Keeping Blood Sugar Levels Safe

Lifestyle Changes.
Some people with type II diabetes can lower their blood sugar to normal levels by achieving and maintaining a healthy weight, following a low-fat diet and getting regular exercise.
But many type II diabetics need to supplement these healthy lifestyle changes with oral medication called hypoglycemics.

Oral Medications.
These medications lower blood sugar by stimulating insulin production and by helping the body's insulin move sugar from the bloodstream into the body's cells.

The decision of which oral medicine to use and how much a person needs requires teamwork between a recently diagnosed diabetic and his or her doctor.

Another type of oral medication can be used by some people with type II diabetes to control blood sugar by blocking the liver's release of glucose.

New drugs, currently in the testing phase, may soon become available. Oral medication may not lower a diabetic's blood sugar enough, or the medication may become less effective as time passes.

Insulin Injections.
About one in three people with type II diabetes eventually requires shots of insulin, perhaps for only a limited time following illness or injury. But taking insulin does not mean that a person with type II diabetes now has type I diabetes.

In either type of diabetes, treatment aims to maintain blood sugar at healthy levels in order to prevent damage to the eyes, kidneys, heart, blood vessels and nerves.