June 12, 2003
Daily Care, Type 2
Question from Flossmoor, Illinois, USA:
My father, who has had type 2 diabetes for 30 years, has been able to control it with diet alone, but this year, his doctor placed him on Glucophage [metformin], and my dad is worried that his treatment plan will be changed to include insulin, if for some reason he becomes immune to Glucophage. Currently, he is doing great. His blood sugar is in the 90s mg/dl [5 mmol/L], and his hemoglobin A1c is below 9%, but he is simply concerned about the future. Is there a time limit for the to the effectiveness of Glucophage before a someone must move on to insulin?
Answer:
No, there is no absolute time that any oral hypoglycemic agents will be effective in controlling blood sugars. The next step, before going to insulin, is to add additional oral agents to his regimen.
On the other hand, diabetes does have a plot line. It does not necessarily stay the same forever. How successful your father is in keeping his blood sugars down will go along way toward keeping the sugars from rising over time.
JTL
