Type 1 Diabetes: Living With Complications - Medications
Insulin prescribed for type 1 diabetes by an injection or through an insulin pump helps keep your blood sugar level tightly controlled and within a target range. You may also take:
- An angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor, angiotensin II receptor blocker, or other medicine, if you have high blood pressure or small amounts of protein in your urine (microalbuminuria). These medicines can slow or prevent further damage to your kidneys if you have microalbuminuria, even if you don't have high blood pressure.
- Low-dose aspirin. Talk to your doctor about whether you should take low-dose aspirin. Daily low-dose aspirin (81 milligrams) may help prevent heart problems if you are at risk for heart attack or stroke.
- Sildenafil citrate (Viagra), tadalafil (Cialis), or vardenafil (Levitra), if you have erection problems and don't have medical reasons why you can't take them. These medicines can make heart problems worse in some people, so you should not take them if you are taking nitrate medicines, such as nitroglycerin. Check with your doctor before taking these medicines. Also, you can try a device for improving erections before you try medicine.
- Medicines for digestive problems. The type of medicine will depend on the problem you're having. For example, if you have gastroparesis, you may take metoclopramide (Reglan) or erythromycin.
- Nonprescription pain relievers, creams, or prescription oral or injection medicines if you have pain from peripheral neuropathy.
- Statins (such as lovastatin and simvastatin) to help decrease "bad" cholesterol (LDL).
Medication Choices
For your diabetes:
Diabetes Care: Managing Your Time When You Have Diabetes
Sometimes, living with diabetes can seem like a full-time job -- trying to keep up with everything you need to do for proper diabetes care. "Diabetes is a very time-consuming disease to manage well," says Karmeen Kulkarni, MS, RD, CDE, and former president of health care and education for the American Diabetes Association. "The medication, the food, the physical activity -- you add life in general to that whole picture and it ends up being quite challenging."
Read the Diabetes Care: Managing Your Time When You Have Diabetes article > >
For some complications:
- Angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor or angiotensin II receptor blocker (ARB) for diabetic nephropathy or cardiovascular disease
- Aspirin after a heart attack or stroke or for prevention
- Medicines for erection problems (such as Cialis, Levitra, or Viagra). These medicines can make heart problems worse in some people, especially those who are taking nitrate medicines (such as nitroglycerin). Check with your doctor before taking these medicines.
What To Think About
Your LDL cholesterol goal is less than 100 mg/dL. Your LDL goal may be lower-less than 70 mg/dL-if you have heart disease. If you are a man, your HDL cholesterol goal is more than 40 mg/dL. If you are a woman, your HDL goal is more than 50 mg/dL. You want your triglyceride level to be lower than 150 mg/dL. For more information, see the topic High Cholesterol. To reach your goals, changes in diet and regular exercise can help. If these changes are not enough, you may need to take medicines too.
Keep your blood sugar levels within your target range. Your target range may be close to normal blood sugar levels. If you frequently have low blood sugar levels, call your doctor. You and your doctor may decide to make your target range higher than the normal range to avoid low blood sugar emergencies.
WebMD Medical Reference from Healthwise
Type 1 Diabetes: Living With Complications Topics
Is This Normal? Get the Facts Fast!
Answer:
0-69
70-130
131+
Your level is currently
If the level is below 70 and you are experiencing symptoms such as shaking, sweating or difficulty thinking, you will need to raise the number immediately. A quick solution is to eat a few pieces of hard candy or 1 tablespoon of sugar or honey. Recheck your numbers again in 15 minutes to see if the number has gone up. If not, repeat the steps above or call your doctor.
People who experience hypoglycemia several times in a week should call their health care provider. It's important to monitor your levels each day so you can make sure your numbers are within the range. If you are pregnant always consult with your health care provider.
Congratulations on taking steps to manage your health.
However, it's important to continue to track your numbers so that you can make lifestyle changes if needed. If you are pregnant always consult with your physician.
Your level is high if this reading was taken before eating. Aim for 70-130 before meals and less than 180 two hours after meals.
Even if your number is high, it's not too late for you to take control of your health and lower your blood sugar.
One of the first steps is to monitor your levels each day. If you are pregnant always consult with your physician.
Did You Know Your Lifestyle Choices
Affect Your Blood Sugar?
Use the Blood Glucose Tracker to monitor
how well you manage your blood sugar over time.
This tool is not intended for women who are pregnant.
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