What types of medicines are used for type 2 diabetes?
Pills to treat type 2 diabetes have different types of actions including: • Stimulating the pancreas to make more insulin • Making the body more sensitive to the effects of insulin (decreasing insulin resistance) • Decreasing the body’s production of sugar • Decreasing the amount of sugar that the body takes in from food Sulfonylureas (glyburide [DiaBeta, Glynase, Micronase], glimepiride [Amaryl], glipizide, etc.) are the most common pills used for type 2 diabetes and work by stimulating the pancreas to make more insulin. Starlix and Prandin also work by stimulating the pancreas but are very short-acting, so they are not usually used alone to treat type 2 diabetes. Metformin, another common diabetes pill, decreases the body’s production of sugar and works especially well in patients who are overweight. Thiazolidinediones (Actos, Avandia) make the body more sensitive to insulin; these drugs only work for patients whose pancreas still makes some insulin, and they are usually used as a th
