Medication

 Diabetes Pills

 Insulin

 Insulin Pumps

Diabetes pills (oral agents/oral medications) are medicine for people with diabetes who need help keeping their blood glucose under control. Keeping blood glucose under control is important to reduce or prevent serious health complications. Since people with Type 1 diabetes must take insulin, it's mostly people with Type 2 diabetes that use diabetes pills.

If you have Type 2 diabetes, you should know

• Your body does not make enough insulin to control your blood glucose
  
• Or, your body doesn't use the insulin it makes properly
  
• Pills are not insulin, but work with the body's insulin to control glucose
  
• Some pills help your body make more insulin, while others help your body use insulin better
  
• Type 2 diabetes changes over time. This means you may need different treatments at different times to control your blood glucose.
  
• As Type 2 diabetes changes, diet and exercise may no longer be able to control your blood glucose. If that happens, diabetes pill maybe added to your care routine.
  
• As Type 2 diabetes continues to change, pills may no longer be able to control your blood glucose. If that happens, insulin may be added to your pills to improve blood glucose control.

All diabetes pills sold today in the United States are members of five classes of drugs: sulfonylureas, meglitinides, biguanides, thiazolidinediones, and alpha-glucosidase inhibitors. These five classes of drugs work in different ways to lower blood glucose levels.

For more information about diabetes pills, talk to your doctor or explore the American Diabetes Association Web site.