Donna Bell-Baker, Pharmacist
Medications for Diabetes
Our guest speaker for August was Donna Bell-Baker. She is the Pharmacist we have all utilized for many years at the Kroger Pharmacy on I-45.
Donna admitted that she came from a family of diabetics, so she has a natural interest in the disease. Diabetes affects 21 million people in the U.S. today. It has been a costly disease, but is getting cheaper due to generics.
Donna admitted that she came from a family of diabetics, so she has a natural interest in the disease. Diabetes affects 21 million people in the U.S. today. It has been a costly disease, but is getting cheaper due to generics.
Donna believes that you cannot fight diabetes alone, it is a team effort. Your Management Team are those who work together to make it possible for you to live a normal life and manage your diabetes. Your Management Care Team consists of yourself, your Physician, your Dietician and your Pharmacist all working together to ensure a “healthier” you (as illustrated) |
Her first piece of advice was to always stick to the same brands of drugs, don’t jump around. Different companies use different controls which produce different outcomes. If you do something different, like change brands, write it down so you will have possible reasons for the changes.
Donna discussed the following drug types:
Sulfonylureas (not used in this area) - 1st generation meds that stimulate beta cells to release more insulin. These were taken 3 times a day but the 2nd generation meds were changed to more infrequent doses (one 2 times a day) because people were more apt to keep to the dosage.
Meglitinides (not used in this area) - also stimulates the beta cells to release more insulin. This is a before meal drug taken 3 times a day, and has no generic.
Biguanide—Metformin. The #1 drug in this area. It decreases the amount of glucose produced by the liver. It makes the muscle tissue more sensitive to insulin so glucose can be absorbed. It is taken 2 times a day.
Thiazolidinediones (Actos) - Helps insulin work better in the muscle and fat, and also reduces glucose produced in the liver. It is effective for reducing A1C with few side effects.
Alpha Gluosidase Inhibitors—blocks the breakdown of starches.
New DPP-4 Inhibitors (Jonuyia) Improves A1C without hypoglycemia.
Now-a-days they have oral combos of metformin plus one of the other agents.
Donna brought a wide assortment of over the counter drugs for us to learn about. She advised that all pain relief options are fine to take—Motrin, Aleve, Tylenol, Aspirin, etc.
She showed sugar free options of decongestant and allergy meds that were in liquid form—all are safe options. She warned to read the label because so many liquid form meds (like DayQuil) have sugar and alcohol—neither being good for diabetics. The best thing is to take tablets (like Mucinex) and drink lots of water with your dose—this is VERY important.
She discussed creams and lotions that are great for diabetics, such as Cetqphil, Eucerin, Aveeno, Gold Bond, and Amlactin. Our skin needs the attention!!
Donna also showed us an assortment of cereals, cereal bars, shakes like Glucerna and Boost. She warned to read the labels because of the sugar content ... regular Boost has 29g of sugar while Boost specifically designed for diabetics has only 4g sugar.
She also showed us several functional (and cool) meters and strips. Depending on how much you can afford, you can spend as little as $20 on a meter and as much as $100 if you want to USB attach to your computer and download your results into a report. Most top brands have strips that average about $1 a strip where the Kroger High Accuracy meter has a strip cost of 50 cents apiece.
Donna’s presentation was informative and enjoyable. We all enjoyed fruit and bottled water during the Q&A session.
Donna discussed the following drug types:
Sulfonylureas (not used in this area) - 1st generation meds that stimulate beta cells to release more insulin. These were taken 3 times a day but the 2nd generation meds were changed to more infrequent doses (one 2 times a day) because people were more apt to keep to the dosage.
Meglitinides (not used in this area) - also stimulates the beta cells to release more insulin. This is a before meal drug taken 3 times a day, and has no generic.
Biguanide—Metformin. The #1 drug in this area. It decreases the amount of glucose produced by the liver. It makes the muscle tissue more sensitive to insulin so glucose can be absorbed. It is taken 2 times a day.
Thiazolidinediones (Actos) - Helps insulin work better in the muscle and fat, and also reduces glucose produced in the liver. It is effective for reducing A1C with few side effects.
Alpha Gluosidase Inhibitors—blocks the breakdown of starches.
New DPP-4 Inhibitors (Jonuyia) Improves A1C without hypoglycemia.
Now-a-days they have oral combos of metformin plus one of the other agents.
Donna brought a wide assortment of over the counter drugs for us to learn about. She advised that all pain relief options are fine to take—Motrin, Aleve, Tylenol, Aspirin, etc.
She showed sugar free options of decongestant and allergy meds that were in liquid form—all are safe options. She warned to read the label because so many liquid form meds (like DayQuil) have sugar and alcohol—neither being good for diabetics. The best thing is to take tablets (like Mucinex) and drink lots of water with your dose—this is VERY important.
She discussed creams and lotions that are great for diabetics, such as Cetqphil, Eucerin, Aveeno, Gold Bond, and Amlactin. Our skin needs the attention!!
Donna also showed us an assortment of cereals, cereal bars, shakes like Glucerna and Boost. She warned to read the labels because of the sugar content ... regular Boost has 29g of sugar while Boost specifically designed for diabetics has only 4g sugar.
She also showed us several functional (and cool) meters and strips. Depending on how much you can afford, you can spend as little as $20 on a meter and as much as $100 if you want to USB attach to your computer and download your results into a report. Most top brands have strips that average about $1 a strip where the Kroger High Accuracy meter has a strip cost of 50 cents apiece.
Donna’s presentation was informative and enjoyable. We all enjoyed fruit and bottled water during the Q&A session.