Oral medication for Diabetes prevention
People with type 2 diabetes have 2 main problems regarding insulin.
1. They don’t produce enough
2. The insulin they do produce isn’t as effective as it should be “reduced insulin sensitivity”
They often take oral medication to help counteract these problems.
People who have pre diabetes are starting to develop those two problems. Lifestyle changes such as diet and exercise are highly successful in preventing the transition from pre diabetes to type 2 diabetes. Quite often, these lifestyle changes alone are sufficient in the prevention of diabetes, and can even get patients into the normal range from the pre diabetic range. Sometimes however, these lifestyle changes alone aren’t enough and oral medication is used. There are several types of oral medication that can be used for the prevention of diabetes. Here are a few:
- Sulfonylureas. These diabetes pills lower blood glucose by stimulating the pancreas to release more insulin.
- Biguanides. These diabetes pills improve insulin’s ability to move glucose into cells especially into the muscle cells. They also prevent the liver from releasing stored glucose. Metaformin is one example which is often used to help prevent diabetes.
- Thiazolidinediones. These diabetes pills improve insulin’s effectiveness (improving insulin resistance) in muscle and in fat tissue. They lower the amount of glucose released by the liver and make fat cells more sensitive to the effects of insulin.
- Alpha-glucosidase inhibitors. These drugs block enzymes that help digest starches, slowing the rise in blood glucose. Precose is one example of this type.
- Combination therapy. There are several combination diabetes pills that combine two medications into one tablet.
Both Precose and Metaformin, along with dietary improvements and exercise, have been shown to delay or prevent the onset of type 2 diabetes.
See if you can lower your blood sugar on your own, through diet and exercise, without having to rely on medication. No medication is without side effects.
If you are truly unsuccessful, talk to your doctor about taking oral medication to prevent type 2 diabetes.
Tags: medication, Prevention