When your meal plan and exercise routine can no longer keep your blood glucose in target, your doctor may recommend that you begin to take pills for your diabetes. Some pills work to help your body use glucose better. Others force your pancreas to make more insulin. They can make your own insulin work better or help your body make more insulin.  In fact, several different medications may be needed because each works a different way. Contact your healthcare professional to learn what is appropriate for your specific diabetes management program.

Types of Oral Medication
There are many different medicines that can help people with diabetes control their blood sugar:

•Sulfonylureas increase insulin secretion from the beta cells in the pancreas. Low blood sugar can occur in people taking sulfonylureas.

•Glinides also increase insulin secretion from the beta cells in the pancreas, but have a shorter duration of effect, so the glinides are good at targeting the postmeal blood sugar. Low blood sugar can occur in people taking glinides.

•Biguanides (Metformin™) primarily work by reducing the amount of glucose produced by the liver.

•Thiazolidinediones work on the liver and on tissues to help the tissues use blood glucose more effectively.

•Alpha-glucosidase inhibitors delay the absorption of glucose from the gut and lower the post-meal glucose.

Incretins are a group of hormones released from the intestines as a post-meal response to food intake. There are a number of incretin-based therapies that target postprandial (after meal) control:

•Pramlintide (Symlin™) is an injectable that slows the rate at which food leaves your stomach and can be used for type 1 or type 2 diabetes.

•Exenatide (Byetta™) is an injectable that stimulates the utilization of insulin, delays stomach emptying, helps you feel full and is used in people with type 2 diabetes.

•Sitagliptin (Januvia™) is a pill that is a DPP-4 inhibitor than can help to increase insulin release from your pancreas.

Remember, you need to test your blood sugar levels regularly and work with your healthcare team to make sure your medication is working the way it should. For products that can help you test your blood sugar and track your results, click here.