolidinediones (Rosiglitazone, Pioglitazone): help the body tissues to become sensitive to insulin.

Possible side effects: congestive heart failure, bladder cancer (on consuming Pioglitazone), bone fractures, high cholesterol (on the consumption of Rosiglitazone), and weight gain

• DPP-4 inhibitors (Saxagliptin, Sitagliptin, Linagliptin) brings the blood sugar levels down.

Possible side effects: pancreatitis and joint pain

• GLP-1 receptor agonists (Exenatide, Liraglutide, Semaglutide): These are injectable medicines that slow down digestion and lower blood sugar levels.

Possible side effects: pancreatitis, nausea, vomiting, and diarrhoea

• SGLT2 inhibitors (Canagliflozin, Dapagliflozin, Empagliflozin) disrupt the blood filtering function in your kidney by restricting the flow back of glucose to the bloodstream.

Possible side effects: amputation and bone fractures (on the consumption of Canagliflozin), gangrene, vaginal yeast infections, urinary tract infections, low blood pressure, and high cholesterol

However, before you start taking medicine for diabetes, you need to understand your treatment plan and talk with your health provider. Ask them about your target blood sugar level, what to do if your blood glucose level goes extreme high or low, and any risks associated with your medicines. 

If you have started taking medicines or insulin, you still need to maintain a healthy diet and quit smoking. Additionally, get regular physical activities that will help you manage your diabetes.