Living with Diabetes

In general, diabetes pills are safe and work well. But like any other drug, they must be used with care.

All diabetes pills can interact with other medicines. Because of the chance of medication interactions, you need to tell your doctor about all medicines you are taking. While you're taking diabetes pills, you should check with your doctor before starting anything new — even over-the-counter items.

Any sulfonylurea or meglitinide can cause blood glucose levels to drop too low (hypoglycemia). Metformin or the glitazones rarely cause hypoglycemia unless taken with insulin stimulators (sulfonylureas or repaglinide) or insulin injections. Acarbose or meglitol, taken as prescribed, does not cause hypoglycemia. However, hypoglycemia can occur when acarbose or meglitol is taken in combination with other oral diabetes medications.

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