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Did you know that insulin shots are not the only drugs capable of treating diabetes? This has been a common belief for many years and one that has caused many people with diabetes not to consider consulting with their doctor about alternative methods of treatment.

For some time now there have been drugs that you can take orally instead of dealing with insulin shots on a daily basis. One such pill that can be taken by mouth and has proven to work just as effective as insulin is a drug called Sulfonylureas.

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Rosiglitazone (a thiazolidinedione) is a successful drug which is used to treat diabetes and is marketed by its brand name “Avandia”. This drug is very helpful in controlling blood glucose and because of its convenience with only one daily dosage needed, it is a welcome treatment for many diabetics. Below are the basic characteristics of rosiglitazone:

1. You can take rosiglitazone, which is in tablet form, only once daily and with or without food based on your preference.

2. Rosiglitazone is available in strengths of 2 mg tablets, 4 milligram tablets, and 8 mg tablets.

3. This drug greatly improves insulin resistance which means that it has its best effect on blood glucose after meals are eaten.

4. Rosiglitazone may take up to 12 weeks or longer in order to provide its maximum benefits. The recommended dose for starters it is 4 milligrams. 8 milligrams is the maximum dose recommended by doctors. Patients have their dosages increased typically every three to four weeks, and only if deemed necessary by their doctor.

5. If you are a diabetic with poor glucose control that is taking a sulfonylurea drug or metformin, then combining them with rosiglitazone works well together. However, you may need to reduce the amount of sulfonylurea dosages taken to avoid hypoglycemia.

6. There is no need to fear hypoglycemia if you are taking rosiglitazone by itself. Hypoglycemia is only caused by this drug when combined with sulfonylurea or insulin.

7. Another benefit of this drug is that it is “insulin-sparing’. This means that when taking rosiglitazone, your body does not have to make as much insulin on its own in order to control blood glucose.

8. When it comes to your body excreting rosiglitazone out of its system, it is done mostly through the bowels. This is a huge benefit because many drugs have to filter through the kidneys which may cause kidney damage.

Approved by the Federal Drug Administration in 1995, Metformin has been used successfully to treat men and women suffering from diabetes. This glucose-lowering medication can be found under the brand name “Glucophage”. However, if you were to seek this medicine outside of the United States, you will find it under the following various brand names: Fornidd, Diaformin, Benoformin, Metomin, Dextin, Glucoform, Metforal, and Orabet.

Interestingly enough, Metformin had a sister drug which caused some patients to have fatal complications and was banned from the United States over 20 years ago. This sister drug was called phenformin.

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Did you know that diabetics now have access to technology which allows insulin to be automatically injected into the body without the use of syringes and needles? It is an extremely convenient way to maintain your insulin treatments while enjoying more stress-free time and without the worry of injecting yourself before every meal throughout the day.

External insulin pumps can be programmed to deliver small units of insulin on a constant basis by a measure of time. And with the manual option of injecting extra insulin with a button (bolus of insulin), it makes the ideal tool for a diabetic to handle their disease and insulin control with ease.

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For many people who have diabetes that must treat themselves with insulin injections on a daily basis, the external insulin pump is a godsend. External insulin pumps are the closest technology available that can automatically mimic the body’s natural process of insulin control. This device takes care of the gradual induction of rapid acting insulin, and is fully automated.

As far as price is concerned, external insulin pumps are very expensive. The cost can be as high as $6,000 or more for just one unit. But the investment is entirely worth it when you consider that injecting insulin every day for the rest of your life is a reality. And many diabetic patients do not have the luxury of achieving regular glucose control with the use of syringes and insulin pens alone.

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