TAKING MEDICATIONS Why take pills? How do oral medications work? Diabetes is a progressive condition. Depending on what type a person has, their healthcare team will be able to determine which medications they should be taking and help them understand how your medications work. They can demonstrate the effective drug therapy in combination with healthy lifestyle choices, can lower blood glucose levels, reduce the risk for diabetes complications and produce other clinical benefits. 

The goal is for the patient to be knowledgeable about all medications, including its action, side effects, efficacy, toxicity, prescribed dosage, appropriate timing and frequency of administration, effect of missed and delayed doses and instructions for storage, travel and safety.

1. Taking Medications
Oral
Medications
for Diabetes
Washington Association of Diabetes Educators
www.DiabetesAnswers.org or www.WADEpage.org

2. Managing Diabetes: Oral Medication
When people with type 2 diabetes are unable to control blood sugar
sufficiently with diet and exercise, medication may be added. There are
many types of diabetes pills available, and they are often used in
combination. Some work by stimulating the pancreas to make more
insulin, and others improve the effectiveness of insulin, or block the
digestion of starches.

3. Know the name of your diabetes
medications and where they work

4. Glucophage
(metformin)

5. Actos
(pioglitazone)

6. Januvia
Prandin (repaglinide)
Glucotrol (glipizide)

7. Precose (acarbose) /
Glyset (Miglitol )

8. Types of Pills

9. DDP4 Inhibitors such as Januvia

10. Find out More
Videos and
Handouts you
can print
Washington Association of Diabetes Educators
www.DiabetesAnswers.org or www.WADEpage.org