Your high fasting blood sugar level is one of the telltale signs, a symptom of type 2 diabetes. Normal fasting glucose levels of a non-diabetic are 70 to 110 mg/dl (3.9 to 6mmol/l) or 80 to 120 mg/dl (4.4 to 6.6mmol/l) depending on the clinical laboratory. The diabetic fasting glucose range is 126 mg/dl (7mmol/l) or above.

Diabetes medications are not always prescribed for type 2 diabetes; this decision is usually made by your health care provider and will be based entirely on your particular case. The higher your fasting blood sugar level though, the more likely your health care provider will prescribe one of the medications.

The type of medication given to a person with type 1 diabetes is different than that given for type 2 diabetes. Anything that interferes with the mechanism that the body uses to regulate blood sugar may cause diabetes. It can happen because the cells that secrete insulin die off, or when those cells fail to respond to the signals that tell them to make insulin. Therefore, the pancreas of a person with type 1 diabetes is unable to create the quantity of insulin needed. Now the pancreas of a type 2 diabetic makes plenty of insulin but insulin receptors in the cells have lost their ability to respond to it … so the person with type 2 diabetes is making more than enough insulin. A type 2 diabetic would never be able to share their medication with a person with type 1 diabetes … sharing medication is against the law anyway!

Often type 2 diabetics are given oral medications which are in the category called biguanides. One example of a biguanide is Metformin, the generic name of the drug marketed as Glucophage. This drug lowers blood sugar levels by decreasing the amount of glucose produced by the liver. Metformin also increases the amount of insulin the muscles in your body recognize as insulin and then uses, and is one of the most prescribed medications for type 2.

Some health care providers will prescribe medications that stimulate the beta cells of the pancreas to release more insulin. Drugs that are used to do this fall into the category of sulfonylureas and meglitinides and perhaps you will be prescribed these drugs if your pancreas has been working so hard that its cells are not capable of producing enough insulin.

Type 1 diabetics need insulin itself in the form of injections.

Though many people are able to bring their blood sugar levels back to within the normal range by following a healthy eating plan, not everyone is willing to stick with a restrictive diet. This is often the reason a health care provider will assume that dietary changes will not solve your blood sugar problems and prescribe oral anti-diabetic medications.

There is also the possibility he may wait on prescribing any medications and advise you to follow a healthy eating plan, lose weight and start an exercise program and review your progress in three months.

Anti-diabetic medications are an add on … they alone will not reduce your blood sugar levels; a healthy lifestyle is still needed if you have type 2 diabetes.

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