WHAT’S HAPPENING TO YOUR BODY?
Experts now know that high blood glucose levels don’t just happen overnight. They believe that people who get type 2 diabetes have had high blood glucose levels for about 5 to 10 years. During that time, your pancreas was actually making more insulin than before just to keep the blood glucose normal. Eventually, the pancreas is no longer able to keep up and blood glucose levels begin to rise. Today, experts believe that by the time you are diagnosed with diabetes, you have already lost about half of your beta cells. These are the insulin-making cells in the pancreas. Over time, you will continue to lose more beta cells. Your body may still produce a lot of insulin, but it isn’t enough to keep your blood glucose on target. That’s one problem. The other problem is called insulin resistance—the cells in your body aren’t able to make use of the insulin you do make.
AN EARLIER START FOR DIABETES MEDICINES?
Some diabetes experts are beginning to suggest that you may be better off starting on one or more oral diabetes medicines soon after you get diabetes.
They give four reasons:
- It is now known that type 2 diabetes progresses over time. Even if you were just diagnosed, you most likely had high blood glucose levels for many years.
- Diabetes medicines that help slow down the loss of your insulin-making cells are now available.
- The availability of so many diabetes medicines means there are more ways to take care of your high blood glucose.
- The closer to normal your blood glucose is over the years, the lower your risk for long-term problems of diabetes.
TODAY’S DIABETES MEDICINES
Before 1995 there was one category of oral diabetes medicine. Today there are five categories. The medicines work in different ways. Some of them help your pancreas make more insulin. Others help decrease your body’s insulin resistance. This is why you may take more than one diabetes medicine or one that combines two medicines. The chart at the end of this article shows you the types of diabetes pills now available and how they work.
STEPS FOR YOU TO TAKE
If your health care provider suggests that you need to take a diabetes pill, don’t put it off. Start to take it while you continue to eat healthfully and stay physically active nearly every day.
Even if you are on a medicine, take small and steady steps to eat healthier, become more physically active and lose weight if you need to.
If your blood glucose stays high, talk with your health care provider or your Walgreens pharmacist. Your health care provider may need to increase the dose of the medicine you take or add a new type of medicine.
MEDICINES EVEN FOR PRE-DIABETES
Studies have shown that the best steps to take if you have pre-diabetes—when you have blood glucose that is high, but not high enough to be called diabetes—are
- to eat healthy,
- be physically active and
- lose weight if you need to.
We also know that losing about 10 to 20 pounds and being active 30 minutes daily, five times per week (150 minutes each week) can help prevent or delay type 2 diabetes.
What is not yet known is whether adding an oral diabetes medicine could do more to help prevent or delay type 2 diabetes. The Diabetes Prevention Program, a large U.S study, showed that lifestyle changes with the help of a coach worked better than the diabetes medicine Metformin. Ongoing studies are looking at whether the Glitazone type of diabetes medicines might help, as well. No study has yet combined healthy eating, activity, weight loss, and a diabetes medicine to see how together, these may prevent or delay type 2 diabetes.
