Diabetes

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Blood test	Diabetic blood circulation in foot	Diabetic retinopathy	Endocrine glands
Food and insulin release	Insulin production and diabetes	Insulin pump	Insulin pump
Insulin test	Islets of Langerhans	Monitor blood glucose - series	Pancreas
Type I diabetes

HOW TO TAKE MEDICATION

Medications to treat diabetes include insulin and glucose-lowering pills called oral hypoglycemic drugs.

Persons with type 1 diabetes cannot make their own insulin, so daily insulin injections are needed. Insulin does not come in pill form. Injections that are generally needed one to four times per day. Some people use an insulin pump, which is worn at all times and delivers a steady flow of insulin throughout the day. Other people may use a new type of inhaled insulin.

Insulin preparations differ in how quickly they start to work and how long they remain active. Sometimes different types of insulin are mixed together in a single injection. The types of insulin to use, the doses needed, and the number of daily injections are chosen by a health care professional trained to provide diabetes care.

People who need insulin are taught to give themselves injections by their health care providers or diabetes educators.

Unlike type 1 diabetes, type 2 diabetes may respond to treatment with exercise, diet, and medicines taken by mouth. There are several types of medicines used to lower blood glucose in type 2 diabetes. They fall into one of three groups:

1. Medications that increase insulin production by the pancreas. They include glimepiride, glipizide, glyburide, repaglinide, nateglinide, and sitaglyptin.
2. Medications that increase sensitivity to insulin. These include metformin, rosiglitazone, and pioglitazone.
3. Medications that delay absorption of glucose from the gut. These include acarbose and miglitol.

There are some injectable medicines used to lower blood sugar. They include exenatide and pramlintide.

Most persons with type 2 diabetes will need more than one medication for good blood sugar control within 3 years of starting their first medication. Different groups of medications may be combined or used with insulin.

Some people with type 2 diabetes find they no longer need medication if they lose weight and increase activity, because when their ideal weight is reached, their own insulin and a careful diet can control their blood glucose levels.