What other meds can I take for diabetes type 2 besides going on insulin?
I have tried Actos & Avandia in the past (retained water like crazy). I have also tried Metformin (my stomach cannot handle even 500mg). I have been taking only Januvia for a month, but it is not helping to control it enough. I eat a fairly good diabetic diet and walk every day. Should I get stricter still with my diet & exercise even more?
August 30th, 2010 at 1:12 am
I am also a diabetic. I had a very hard time with Metformin until I took it when I went to bed. It never hurt my stomach after that.
August 30th, 2010 at 1:26 am
Ok, I live with a Diabetic, and I have learned that a CHIP diet works really well if you follow it. CHIP has helped the guy that I live with a lot…you can look it up online at (I think anyways) CHIP.com or .org…im not sure…CHIP stands for Colinary Heart Improvement Program…check it out!
August 30th, 2010 at 1:41 am
Glyburide along with Metformin is a common combination for non-insulin. But if you can’t tolerate the Metformin, I am not sure if glyburide would be enough. You’d need to talk to your doctor.
It really depends on what your sugars are running. Diet and exercise are always very important for your diabetes.
Again, you do need to see your doctor before starting or stopping medication.
Good luck.
August 30th, 2010 at 2:17 am
There are other medicines such as glyburide (DiaBeta, Micronase), glimepiride (Amaryl), or glipizide (Glucotrol) that you can take to help your pancreas increase secretion of insulin.
Insulin therapy is another great option but you seem resistant. There are many different types of insulin including one that you only use once a day.
What are your blood sugar levels like now?
Hang in there! I hope this helps!
August 30th, 2010 at 3:09 am
Sometimes you just need to take the Insulin. It is necessary to keep you from having problems with your eyes, kidneys, heart, brain, etc. Sounds as if U are doing all the right things. Don’t worry, you will get used to it & will work it into your life just like brushing your teeth! AND – U will feel so much better! Good health to you!
August 30th, 2010 at 3:34 am
my husband is on the metformin for his. he takes it at night before bed. it doesn’t irritate his stomach as bad that way. also, he completely cut out everything with aspartame in it. that includes most diet drinks. they’re supposed to be better for you as a diabetic, but something in the aspartame breaks down in your system and turns into formaldehyde. basically it poisons your body from the inside out. after he cut out the diet soda he was much better able to control his glucose levels. he also watched that he ate a larger amount of protein at each meal and fewer carbs. that seemed to help quite a bit also. good luck.
August 30th, 2010 at 3:38 am
None just watch your diet
August 30th, 2010 at 4:29 am
Those man made drugs, they’ll get you one way or another.
Get Chromiun Picolanate, Alpha lapoic Acid,and L-Carnatine from any health store. Thay help stableize Blood / Sugar and improve circulation and fight Neuropothy.
A good brand of Omega-3 Fish oil like “Nordic Naturals” will help to reduce inflamation.
I sure feel a lot better now, I take these about three times a day. Good luck
August 30th, 2010 at 5:05 am
Why consider your only option is medication. Consider instead how to get WELL again. All prescription medications are poison and all ‘treatments’ are meant to be ongoing and profitable.
August 30th, 2010 at 5:31 am
Sometimes insulin is best. It happened to me. Are you really watching your carbs?? I always found that they affect my body a lot, even in very small amounts. I too, went from drug to drug and was on multiple drugs. Have you tried Byetta?? It really works well, It’s injectable, but not an insulin. I does cause nausea for awhile, but I always took a Dramamine with the med. That worked really well. Januvia is a good drug, but it may take awhile to bring your readings down, a month is not long enough. Be patient and good luck If you try any of the things in your answers above, please be careful, they can have negative effects with your other drugs and they effect every one differently and basically with some people do absolutely no good.
August 30th, 2010 at 6:30 am
I cannot tolerate metformin – I wish I could.
I just started a new drug Byetta from Lilly which you inject but it is not insulin. I take this 10 units twice a day with 3 times a day Glucobay 50
August 30th, 2010 at 6:54 am
these are the things u could do………
.The best treatment for diabetes is insulin.make no mistake bout that
.The next steps include OHA’s like metformin,glibenclamide,rosiglitazone etc.
.The prob with insulin is that there is a chance to develop resistance.i.e u will need to take larger doses to maintain ur sugar levels.
.Resistance is more common in long term users and obese individuals.
.Resistance can b overcome by using drugs like rosiglitazone.
.So maintaining ideal wt is necessary.
.further more exercising increases glucose usage in the periphery bringing down sugar levels.
.If ur cholesterol levels r high supplementation with a statin generally helps.
diet should include large amount of fibres to reduce glucose absorption.
.but dont go 4 any of these witout consulting ur doctor.
August 30th, 2010 at 7:09 am
Maybe you can buy cinnamon capsules and biotin over the counter. Biotin once a day, cinnamon three times a day with meals. They will help with sugar metabolism. I am NOT a physician, but I have diabetes and I take these and they have been very effective for me. Cheaper too. Not only my blood sugar, my cholesterol, lipids, tryglycerides are better, but so are my nails, skin, hair.
August 30th, 2010 at 8:05 am
I am a type 2 diabetic on insulin. I feel insulin gave me my life back. I was on actos, metformin, and glipizide, walking and restricting my diet. In order to keep my blood sugar down the strict diet and exercise were taking over my life. The diabetes controlled me instead of the other way around. It’s not like I eat whatever I want now, but I have alot more choices and some flexibility. If my blood sugar on that rare occasion does run too high and I’m at work or it’s late at night, I can just a unit of insulin to bring it back down. I remember having to get on my stair stepper at 10 o’clock at night just to bring down my sugars. Not only that, insulin is alot cheaper than the oral meds.
August 30th, 2010 at 8:52 am
eat blueberries or anything that contains antioxidants and less sugar
August 30th, 2010 at 9:14 am
Doctor should have started you out on half the tablet to start with. He should also have told you to take it WITH food, never on empty stomach. It will always cause digestive upsets this way. He should also have suggested you take Pepto or Tums type meds with it if it gave you digestive upsets.
Actos and Avandia both have a notorious history of causing edema! I tried both and cannot take them.
There are 8 classes of meds of which you have only tried 3 other than insulin. And if you are insulin resistant it does no good to push more insulin into the system if it isn’t working to help the muscles use the glucose available.
the 2 first meds are usually Metformin and Glyburide. But be aware that just because Met in the formulation you were taking upset your stomach, not all the generic manufacturers of this drug use the same “inert ingredients” for fillers. It might have been the filler you can’t take.
I cannot take a couple of the generic Met formulations. But I can take the Metformin XR! Yes, it does occasionally mess with my stomach, giving me gas and acidic stomach and sometimes diarrhea as well.
You say you are following a good diabetic diet. That doesn’t say much because the Am Diab Assn recommends just smaller servings of the same Food Pyramid that caused this problem. High Complex Carbs in great number!!!
Do away with all the bottom layer of the current Food Pyramid for a month and see if it doesn’t help a great deal. I also have a problem with any soft sweet fruits. I eat crispy tart apples for most of my fruits.
August 30th, 2010 at 9:30 am
Get some yogurt that has live culture in it. Look for one that is sweetened with Splenda, not sugar. Where I live, we use Danone Silhoutte.
Take half a Metformin tablet with a serving of this yogurt before your breakfast. I have read about this on several diabetes lists and it works for nearly everyone that tries it.
Do the same thing again at suppertime for your next dose of Metformin. Again, take only half the dose. It takes time for your stomach to get used to it and you may to start with a lower dose than most.
If that doesn’t do it, then ask your doctor to let you try the time released version of Metformin.
If neither works, then its time to start using insulin. Insulin doesn’t cause all the side effects the oral treatments do, plus it WILL control your blood sugar once you get on the right dose of the right insulin for you. I’d recommend that you ask about Lantus or Levemir insulin. Both cause less lows than other types.
I went directly on insulin after having a rare reaction to Metformin, and my husband is successfully using Metformin with yogurt.
August 30th, 2010 at 9:36 am
You’d have to talk with your doc or diabetes educator as to whether further dietary restrictions and more exercise would help. Let me tell you this, though: Many doctors give their Type 2 patients the impression that going on insulin is a “bad thing” or a “last resort”. The human body needs insulin, it’s quite natural, and if what you really need is insulin supplementation, then so be it. We need what we need. Yes, you will need to learn to deal with the needles, but they are tiny and you barely ever even feel them. And with more and more Type 2′s going on insulin pumps, the picture is getting even better. So keep an open mind…going on insulin might be the best thing that ever happened to you. It’s best to let your body do the regulating for you, but if you don’t make enough insulin to do that, then taking insulin gives you freedom!