Worst Pills, Best Pills

An expert, independent second opinion on more than 1,800 prescription drugs, over-the-counter medications, and supplements

TYPE-2 DIABETES DRUGS FAIL TO IMPROVE MOST SERIOUS LONG-TERM COMPLICATIONS

July 14, 2021

Worst Pills, Best Pills Newsletter, February 2010

Are the drugs prescribed for Type 2 diabetes effective? The answer to this question depends on how the word "effective" is defined.

Below is a list of the 16 drugs, in 9 different pharmacologic classes, that are approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the management of Type 2 diabetes. All of these drugs were approved because they lower blood sugar (glucose) and glycated hemoglobin, or hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) levels in the blood. HbA1c is used to gauge the average blood sugar level over a period of time. Both of these tests are used to diagnose, monitor, and are the basis to approve new drugs to treat Type 2 diabetes.

 

Subscribe or login to read more, including:

  • Why do patients and physicians mistakenly believe that drugs are the best way to treat type-2 diabetes?
  • What medications are approved to treat type-2 diabetes?
  • How should type-2 diabetes be treated?   

View more resources on type-2 diabetes.