There are two commonly known types of Diabetes Mellitus: Juvenile Diabetes, Type I, which is treated with insulin injections and the adult onset Diabetes, Type II which is treated with diabetes pills. The difference in treatment between them is the difference of the cause of the disease. The majority of patients fall into the latter category, Type II. It is often a familial problem, with mom or dad having it, or a sibling or other close relative, such as a grandparent or aunt or uncle. Juvenile Diabetes is not a familial problem.

What Are The Names Of The Diabetes Pills?
There are several medications available to produce the insulin the body cannot make itself any longer. The most commonly prescribed medicine for Type II is Metformin (Glucophage) . Others are Avandia (Rosiglitazone), Glynase or Micronase (Glyburide), Glipizide (Glucotrol) and several others. Some diabetes pills are prescribed alone, other times two different hypoglycemic agents are prescribed in conjunction.

Side Effects Of The Most Commonly Prescribed Diabetes Pills: Glucophage.
Taking glucophage will not produce too many unpleasant side effects in most patients, but in some cases diarrhea, stomach upset, gas, headache, metallic taste, nausea and vomiting may become extremely unpleasant for the patient. In more serious circumstances, these diabetes pills may cause a patient to experience chest pain, dizziness, and trouble breathing. These are signs when the medication needs to be changed. Sometimes fatal lactic acidosis may occur, but this is rare. Pharmaceutical research has allowed progress in this field to such an extent that more than one type of pill is available.

Patients with kidney disease will take a different drug than the diabetes pills a patient with liver disease takes. As an example, glucophage is renally excreted and therefore the patient with liver disease will have to take this type of diabetes pills while a patient with kidney disease will benefit from taking perhaps glipizide, which is hepatically metabolized.

Cost Of Diabetes Pills
Most of them are quite pricey. Not only that, but when adding the cost of glucose strips to measure glucose content of the blood, diabetes proves to be a very expensive disease.

The Need For Diabetes Medication
Unfortunately, no matter how unpleasant the side effects are, once someone is diagnosed with diabetes, the cure can never be worse than the disease. Diabetes pills will save the life of the patient. Trial and error, as well as past medical history, will often determine which particular drug is prescribed. Not being treated for Diabetes Mellitus will in time results in damage of multiple organ systems of the body and, eventually, will kill the patient.