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Summary
Diabetes means your blood glucose, or blood sugar, levels are too high. If you can't control your diabetes with wise food choices and physical activity, you may need diabetes medicines. The kind of medicine you take depends on your type of diabetes, your schedule, and your other health conditions.
With type 1 diabetes, your pancreas does not make insulin. Insulin is a hormone that helps glucose get into your cells to give them energy. Without insulin, too much glucose stays in your blood. If you have type 1 diabetes, you will need to take insulin.
Type 2 diabetes, the most common type, can start when the body doesn't use insulin as it should. If your body can't keep up with the need for insulin, you may need to take pills. Along with meal planning and physical activity, diabetes pills help people with type 2 diabetes or gestational diabetes keep their blood glucose levels on target. Several kinds of pills are available. Each works in a different way. Many people take two or three kinds of pills. Some people take combination pills. Combination pills contain two kinds of diabetes medicine in one tablet. Some people take pills and insulin.
NIH: National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases
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Diabetes Medicines
(National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases)
Also in Spanish
- Insulin Basics (American Diabetes Association) Also in Spanish
- Insulin Therapy (American Academy of Family Physicians) Also in Spanish
- Taking Medication (American Association of Diabetes Educators) - PDF
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Women and Diabetes -- Diabetes Medicines
(Food and Drug Administration)
Related Issues
- Beware of Illegally Marketed Diabetes Treatments (Food and Drug Administration) Also in Spanish
- Byetta, Victoza, Bydureon: Diabetes Drugs and Weight Loss (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) Also in Spanish
- Insulin and Weight Gain: Keep the Pounds Off (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) Also in Spanish
- Insulin Pumps (American Diabetes Association) Also in Spanish
- Intensive Insulin Therapy: Tight Blood Sugar Control (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) Also in Spanish
- Managing Your Medicines (American Diabetes Association) - PDF
Specifics
- Diabetes and Insulin (Hormone Health Network)
- DPP-4 Inhibitors for Type 2 Diabetes (Hormone Health Network) Also in Spanish
- GLP-1 Receptor Agonists (Hormone Health Network) Also in Spanish
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Insulin
(Food and Drug Administration)
- Insulin Secretagogues (Hormone Health Network) Also in Spanish
- Oral Medication (American Diabetes Association) Also in Spanish
- Oral Medications: What Are My Options? (American Diabetes Association)
- Type 2 Diabetes and TZDs (Thiazolidinediones) (Hormone Health Network) - PDF Also in Spanish
Statistics and Research
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Two Diabetes Medications Don't Slow Progression of Type 2 Diabetes in Youth
(National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases)
Clinical Trials
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ClinicalTrials.gov: Hypoglycemic Agents
(National Institutes of Health)
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ClinicalTrials.gov: Insulin
(National Institutes of Health)
Journal Articles References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)
Find an Expert
- American Diabetes Association
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National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases
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NIDDK Information Clearinghouses
(National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases)
Women
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Women and Diabetes
(Food and Drug Administration)
Patient Handouts
- Diabetes - insulin therapy (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
- Diabetes - low blood sugar - self-care (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
- Giving an insulin injection (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
- Insulin pumps (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
- Oral hypoglycemics overdose (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish