
May 28, 1999
Medications: Pills for Diabetes
Question from St. Petersburg, Florida, USA:
My husband, age forty, has Type 1. He has had the disease for 15 years. Should his physician be prescribing the new drug repaglinide (Prandin) since he is a Type 1 diabetic taking two shots a day of 70/30 insulin? Should his physician have taken him off Rezulin (troglitazone) and then represcribe Rezulin because his patient stated Prandin is supposed to be for Type 2’s only?
Answer:
Prandin and Rezulin are medications for the treatment of Type 2 diabetes, and would not be expected to be helpful in Type 1 diabetes. If they were proposed for this off-label use, there should be a thorough explanation of the benefits and risks (in writing in my opinion) before they are used.
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