Diabetes FAQ » Diabetes Articles » Oral Diabetes Medications

Oral Diabetes Medications

As already mentioned people with type 2 diabetes should try to manage their lifestyles better but when that fails it is often necessary to be prescribed medicines known as oral hypoglycemic agents. These medications help lower blood sugar levels by triggering the pancreas to produce more insulin. They often help make the body’s cells able to be more sensitive to its own insulin. Oral hypoglycemic agents however do not in themselves contain any insulin. The performance of these medications should be monitored on a regular basis with a blood glucose monitor to determine if blood glucose levels are at an acceptable level. Your health care team will determine what is a good “target range” for you but for most patients is before meals is between 4.0 to 7.0 mmol/L and a “normal range” when it can be safely achieved runs between 4.0 and 6.0 mmol/L. Glucose readings two hours after reading should be between 5.0 to 10.0 target range and 5.0 -8.0 for normal.

Related Articles

• What is Type 2 Diabetes?
• Causes of Diabetes
• Diabetes Medications
• Juvenile Diabetes
• Diabetes Mellitus
• Type 2 Diabetes Symptoms
• Diabetes Treatment