“How about this one?”
We’ve never had so many pharmaceutical options for treating diabetes—12 different classes at last count. Many classes have more than one drug. All classes available in the U.S. are listed on this page. Click on the class you’re interested in for a brief review.
Be aware that drugs have both generic and brand names. For instance, metformin—the generic name—is sold under the brand name of Glucophage, among others. Complicating matters further is that generic and brand names vary from one country to the next. I live in the U.S., so U.S. names are the ones I use. I will always capitalize a brand name drug, but start generic names with lower case letters unless it’s the first word of a sentence.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is charged with approving drug as safe and effective, and monitoring ongoing safety once a drug is on the market. Doctors commonly prescribe drugs for purposes not approved by the FDA. However, for the purposes of this page, I’ve restricted my comments to FDA-approved uses.
I strive to be as accurate as possible in sharing drug information with you, but I cannot guarantee accuracy. Anything I write today could be outdated tomorrow. Talk to your personal physician, pharmacist, or other qualified professional for detailed, up-to-date drug information. Please contact me by e-mail if you find any mistakes.
Drugs for Type 1 Diabetes
Pramlintide: Symlin
Drugs for Type 2 Diabetes
Metformin: Glucophage, others
Sulfonylureas: glipizide, glyburide, glimiperide, others
Thiazolidinediones: rosiglitazone (Avandia), pioglitazone (Actos)
Dipeptidyl-peptidase -4 Inhibitors: sitagliptin (Januvia), saxagliptin (Onglyza), linagliptin (Tradjenta), vildagliptin
GLP-1 Analogues: exenatide (Byetta, Bydureon), liraglutide (Victoza), albiglutide (Tanzeum), dulaglutide (Trulicity), lixisenatide (Adlyxin)
Alpha-glucosidase Inhibitors: acarbose (Precose), miglitol (Glyset)
Meglitinides: repaglinide (Prandin), nateglinide (Starlix)
Pramlintide: Symlin
Colesevelam: WelChol
Dopamine Receptor Agonist: bromocriptine (Cycloset)
SGLT2 Inhibitors: canagliflozin, dapagliflozin, empagliflozin
GIP Receptor and GLP-1 Receptor Agonists: tirzepatide (Mounjaro)
Injectable Drugs for Diabetes
Pramlintide: Symlin
GLP-1 Analogues: exenatide (Byetta, Bydureon), liraglutide (Victoza), albiglutide (Tanzeum), dulaglutide (Trulicity), lixisenatide (Adlyxin)
GIP Receptor and GLP-1 Receptor Agonists: tirzepatide (Mounjaro)
Oral Drugs (taken by mouth) for Diabetes
Metformin: Glucophage, others
Sulfonylureas: glipizide, glyburide, glimiperide, others
Thiazolidinediones: rosiglitazone (Avandia), pioglitazone (Actos)
Dipeptidyl-peptidase-4 Inhibitors: sitagliptin (Januvia), saxagliptin (Onglyza), linagliptin (Tradjenta), vildagliptin
Alpha-glucosidase Inhibitors: acarbose (Precose), miglitol (Glyset)
Meglitinides: repaglinide (Prandin), nateglinide (Starlix)
Colesevelam: WelChol
Dopamine Receptor Agonist: bromocriptine (Cycloset)
SGLT2 Inhibitors: canagliflozin, dapagliflozin, empagliflozin
Last modification date: July 29, 2016
Diabetic Mediterranean Diet 
Hi Dr. Parker,
Your review of Dr. Bernstein’s book was spot-on! I’m a 64 year old Type 1 diabetic for the past 34 years, and have had my blood sugars in the tightest control of my life for the past 4 months, following Dr. B’s plan. My only problem is that I’m 30 lbs. overweight. I see where he addresses overweight as mostly decreasing the amount of protein, which I’ve been doing, but have lost only 6 pounds in 2 months. Does your Mediterranean Diet address weight loss? Any advice would be greatly appreciated!
Annie Agah
Hi, Annie. Yes but unfortunately, in your case, it would involve keeping careful track of calories or carbohydrate grams, or a good exercise program. No panacea.
-Steve
Most people do not know that blood pressure medications for high blood pressure leads to diabetes. There is another natural formula of blood pressure tonic that lowers the pressure nicely but does not have the same problems:
2 oz. of Italian herbs (no salt, no msg)
Fill a quart container with 100 proof Vodka (can’t be 80%)
Stir and let sit, covered, in the pantry for 2 weeks
Strain in small container after 2 weeks
Step 1: Take only 1 tsp a day until the pressure hold at a healthy level for 3 consecutive days.
Step 2: Then for another 3 consecutive days, reduce it to 1/2 tsp a day.
Step 3: If the pressure goes up at any time after that, repeat step 2.
This is the best possible way to reduce blood pressure naturally and avoid developing Type 2 diabetes.
Hope this helps others as much as it has helped me. My husband is on the tonic and he is living with vascular dementia. When his kidneys started to fail earlier this year, I removed his pharmaceutical prescription for high blood pressure. He now only take the tonic occasionally.
Kindly,
~ Ethelle Lord, DM
icareassoc (doc) com
I’m skeptical, but there you go.
I have been on Perindopril Indapamide and also Metoprolol Tartrate for many years now and had no idea that these drugs could bring on Type 2 Diabetes !! I was diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes a few months ago and am finding it difficult to control as when taking Metformin I get an unpleasant reaction which affects my state of mind. My readings range from 5 mml/L after a nights sleep up to 22mml/L during the day after a glass of wine and a meal. What can be done in such a situation such as this without a lot of exercise but moderate exercise ?
Thanks for sharing the information regarding Diabetic Mediterranean Diet which gives some information what to be followed for the diet and i hope this would helped everyone for diabetics.
Fred, thanks for your testimony.