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Diabetes (http://www.dreddyclinic.com/findinformation/dd/diabetes.htm) means your blood glucose, or blood sugar, is too high. If you can't control your diabetes with wise food choices and physical activity, you may need diabetes medicines. The kind of medicine you take depends on your type of diabetes, your schedule, and your other health conditions.
With Type 1 diabetes, your pancreas does not make insulin. Insulin is a hormone that helps glucose get into your cells to give them energy. Without insulin, too much glucose stays in your blood. If you have type 1 diabetes, you will need to take insulin.
Type 2 diabetes, the most common type, can start when the body doesn't use insulin as it should. If your body can't keep up with the need for insulin, you may need to take pills. Some people need both insulin and pills. Along with meal planning and physical activity, diabetes pills help people with type 2 diabetes or gestational diabetes keep their blood glucose levels on target. Several kinds of pills are available. Each works in a different way. Many people take two or three kinds of pills. Some people take combination pills. Combination pills contain two kinds of diabetes medicine in one tablet. Some people take pills and insulin.

Diabetes pills don't work for everyone. Although you may find that your blood glucose levels go down when you start taking pills your blood sugar levels may not reach the normal range. Several types of pills are prescribed to treat type 2 diabetes:

1.Alpha-glucosidase inhibitors
2.Biguanides
3.DPP-4 inhibitors
4.Sulfonylureas and meglitinides
5.Thiazolidinediones