Medication for diabetes

There are many different types of medication to treat your diabetes. Your GP or Diabetes Team will recommend to you the most suitable medication regime for your diabetes condition and lifestyle. You can discuss your medication with them at any time.

Tablet treatment for your diabetes

If you have been prescribed tablets for your diabetes, it is because healthy eating alone will not control your blood glucose levels. However, you still need to follow a healthy diet and be physically active in order to manage your diabetes.

Some people need to take a combination of tablets to control their blood glucose levels and some may need to take tablets and insulin. If this applies to you, remember that needing tablets and insulin is a natural process of diabetes.

Taking your tablets

Your GP or diabetes specialist nurse will advise you on when to take your tablets. It is important to remember the following:

• NEVER stop taking your tablets,
• If your medication is only taken once daily and you forget to take it, you can take it up to 4 hours after your usual time.
• if your dosage is more than 1-2 hours late, miss it and take the next one at the normal time. NEVER DOUBLE DOSE, because you missed a tablet,
• if you are ill, DO NOT STOP taking your tablets, and
• if you are vomiting, contact your GP immediately.

By taking your tablets as instructed, you will be able to achieve better blood glucose control and therefore reduce the risk of long term complications. If you experience difficulty controlling your blood glucose or have unpleasant side effects at any time, speak to your GP or a member of your Diabetes Team.

Insulin treatment

If you have Type 1 diabetes then the treatment for you is insulin and a healthy diet and lifestyle. Insulin cannot be taken in tablet form, as the acids produced in the stomach would destroy the insulin. However, insulin can be combined with certain diabetic tablets to control your diabetes. For people who have Type 2 diabetes, insulin may be recommended by your GP or Diabetes Team.

Why do I need insulin?

You have been prescribed insulin because you have Type 1 diabetes or because your Type 2 diabetes is not being controlled well enough by tablets alone.

How do I start?

Many people with diabetes are fearful at first of taking insulin. Discuss this with your GP, practice nurse or your diabetes specialist nurse who will give you the information you need and put you at ease before you agree to start insulin. All the possibilities will be discussed with you to enable you to make an informed choice. You will be taught how to inject yourself with insulin and you will be supported with an ongoing education plan while you get used to it. It is most common to take insulin twice or four times a day depending on your lifestyle.

Below are some of the main discussions which you will have before and once you have started the insulin.

• What type of insulin is going to fit in with my lifestyle?
• What insulin pen is best for me to use?
• How do I use the insulin pen?
• How do I store my insulin?
• How do I get rid of the needles?

You will be helped with your first injection by a diabetes specialist nurse or District Nurse.

Insulin is always started at very small doses whilst you get used to taking the injections. Insulin doses will be increased very gradually (depending on your blood glucose readings). This will occur under close supervision of a diabetes specialist nurse.

The diabetes specialist nurse will also go into detail about the following:

• How to recognise and treat a low blood glucose (hypoglycaemia)
• What to do if you become ill
• How often you should be reviewed at your diabetes clinic.

Where do I inject?

Injections are given in fatty areas of the body i.e. stomach, thighs and buttocks. Insulin is NOT given into a vein. You will need to change the injection site every time, as using the same place all the time can make the skin underneath lumpy which may decrease/change the absorption of your insulin.