Common Diabetes Drugs And Their Effects

Diabetes is a disease in which its important to maintain a healthy blood sugar level, however, this year diabetes day is being celebrated with Diwali, that makes us more cautious in creating awareness about this chronic disease.

Diabetes mellitus or simply diabetes is a long-lasting health condition that causes higher blood sugar levels. When you eat sugary foods, the compound sugar breaks down and enters our blood, increasing the blood sugar level. This is when the pancreas releases insulin, which transfers the blood sugar into the body’ cells, which is then used as energy to perform various functions. In diabetics, either their body is unable to make sufficient insulin or the insulin made is not used by the body as it should be. ETV Bharat Sukhibhava team spoke to Dr Rajesh Vukkala, MD (General Medicine), Consultant Physician at VINN Hospital, Hyderabad to understand more about diabetes and its drugs.

Dr Vukkala explains that there are basically two types of diabetes, Type 1 Diabetes (without insulin, which affects 5-10% of the people) and Type 2 Diabetes (with insulin, which affects 90% of the people). The third type of diabetes is Gestational Diabetes (diabetes during pregnancy).

Common Diabetes Drugs And Their Side Effects

Once you're diagnosed with diabetes, depending upon the type of diabetes, drugs will be given to control your blood sugar levels. Since there are many drugs that are used according to a person’s situation, Dr Vukkala explains some of the most common drugs that are given to diabetics, along with their side effects:

Insulin
Insulin is a hormone that controls blood sugar levels. However, due to the inability of body insulin, it can be externally injected by a diabetic. It can be produced either through animals or artificial means.

Side effects
The only side effect of insulin is low blood sugar, which is why it should be taken on-time and as prescribed. Another insignificant effect is weight gain, which depends on the dosage.

Metformin
It is an oral drug, which is the first-line treatment for people diagnosed with type-2 diabetes. A person’s weight plays a major role in diabetes. If there is a higher BMI (Body Mass Index), the amount of insulin available in the body is either not sufficient or ineffective. Metformin is a drug that helps in weight loss along with controlling the blood sugar. It also doubles the functionality of insulin naturally produced by your body.

Side Effects
Our expert says that although metformin is mild, it causes gastric disturbances. Especially people who have a sensitive stomach can develop mild gastritis, diarrhoea, acidity or gas, abdominal bloating and fullness.

It also causes lactic acidosis, which means that acid level in the body goes up, predominantly affected through kidneys.

Also, metformin is harmful to a person who has underlying acute heart disease or someone who has recently had a heart attack, the drug should not be considered during the recovery period. Likewise, it should be given with caution in liver or kidney diseases.

Sulfonylureas
An oral drug that is rather inexpensive as compared to other drugs. However, since we know that weight is what causes the problem in a person, this drug does not help in weight loss but regulates the blood sugar level by helping the pancreas produce more insulin. The drug also increases the activities of insulin-like hormones in the body.

Side Effects

Unable to control body weight, sulfonylureas can have a person gain some extra weight. It should also be used with precaution in people with liver and kidney diseases.

“Therefore, most of the drugs given to diabetics act in the intestine or the stomach, which is why problems like gastritis, bloating, diarrhoea or constipation may develop. One may also present with a feeling of nausea or vomiting” explains Dr Vukkala.

He further adds that most of the side effects are related to the stomach and intestine. These are usually very transient and temporary. However, the side effects may last longer if a person is suffering from other health conditions along with diabetes.

Some Side Benefits Of Drugs

Dr Vukkala explains that along with increasing the power of insulin, diabetes drugs also improve other associated hormones in the body which help insulin to be effective. Most of the diabetic people also develop certain kidney problems. However, some of these medicines help in the prevention of progression of kidney disease as well. They also help in the prevention of high cholesterol, around 10-15 % reduction, in some people.

Drugs And Toxicity

Most of the drugs are either excreted through the liver and some through kidneys. An enzyme called Cytochrome P450, primarily found in the liver, helps in the reduction of toxicity of any medicine in the body. If the drug increases the level of cytochrome enzyme, the toxins are excreted out of the body very quickly. But, if the drug inhibits the enzyme secretion, the level of drugs in the body will be high and remain for a longer time, thus resulting in more toxicity. Therefore, each drug works in a different manner. They either have a potentiating effect or a reducing effect. Depending on these factors, the functionality of liver and kidneys and taking into consideration the underlying health conditions, the drug and its dose will be then decided.