The following post is taken from the paper
ConsumerReportHealth.org/BestBuyDrugs and was published June 2011.
It is a much easier read than the papers referenced in the post:
For oral diabetic medications the paper lists the following averages:
HbA1c Reduction (% point)
LDL Change (mg.dL)
HDL Change (mg/dL)
Triglyceride Change (mg/dL)
Risk of Hypoglycaemia (% of patients)
Weight Change (lbs)
Monthly Cost ($)*
** NHS costs (albeit 2009) are given in:
The evaluation of the oral diabetes medications for Type 2 diabetics found the following:
1. Newer drugs are no better. One drug, metformin, have been around for more than a decade and works just as well as newer medicines.
2. Newer drugs are no safer. All diabetes pills have the potential to cause adverse effects, minor and serious.
3. Newer drugs are more expensive. The newer diabetes medicines cost many times more than the older ones.
4. Taking two diabetes drugs can improve blood sugar control. Two or more drugs might be necessary, but this raises the risk of adverse effects and increases cost.
Taking effectiveness, safety, side effects, dosing, and cost into consideration, the following are the Consumer Reports Best Buy Drugs:
Metformin or Metformin Sustained Release — alone or with glipizide or glimepiride
Glipizide or Glipizide Sustained Release — alone or with metformin
Glimepiride — alone or with metformin
All of these medicines are low-cost generics.The paper advises try metformin first unless your health status prevents it. If it doesn’t bring your blood glucose into normal range, try adding glipizide or glimepiride.
2 comments:
Can you trust the Pharmas drug trials on present evidence absolutely not. We know about the risks of Avandia and Actos and other newer drugs, are we being used as unknowing guinea pigs in extended trials of these new drugs?certainly looks that way. The dieticians who promote the low fat high carb diets take some of the blame.
Geordie
Thank you for putting this and many other interesting articles on the blog for us all to read and digest.For the past few years I have treated my diabetes with diet i.e. a lower carb one than other members of my family and metformin. Metformin has been around for a number of years and I believe I am correct in saying that as long as you check for Vitamin B deficiency after being on it/ taking it for a few years it has no adverse side effect. Before I am shouted down I know every drug has a side effect, but talking to people in my local diabetes support group the adverse side effects of metformin seem few and far between. I often wonder about some of the newer drugs available - are they properly tested, somehow I doubt it. There is so much money involved and to the drug companies it is big BIG business.
Sheila
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