With Diabetes Type II, when lifestyle changes do not adequately control your blood sugars, only then will other medications be added. For overweight people, metformin (Glucophage) is usually the first choice of therapy prescribed.

 

Only if a single tablet does not control your condition will another treatment be added. Finally, if a combination of tablets fails to control your blood sugars, injections such as incretin-based therapy, an amylin analogue, or insulin can be used.


 As different drug groups work in different ways, combining medicines can be very useful in treating resistance diabetes. Low doses of a combination of drugs allow for excellent blood sugar control without suffering the side effects caused by high doses of a single drug.

 

Rarely would a Type II diabetic patient start therapy on insulin. Insulin treatment is usually the last resort in treating this illness and is generally added to a patients regime after oral tablets and non-insulin injections have not controlled blood sugars.

 

Diabetic Tablets fall into the following groups:

 

 

 

Biguanides 

 

Drugs which reduce the livers manufacture of sugar from foods.  Metformin is the most widely used of these. We have written a blog on Metformin (Glucophage)

 

 

 

Incretin based therapies

 

These act in two ways. They slow the absorption of sugar from food (so regularising blood sugars) and reduce the livers' production of sugars from foods. Within this group of medications, there are two main types:

 

  • DPP-4 Inhibitors and GLP-1 Analogs which include Linagliptin (Trajenta®), Exenatide (Byetta®), Liraglutide (Victoza®), Sitagliptin (Januvia®), Saxagliptin (Onglyza®) 
  • Thiazolidinediones encourage sugar removal from the bloodstream (and so reduce insulin resistance). Examples of these include Pioglitazone (Actos) (preferred over rosiglitazone (Avandia).   We have a short article on these newer drugs which you may like to read.

 

 

 

Insulin Releasing Pills (Secretagogues)

 

These stimulate the beta cell of the pancreas (the organ which is involved in insulin production) to secrete insulin. When insulin increases, blood sugars are reduced or controlled. The three main types of Secretagogues medicines are 

 

  • Sulfonylureas and glinides
  • Second-generation include glibenlamide (daonil), gliclazide,(diamicron). 
  • Third-generation drugs include rx4 (Amaryl). 

 

We have a blog on this drug group called Diabetic Medicines: Diamicron

 

 

Starch blockers: 

 

These slow down sugar absorption from the gut. They are rarely used.

  

 

 

Amylin analogues

 

These are Injections that reduce sugar production in the liver and slow the absorption of food. Examples include Pramlintide (Symlin)

 

 

 

 

 

Ann O’Flynn B.Pharm, MA, BSc, MPSI

 

Ann is the owner of dPharmacy and has a particular interest in Health foods and supplements. Ann is a Tutor pharmacist and has gained numerous qualifications in alternative therapies - which she uses alongside her extensive clinical training. If you have any queries on medicines or health foods please reach out to us by email, text or phone.

 

 

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Disclaimer

Please be aware that the information on our site is for information only. While we hope you find it helpful, it is not our intention for our articles to be used as a basis for diagnosis or treatment. If you suspect you may have a health issue or wish to start taking any medicine, please consult your pharmacist, doctor or contact us directly. You can get in touch with us by phone, email, online chat or text. We would be delighted to run through any concerns you may have.  Our goal is to deliver health directly to you - pleasantly and effectively. However, dPharmacy will not accept responsibility for any side effects or health damages from the use of medicines offered on this site.