Treatment of Type 2 Diabetes

Although diabetes cannot be cured, it can be managed by various treatments including the use of diabetes medications. These include several types of oral and injectable medications and the various types of insulin. While most people with type 2 diabetes take either diabetes pills, insulin or both, a few can keep their blood sugar in control with careful meal planning and regular activity.

Common treatment stages for type 2 diabetes

Diabetes is different for each person. Depending on the stage of your diabetes and your body's response to certain therapies, your healthcare provider may prescribe one or more treatments. For example, you may be able to control your diabetes with diabetes pills alone or you may need more than one pill to control your blood sugar. Some people may use pills plus incretin mimetic injections. For others, it may make more sense to start with insulin injections instead of pills. It's common to change your level of therapy from time to time, depending on the stage of your diabetes.

Meal-planning and exercise are important parts of diabetes management, regardless of the type of medicine used. Always talk with your healthcare provider before beginning an exercise program.

The steps below are common ways to treat diabetes. Your healthcare team will help you choose the best therapy for you.

Oral medications

Many people with type 2 diabetes are able to take diabetes pills to keep their blood sugar under control. These pills are not insulin. Instead, these pills work with the insulin your body makes. Some pills can help your body make more insulin. That is why diabetes pills can't be used in type 1 diabetes.

Different types of oral medicines lower blood sugar in different ways. The chart below shows the type of medications and how they work. Check with your healthcare provider to find out how your diabetes pills work.

Incretin mimetics

An incretin mimetic is a unique kind of drug for the treatment of type 2 diabetes that "mimics" many of the actions of naturally occurring hormones from the intestines, and can help the body make more of its own insulin. The most common side effects include nausea and vomiting. Low blood sugar can occur when used with a sulfonylurea.

Insulin

There are several forms of manufactured insulin to replace the insulin the body can't make. Most people use more than one kind of insulin to more closely mimic the way the body's own insulin would act. Low blood sugar is a possible side effect of all insulins