CONTROL YOUR DIABETES WITH ANTIDIABETIC MEDS.
Some of us have already started to sample black cake and ginger beer for the season ushering in Christmas the Guyanese way. In some workplaces when the goodies pass around we indulge because we are uncomfortable to refuse our colleagues. The question is how much sugar do you actually consume from these incidental socials? For someone who is not a diabetic this is not so much of a problem since your body produces enough insulin to process “sugar” or glucose. However for a person who has been diagnosed as diabetic and has started medication it is the responsibility of that person to ensure that he/she controls his/her blood sugar level. This can be tricky if you are not sure what to do.

Before we discuss the details about the anti-diabetic meds let’s understand why it’s important to monitor this disease condition yourself. Diabetes commonly referred to as sugar in our Guyanese community is really that chronic illness (disease which you live with for the rest of your life) where your body is not able to “burn” or process excessive sugar hence it remains in the blood.

Of course, different people have different capacity to produce insulin, which is the hormone that breaks down the sugar. So the doctor prescribes different types of meds at varying dosages most appropriate for the patient.

Since a diabetic is on medication for life you must learn the name and strength of the medication the doctor has prescribed for you. Avoid the habit of refilling your medication by the colour, shape and size. The appearance of your medication can vary unless you’re on a specific brand. There are two (2) categories of meds readily available; insulin in the injectable form and tablets in the oral form.

Some of the common brands of insulin available on the market are Novolin and Humulin. Insulin is presented in short, intermediate and long acting depending on the duration of action. So you can take a short acting just before breakfast which is referred to as Soluble or Rapid Insulin (which has a peak action between 2 – 4 hours) while Lente Insulin is the type to cover you for a longer duration with a peak action between 4 – 12 hours. There are also premixed combinations of insulin such as Novolin 30/ 70 which has 30% soluble and 70% lente.

With respect to the oral meds some people are familiar with the white “egg shaped” tablet. This is chlorpropamide (pronounced chlor-pro-pa-mide) 250 milligram which is the generic form for the brand name Diabenese under which it would have been marketed years ago. The Food and Drugs had actually issued a publication about four (4) years ago advising that this drug should not be used anymore because of the associated side effects. However, today some persons are still using the “egg shape” tablet since they are not be advised by their pharmacist about the new developments. So if you know anyone who is still using the “egg shape” tablet inform them to see a doctor immediately and ask about the newer antidiabetic meds available with fewer side effects.

There are other tablets such as glicazide (pronounced gli-ca-zide) which is the generic for diamicron (pronounced di-a-mi-cron) MR 30 milligram. MR means modified release where the drug is designed in a special way so that small amounts are released at specific intervals so that you don’t have to dose frequently. This helps since the least times you need to take your meds the better you would comply and hence you will be taking the prescribed milligrams to control your diabetes. Another drug is glibenclamide (pronounced gli-ben-cla-mide) which is the generic for daonil (pronounced day-o-nil) 5 milligram. Note that all of these meds belong to the same class of anti-diabetics.

Metformin (pronounced met-for-min) 500 milligram is another popular sugar tablet but is rarely prescribed alone unless your diabetes is considered mild. So you most times may use metformin along with diamicron MR or daonil. Some persons blood sugar is controlled with one tablet while some may need a maximum dose. See the chart below with minimum and maximum dosages of the oral treatments:

Do a quick check to see if you have been either under or overdosing since this can make a tremendous difference in the way your body respond to the drugs and the sugars you consume. If you have been taking more that the recommended maximum dosages to control your diabetes you can get into what we refer to as a hypoglycaemic or low blood sugar where you feel faint, nervous, sweat excessively and in worse cases lose consciousness.

Question: How do I know if I’m diabetic?

Some persons have no idea whether they fall into this zone or if they are just borderline. The only way to find out if you are a diabetic is to do a blood sugar test preferably a fasting blood sugar test (referred to as FBS) where your last meal or drink must be 12 hours before the time of testing. So you “fast” for 12 hours hence the name. A random blood sugar test (referred to as RBS) can be done also at any time but should not be used as a conclusive test to determine if the person has diabetes.

Question: So I’m a “holiday” diabetic. I don’t follow the recommended diet nor take my meds daily but the FBS result is normal. Is there another test which can uncover that I am CHEATING myself?

Yes. The doctor can request that you do HbA1C (glycosylated haemoglobin) test which gives you a six (6) months average of your blood sugar level.

The good news is that today no one should die from diabetes once they use their meds daily as prescribed and follow the recommended diet and exercise plan. Empower yourself so that you can control of your diabetes by knowing your blood sugar reading. It does not take long to do a blood sugar test. So for this season take a break for 5 minutes before your midday meal and get yourself tested.

Medicine Express located at 223 Camp Street, N/burg (between Lamaha and New Market Streets) offers the services such as blood sugar test, kits and strips. If you have any queries, comments or further information on the above topic kindly forward them to medicine.express@gmail.com or send them to Tel #225-5142.

Do a quick check to see if you have been either under or overdosing since this can make a tremendous difference in the way your body respond to the drugs and the sugars you consume. If you have been taking more that the recommended maximum dosages to control your diabetes you can get into what we refer to as a hypoglycaemic or low blood sugar where you feel faint, nervous, sweat excessively and in worse cases lose consciousness.

Question: How do I know if I’m diabetic?
Some persons have no idea whether they fall into this zone or if they are just borderline. The only way to find out if you are a diabetic is to do a blood sugar test preferably a fasting blood sugar test (referred to as FBS) where your last meal or drink must be 12 hours before the time of testing. So you “fast” for 12 hours hence the name. A random blood sugar test (referred to as RBS) can be done also at any time but should not be used as a conclusive test to determine if the person has diabetes.

Question: So I’m a “holiday” diabetic. I don’t follow the recommended diet nor take my meds daily but the FBS result is normal. Is there another test which can uncover that I am CHEATING myself?

Yes. The doctor can request that you do HbA1C (glycosylated haemoglobin) test which gives you a six (6) months average of your blood sugar level.

The good news is that today no one should die from diabetes once they use their meds daily as prescribed and follow the recommended diet and exercise plan. Empower yourself so that you can control of your diabetes by knowing your blood sugar reading. It does not take long to do a blood sugar test. So for this season take a break for 5 minutes before your midday meal and get yourself tested.

Medicine Express located at 223 Camp Street, N/burg (between Lamaha and New Market Streets) offers the services such as blood sugar test, kits and strips. If you have any queries, comments or further information on the above topic kindly forward them to medicine.express@gmail.com or send them to Tel #225-5142.