If your type 2 Diabetes symptoms are beginning to take over your life, click here to check out some new diabetes medications that will change your life.

Are you one of the 29 million Americans with diabetes? Are you having a hard time managing your blood sugar levels? Even with lifestyle changes such as a healthy diet and exercise, people with type 2 diabetes may need some extra help control this condition to feel better.

If your type 2 diabetes symptoms are beginning to take over your life, click here to check out some new diabetes medications that will change your life.

What Causes Diabetes?

Most people with type 2 diabetes are genetically predisposed or are overweight. The pancreas makes insulin which is a hormone that turns glucose from your food into energy. If you have type 2 diabetes, your cells don’t make insulin as well as they should.

Your pancreas starts by making too much insulin to turn glucose into energy. Eventually, the sugar will build up in your blood because the pancreas can’t keep up.

Treatments

Traditional treatment for type 2 diabetes includes insulin therapy, a healthy diet, exercise, and blood sugar monitoring. Some people do not need insulin therapy and can manage diabetes with diet and exercise alone.

Diet for Type 2 Diabetes

Diet is extremely important to managing type 2 diabetes. It’s important to eat high fiber foods that are low in fat like vegetables, fruits, and whole grains. You should minimize the number of refined carbohydrates and sweets you eat.

You should look at the glycemic index foods.  The glycemic index measures how quickly a certain food raises your blood sugar. High glycemic foods raise blood sugar quickly while lower glycemic foods help you maintain a more stable blood sugar level.

Exercise is Extremely Important

Everyone should get regular exercise especially aerobic exercise. You should get at least 30 minutes of aerobic exercise five days each week. If you need to get into shape, start slowly and work your way up.

Physical activity is good for people with diabetes because it helps lower blood sugar. Try doing a combination of exercises such as yoga, weightlifting, and aerobics. Find something you enjoy like swimming, walking, or aerobic classes to stay on track.

Monitoring Your Blood Sugar

It is extremely important to check your blood sugar regularly with diabetes. Talk to your doctor about how often you should check it. This helps ensure your blood sugar remains where it should be.

You can learn your body’s patterns with different foods, exercise, medication, and alcohol when you regularly watch your blood sugar. Sometimes blood sugar levels are unpredictable.

New Diabetes Medications

Even if you exercise and eat well, you may need medication to help keep your blood sugar levels stable. Most of the type 2 diabetes medications help your body use insulin more efficiently or help your body make it.

There are different types of medications depending on how your body reacts or makes insulin. With type 2 diabetes, your sugar levels may be high, meaning you don’t need any additional glucose in your body.

Pills to Help Remove Extra Glucose

Your kidneys try to get rid of all the extra glucose by producing sodium-glucose transporters (SGLTs) to keep the glucose in your blood instead of coming out in your urine. If you have too much glucose, you need a way to get rid of it. If this is the case, there are pills called SGLT2 inhibitors that help you pee out the extra glucose.

These SGLT2 inhibitors include:

• Canagliflozin (Invokana)
• Dapagliflozin (Farxiga)
• Empagliflozin (Jardiance)

These drugs also help you lose extra calories when you pee. You can also lose some extra salt, which is good for your blood pressure.

There are a couple downsides of these drugs including you can pee out extra water, so you have to watch for dehydration. Those with kidney disease should discuss these pills with their doctors.

if you are interested in learning more about these SGLT2 inhibitors such as Jardiance, read more here.

Longer Lasting Medicines

While you eat, your stomach produces a hormone GLP-1 to get your body to make more insulin. The natural GLP-1 only lasts a short time.  There are drugs that help make the effects of this hormone last longer.

These drugs are typically a once a day injection.  These medications include exenatide (Byetta), lixisenatide (Adlyxin), and liraglutide (Victoza), which can last up to 10 hours.

There are newer drugs that can last up to seven days. These new drugs include:

• Albiglutide (Tanzeum)
• Dulaglutide (Trulicity)
• Extended-release exenatide (Bydureon)

The new medications that you take once a week are nice if you don’t like giving yourself a shot daily. There are side effects such as vomiting, diarrhea, and nausea. With the once a week shot, you could experience these effects all week.

Longer Lasting Insulin

In addition to the medications above, you can also find insulin that lasts longer as well. The new insulin degludec (Tresiba) can last up to 42 hours.

Inhaled Insulin

If you don’t like getting a shot, there is one inhaled insulin on the market – Afrezza. It works quickly, so you should only take it during meals. It comes in cartridges similar to the inhalers those with asthma use.

You will have to check with your doctor on how sensitive your body is to insulin. If you are more sensitive to insulin, you could lower your blood sugar too much since this insulin works so quickly.

Managing Your Diabetes

With proper diet, exercise, and medication, you can manage your diabetes and take control of your life. Talk to your doctor to create the best plan for you.

If you don’t manage your blood sugar properly, you can have problems with your:

• Eyes
• Kidneys
• Heart
• Blood vessels
• Nerves

It’s best to manage your diabetes by taking all your medications and insulin on time. Be sure you check your blood sugar and talk to your doctor about any concerns. Eating right and not skipping meals is extremely important to help you manage your condition.

Looking for More Health Articles?

Now that you’ve learned about new diabetes medications to help you take back your life, it’s time to read some other articles to help you live the healthiest lifestyle. Check out our website regularly to see articles like ways to live longer. You can even get additional advice for your life with incredible facts from around the world.

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