AskNadia: Diabetes Medications for High Blood Sugars
I am a 56-year-old with Type 2 and have my diabetes under control. I work on a ship. I use Humulin 70/30 thirty unit in the morning and thirty units in the evening. I heard there are insulins that are injected once a day or once a week.
NA
Dear NA:
There are many medications on the market that can accommodate your professional and health needs.
The insulins you are referring to are Long-acting and Ultra long-acting insulins.
Long-Acting Insulin
It is taken once or twice a day, long-acting kicks in when rapid-acting insulin stops working. It can also be used with short-acting insulin.
These insulins start working in 1–1.6 hours after injection and stays in the system for up to 24 hours.
• Basaglar (insulin glargine U-100)
• Lantus (insulin glargine U-100)
• Levemir (insulin detemir U-100)
• Soliqua (insulin glargine 100/33 U100)
• Tresbia (insulin degludec U100/U200)
• Toujeo (insulin glargine U300)
• Xultophy (insulin degludec 100/3.6 U100)
Ultra-Long-Acting Insulin
This insulin starts working in 1–16 hours and stays in the system for up to 36–42 hours.
• Toujeo (insulin glargine U-300)
• Tresiba (insulin degludec U-100/U-200)
Speak to your doctor about which medications would be most suitable for you. Another class of medication (GLP-1) for type 2s has shown to bring down your A1c, helping with high blood sugar management.
Incretin Mimetic Glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1)
GLP-1 causes the pancreas to make insulin when blood sugar levels are too high. It also slows down digestion, causing a decrease in appetite. Also known as incretin mimetics, these medications work best with diet and exercise.
GLP-1 causes the pancreas to make insulin when blood sugar levels are too high. It also slows down digestion, causing a decrease in appetite. Also known as incretin mimetics, these drugs work best with diet and exercise.
- Adlyxin (lixisenatide) from Sanofi is injected once daily one hour before a meal.
- Bydureon from AstraZeneca extended-release is injected once weekly.
- Byetta (exenatide) from AstraZeneca is injected twice daily 60 minutes before a meal.
- Eperzan (albiglutide) from GlaxoSmithKline is injected once weekly with or without a meal.
- Ozempic (semaglutide) Novo Nordisk is injected once weekly with or without a meal.
- Rybelsus from Eli Lily taken orally once daily.
- Soliqua (lixisenatide) from Sanofi is injected once daily, one hour before your first meal of the day.
- Tanzeum (albiglutide) from GlaxoSmithKline is injected once weekly with or without a meal.
- Trulicty (dulaglutide) Trulicity from Eli Lilly is injected once weekly with or without a meal.
- Victoza (liraglutide) from Novo Nordisk is injected once daily with or without a meal.
If you would like a detailed chart on all the medications for people living with diabetes, you can view them online at diabetes charts.
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Source:
International Diabetes Federation
Disclaimer:
Nadia’s feedback on your question is in no way intended to initiate or replace your healthcare professional’s therapy or advice. Please check in with your medical team to discuss your diabetes management concerns.
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AskNadia (ranked #1 by Google), named “Best Diabetes Blog for 2019 by Healthline. With 24 nominations, Nadia Al-Samarrie’s efforts have made her stand out as a pioneer and leading patient advocate in the diabetes community.
Nadia was not only born into a family with diabetes but also married into one. She was propelled at a young age into “caretaker mode,” and with her knowledge of the scarcity of resources, support, and understanding for people with diabetes, co-founded Diabetes Interview, now Diabetes Health magazine.
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