High levels of blood glucose can cause health problems over-time. Anti-diabetic medications help to keep these blood glucose levels steady. The types of anti-diabetic medications you take depend on your type of diabetes, your schedule, and your current health conditions.
If you have type 1 diabetes, your body no longer makes insulin. This means that you have to take it. Other anti-diabetic medications may also be prescribed if insulin is not enough to regulate your blood sugar.
Type 2 diabetes patients are usually prescribed medications. Normally, treatment starts with metformin, and if this does not solve the problem then other medications may be prescribed. Types of anti-diabetic medications include insulin, sulfonylureas, alph-glucosidase inhibitors, biguanides, meglitinides, and thiazolidinediones. They all work in different ways:
- Sulfonylureas work by increasing the amount of insulin released from the beta cells in your pancreas.
- Alpha-glucosidase inhibitors allow glucose to enter your bloodstream more slowly, regulating
