When you hear diabetes, the first thought that rushes into your mind is your body is producing less insulin or insulin isn’t being properly used by your body. And that’s definitely a problem with this chronic illness. The director of the Inpatient Diabetes Program from Boston quoted that, “Diabetes is like termites, in that it causes slow, hidden, but significant damage in the body.” That’s evidently true. But what I would like to add is, it’s not only diabetes that causes damage, but the drugs consumed in order to prevent or maintain diabetes also cause damage to a high extent.
Further, diabetes is associated with complications such as high blood pressure and cholesterol, problems with brain health, gum disease, sexual difficulties, hearing loss, sleep disorders, apnea, skin infections, vision problems, kidney failure, and neuropathy. And what if taking medications over time makes the condition worse? How will you be able to come back healthy again?
Diabetes is a developing disease that is causing major social and economic problems in countries all over the world. Despite scientific discoveries, greater healthcare facilities, and increased knowledge, the illness continues to affect a wide range of people, particularly in low- and middle-income nations. The current statistics show that premature death is on the rise, posing a serious danger to world growth. Sulphonylureas, biguanides, alpha glucosidase inhibitors, and thiazolidinediones are examples of newer generation medications having high efficacy in decreasing hyperglycemia as a result of scientific and technical advancements. But still, the number of complications along with deaths are not reducing.
The severity of hyperglycemia, hepatic and renal related functioning, dangers of hypoglycemia, body mass index, capacity to self-monitor blood glucose levels, and the cost of the drug all play a role in the choice and administration of a glucose lowering therapy. GLP analogues such as Exenatide and Liraglutide, insulin injections to compensate for cell defects, dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DPP-4) inhibition by Sitagliptin and increased islet survival, and islet cell regeneration through islet neogenesis associated protein (INGAP) peptide therapy aimed at islet cell regeneration are among the therapeutics for type 1 diabetes.
The therapeutics used in type 2 diabetes are: Sulfonylureas and repaglinide that boost insulin secretion, troglitazone improves insulin action in fat and muscle, metformin promotes insulin mechanism in hepatic tissue, and miglitol and acarbose delay carbohydrate absorption from meal intake, respectively. All these drugs have limitations in terms of their side effects. The next greatly used strategy for diabetes control is combinational therapy to decrease the requirement of insulin, minimizing weight gain and to improve glycemic control.
Newer medications, such as sulphonylureas or insulin, can cause hypoglycemia and weight gain, and biguanides, such as metformin, can produce gastrointestinal side effects such as diarrhea, nausea, and, in rare cases, lactic acidosis. Thiazolidinedione usage is also linked to weight increase, which is concerning given that type 2 diabetics are already overweight. Incretin mimetics, for example, are a new group of medications that can cause nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea.
Sometimes switching medications like from metformin to sulfonylureas, increased risk of heart attack, death from many causes and severe hypoglycemia. The death risk associated with this was increased by 51%, according to research studies.
If we take into account all the side effects and the harm that these drugs can cause to our body, would we want to risk our lives with it? Well, if you now say that you won’t take any medicine to control diabetes, it also means that you will still be at risk. Then what’s the way out?
What if we balance our lifestyle along with some medications? How about reversing diabetes in a holistic manner? You don’t actually have to cut down on all the medications, rather, indulging in healthy eating, sleeping, stress-free life, meditating, and balancing a healthy lifestyle, can lower the risk of future complications.
In order to get more assistance on how diabetes can be managed, you can get in touch with us at, Diabetes Reversal Clinic or contact us at +91 88847 22267.
