{"id":524,"date":"2025-08-11T07:27:26","date_gmt":"2025-08-11T07:27:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/diabetes.digitalgrowthrevealed.com\/?p=524"},"modified":"2025-08-11T07:27:26","modified_gmt":"2025-08-11T07:27:26","slug":"managing-diabetes-medications","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/diabetes.digitalgrowthrevealed.com\/?p=524","title":{"rendered":"Managing Diabetes: Medications"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"480\" height=\"270\" src=\"\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/suOb2PR4lfw\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>For more information on diabetes or #YaleMedicine, visit: https:\/\/www.yalemedicine.org\/news\/managing-diabetes-a-look-at-medications.<\/p>\n<p>For some people with diabetes, dietary, exercise, or other lifestyle changes aren\u2019t enough to control blood sugar. If that\u2019s the case, you may need medication. Treatment for diabetes is focused on keeping blood sugar (glucose) levels at a normal range. In people with Type 1 diabetes, the body makes little to no insulin, which means taking insulin (usually by injection) is necessary. For those with Type 2 diabetes, in which the body is unable to properly use insulin, too much glucose is often produced, so the first line of treatment might be an oral medication such as metformin, which lowers blood glucose levels.  Metformin, explains Yetunde Asiedu, MD, a Yale Medicine primary care physician, also helps the body respond better to its own insulin. \u201cIt\u2019s a popular medication because it&#8217;s effective at treating diabetes and the cost is low,\u201d she says. \u201cThat is usually our first go-to, but if you\u2019ve had a heart attack or you have congestive heart failure, there are specific types of diabetes medications that may be even better for you.\u201d  There are even medications for diabetes that can help with weight loss. A class of drugs called GLP-1 (glucagon-like peptide-1) restores the signal to your brain that you are full after you eat, a signal that is believed to be less sensitive in people with diabetes, explains Edgar Albuja, a Yale clinical pharmacist. The medication also slows down digestion so that sugar isn\u2019t absorbed as fast in the bloodstream, helping the body to produce its own insulin.  \u201cThese medications are injectable, but they&#8217;re not insulin. And most of them require injections just once a week. It&#8217;s a little bit easier to take than let&#8217;s say, once-daily insulin injections,\u201d says Kasia Lipska, MD, MHS, a Yale Medicine endocrinologist. So, what\u2019s the right medication for you? That, she says, will be the one you will take regularly, gives you the least side effects, and works best at reducing your blood sugar levels and risk of complications. Taking your diabetes medications is of the utmost importance and if there are any problems that make this difficult for you, talk to your pharmacist, Albuja says. \u201cThey can help you figure out how to manage your medications\u2014the important thing is to take your medication.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>0:00 Introduction<br \/>\n1:09 What are the medication options?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>For more information on diabetes or #YaleMedicine, visit: https:\/\/www.yalemedicine.org\/news\/managing-diabetes-a-look-at-medications. For some people with diabetes, dietary, exercise, or other lifestyle changes [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":525,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-524","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v17.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/diabetes.digitalgrowthrevealed.com\/?p=524\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Managing Diabetes: Medications - Diabetes Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"For more information on diabetes or #YaleMedicine, visit: https:\/\/www.yalemedicine.org\/news\/managing-diabetes-a-look-at-medications. 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