If you're living with type 2 diabetes, you're actually not alone. According to the CDC, one in 10 people within the United States has diabetes. However, despite significant advances in diabetes treatment over the past 20 years, lower than half of individuals with diabetes actually reach their blood sugar goals.
In part, this will likely be because physicians could also be slow to make changes to a patient's treatment plan, even when the patient's treatment goals are usually not being met. One reason for this would be the large number of medication currently available. And yet, waiting too long to regulate treatment for type 2 diabetes can have long-lasting negative effects on the body that may increase the danger of heart and kidney disease and other complications.
What is type 2 diabetes?
Type 2 diabetes is a chronic disease during which the body loses its ability to make use of glucose, or sugar, as fuel. Our body produces a hormone called insulin that permits sugar from the carbohydrates in our food to enter the cells and be used as energy. In type 2 diabetes, the flexibility of insulin to do its job is compromised, and over time the body actually produces less of it. This means less sugar within the cells for fuel, and more sugar within the blood where it may well't be used. Over time, high blood sugar can damage vital organs resembling the guts, kidneys, nerves, and eyes.
Some risk aspects that put people prone to developing type 2 diabetes, resembling genetics and age, are usually not modifiable. Other risk aspects, resembling being obese or obese, could be modified. This is why losing 5% to 10% of 1's baseline weight through healthy eating and physical activity is the backbone of type 2 diabetes management.
Most diabetes medications effectively lower blood sugar.
The blood sugar goal for many adults with diabetes is an A1C of lower than 7%. (A1C is a measure of an individual's average blood sugar over a period of about three months.) In many individuals, weight-reduction plan and exercise are usually not enough to achieve this goal, and a number of medications could also be needed. Metformin is a tried and tested drug that has been used for a long time to treat type 2 diabetes, and most experts recommend it as first-line therapy. It is inexpensive, secure, effective, and well tolerated by most individuals.
When metformin doesn't control blood sugar adequately, one other drug have to be added. It is at this point that doctors and patients must select amongst the various drugs and drug classes available to treat type 2 diabetes. In general, for individuals who have a low risk of heart disease or who haven't any history of diabetic kidney disease, most diabetes medications which might be added to metformin effectively lower blood sugar. and might lower A1C by as much as 7 percent.
So, how you can select a drug? Each person with diabetes has their very own goals, needs, and preferences. Before selecting a drugs, it's necessary to ask some pertinent questions: Is my blood sugar on course? Is this medicine low cost? Do I even have heart or kidney disease? What are the unwanted side effects? Is it a pill or injection, and the way often is it taken?
Regardless of which treatment is chosen, American Diabetes Association Standards of Care recommends reassessing diabetes control every three to 6 months, then making treatment changes if needed.
New Diabetes Drugs: Weight Benefits and Risks
Recently, latest treatment options for type 2 diabetes—glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists and sodium glucose cotransporter-2 (SGLT2) inhibitors—have been highly publicized. These latest classes of medication lower blood sugar and still have heart and kidney advantages.
GLP-1 receptor agonists are drugs that lower blood sugar by helping your body's insulin work more effectively after you eat. All but considered one of the drugs on this group are self-injected under the skin, either each day or weekly. Many of them, resembling liraglutide (Vactoza), semaglutide (Ozempic), and dolaglutide (Trulicity), is shown To reduce the danger of heart disease in people who find themselves at high risk for it, or who have already got heart disease. They also promote weight reduction. Some individuals who take GLP-1 receptor agonists can have unwanted side effects resembling nausea and vomiting, and in rare cases pancreatitis.
SGLT2 inhibitors resembling empagliflozin (Jardiance), canagliflozin (Invokana), dapagliflozin (Farxiga), and ertugliflozin (Steglatro) are also a brand new class of medication that work by stopping your kidneys from reabsorbing sugar back into your body. . They even have cardiovascular advantages, especially in individuals with heart disease, and is shown To slow the progression of diabetic kidney disease. Other advantages include lowering blood pressure and promoting weight reduction. Use of those medications may increase the danger of genital yeast infection, especially in women. A rare but serious side effect of SGLT2 inhibitors is diabetic ketoacidosis, which is a medical emergency that needs to be avoided before major surgery, or in the event you are sick or fasting. can
While these diabetes medications actually offer greater than just blood sugar improvement, they're expensive and out of reach for a lot of. That's why it's necessary to have an open and honest conversation together with your doctor about what's necessary to you and what matches your goals and priorities. Managing a posh disease like diabetes takes a whole team, of which you might be a key team member.