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Type 2 Diabetes: Living With Complications - Medications
You may be taking more than one oral medicine to treat your type 2 diabetes. You may be taking insulin by injection or through an insulin pump alone or along with oral diabetes medicine. Taking these medicines as prescribed can help keep your blood sugar levels within your target range. For information on these medicines, see the Medications section of the topic Type 2 Diabetes: Living With the Disease.
You may need to take:
- Aspirin. If you are age 40 or older, talk to your health professional about taking a low-dose aspirin daily to prevent heart attack, stroke, or other large blood vessel disease (macrovascular disease).12
- A diuretic, an angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor, angiotensin II receptor blocker, or other medicine if you have high blood pressure or have protein in your urine. These medicines can slow or prevent further damage to your kidneys.
- Medicines for digestive problems. The type of medicine will depend on the problem you are having. For example, if you have gastroparesis, you may take metoclopramide (Reglan), domperidone (available in Europe and Canada), or erythromycin.
- Nonprescription pain relievers, creams, or prescription oral or injection medicines if you have pain from peripheral neuropathy.
- Medicines such as sildenafil (Viagra), vardenafil (Levitra), or tadalafil (Cialis) if you have erection problems. These medicines can make heart problems worse in some people, especially those who take nitrate medicines (such as nitroglycerin). Check with your doctor before taking any of these medicines.
Medication Choices
Medicines for some complications include:
- Aspirin after a heart attack or stroke or to prevent these.
- Statins such as atorvastatin (Lipitor), simvastatin (Zocor), or pravastatin (Pravachol), to help prevent heart attack or stroke.
- Angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors or angiotensin II receptor blockers (ARBs) for diabetic nephropathy.
- Phosphodiesterase-5 inhibitors (PDE-5 inhibitors) such as Viagra, Levitra, or Cialis if you have erection problems. Check with your doctor before taking any of these medicines.
- Fibrates such as gemfibrozil (Lopid) or fenofibrate (Tricor) to help lower triglycerides and increase HDL levels.
What to Think About
Keep your blood sugar levels tightly within a normal or near-normal range by taking your oral diabetes medicine (and, in some cases, insulin) as prescribed.
If you have high cholesterol, take cholesterol-reducing medicines (such as statins) to keep your LDL cholesterol level less than 100 mg/dL or aim for keeping it at 70 mg/dL, your triglyceride level less than 150 mg/dL, and if possible, your HDL cholesterol level more than 40 mg/dL for men, and more than 50 mg/dL for women. See the topic High Cholesterol.
If you have high blood pressure, take medicines to keep your blood pressure consistently below 130/80 mm Hg. If your systolic blood pressure is between 130 mm Hg and 139 mm Hg or your diastolic blood pressure is between 80 mm Hg and 89 mm Hg, you may try some lifestyle or behavioral therapy for 3 months before starting medicine.6 For more information, see the topic High Blood Pressure (Hypertension).
WebMD Medical Reference from Healthwise
Type 2 Diabetes: Living With Complications Topics
Indication
Uroxatral® (alfuzosin HCl 10 mg extended-release tablets) is an alpha1-blocker for the treatment of the signs and symptoms of BPH.
Important Safety Information
Do not take UROXATRAL if you have liver problems or if you are taking antifungal drugs like ketoconazole or itraconazole, or HIV drugs like ritonavir.
UROXATRAL can cause a sudden drop in blood pressure, especially when starting treatment. This may lead to fainting, dizziness, and lightheadedness. Do not drive, operate machinery, or do any dangerous activity until you know how UROXATRAL will affect you. This is especially important if you already have a problem with low blood pressure or take medicines to treat high blood pressure. There may be an increased risk of low blood pressure and fainting when taking UROXATRAL in combination with blood pressure medication or nitrates, or erectile dysfunction medication.
If considering cataract surgery (clouding of the eyes), tell your eye surgeon that you are currently taking UROXATRAL or have previously been treated with an alpha-blocker.
Before taking UROXATRAL, tell your doctor if you have kidney problems.
Also, tell your doctor if you or any family member(s) have or take medications for a rare heart condition known as congenital prolongation of the QT interval.
BPH and prostate cancer can cause the same symptoms. However, UROXATRAL is not a treatment for prostate cancer.
The most common side effects with UROXATRAL are dizziness, upper respiratory tract infection, headache, and tiredness.
Please see UROXATRAL full prescribing information.
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