An Explanation Of The Most Common Medications Used In The Treatment Of Type 1 And Type 2 Diabetes

The words diabetes and insulin go hand in hand

. But did you know that there is more than one type of insulin? There are both long acting and rapid response types of insulin that allow diabetics to fine tune their medications to their lifestyles. The majority of Type 2 diabetics do not need insulin to treat their diabetes. They rely on exercise, a healthy diet and medications that encourage their bodies to produce more insulin and control high blood pressure.

Type 1 Diabetes Medications

Insulin is a hormone that is naturally produced by the body, in the pancreas. It helps to regulate blood sugar by breaking down the sugars and carbohydrates in the food we eat into energy. Because most Type 1 diabetics cannot produce any insulin, they must inject it in order to avoid dangerously high blood glucose levels. Insulin can be broken down into two types; long-acting and short-acting.

Long-acting Insulin- NPH Insulin are generic examples of longer lasting blood sugar regulating medications. Although these types of insulin may not be active for several hours after injection their long lasting nature helps to control blood glucose levels over an extended period of time, making it a perfect bed time dose. The diabetic can use this insulin in combination with a faster-acting insulin to combat blood sugar highs from meals to keep their levels at a steady rate.

Rapid Response Insulin- Lispro Insulin and Aspart Insulin are two of the generic names for quick acting insulin that begin breaking down the carbohydrates and sugars in the blood stream upon injection. The ability to mix fast and slow acting insulin in the same syringe helps to cut down on the number of injections that a diabetic must take daily.

Type 2 Diabetes Medications

Exenatide is an inject-able medication that encourages the body to create more insulin. This is rapid response type of medication that is used before meals to control blood sugar levels. Sulfonylurea is a similar medication that increases the bodys natural insulin production.

Liraglutide (generic name) is a medication that lowers blood glucose levels but will only act in the presence of high blood glucose levels. This acts as a type of fail-safe that can prevent over dosing and inadvertently lowering the blood glucose to a dangerous level.

Metformin is another (generic name) medication that helps to balance blood sugar levels while also treating secondary diabetic issues such as high blood pressure. The fewer medications that a diabetic has to worry about the better, so those, like metformin, that are multi-functional are certainly useful to have.

Blood Pressure Medications: There are many different ways for doctors to treat high blood pressure, such as; beta blockers, calcium channel blockers, ACE inhibitors and diuretics.

New combinations of these drugs and medications are being presented all the time, making diabetics lives that much more manageable. Every decade brings more and more advancements and positive technologies like the mobile pump that help to lift the restrictions that regulate the diabetics life.

by: Devon Delaney

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