Diabetes – Medications

The main aim of treatment for diabetes is to reduce your risk of developing complications by keeping your blood glucose (sugar) levels at reasonable levels and reducing other cardiovascular risk factors such as high blood pressure or blood lipid or cholesterol levels. 

Below are a range of resources you may find useful to help understand diabetes medications. The key thing is to ask questions and talk with your doctor, nurse, specialist or pharmacist. They are there to help you.

• Common Medications
  • Metformin
  • Sulphonylureas
  • Glitazones
  • Acarbose
• Patient Resources
  • Starting Insulin for Type 2 Diabetes  – in English, Korean, Samoan and Chinese  (booklets in pdf form from Waitemata DHB)

Common Medications

Metformin

• Brief information from PHARMAC;  
• Medsafe Consumer info sheet for ARROW Metformin (4-6 pages); 
• Medsafe Prescriber Data Sheet

Sulphonylureas (Insulin Secretagogues)

These tablets work by making the pancreas produce more insulin and should be taken just before a meal or with a meal.

There are several tablets in this group. They include:
• Gliclazide also known as Diamicron, Glizon or Apo-Gliclazide
• Glipizide also known as Glipid or Minidiab
• Glibenclamide also known as Gliben or Apo-Glibenclamide
• Tolbutamide also known as Diatol

• Brief information from PHARMAC;   
• Medsafe Consumer Info sheet – then search for appropriate one (take care to select trade name or ingredient name for search)    
• Medsafe Prescriber Data Sheet – search page

Glitazones (Insulin Sensitisers)

• Also known as Actos (Pioglitazone) and Avandia (Rosiglitazone)
• Brief information from PHARMAC;  
• Medsafe Consumer Info sheet – then search for appropriate one (take care to select trade name or ingredient name for search)    
• Medsafe Prescriber Data Sheet – search page

Acarbose (Alpha-Glucosidase Inhibitors)

Acarbose reduces the rise in blood glucose levels after a meal by delaying the breakdown and absorption of carbohydrates in the stomach. It is also known as Glucobay (Trade name)

• These tablets should be taken with the first mouthful of the meal
• Brief information from PHARMAC;  
• Medsafe Consumer Info sheet - for Glucobay  
• Medsafe Prescriber Data Sheet – Glucobay