Hi bb,

Online resources are great for garnering information that is helpful in managing your health care, however it can not take the place of your doctor's advice. Only you and your doctor know what is best for your health management. Gather your information online and take it with you when you see your doctor, that way you remember to ask all the right questions. Depending on your situation, your doctor may prescribe a combination of oral and injectable medicines.

When you take insulin, you are replacing a chemical that the pancreas should have been producing. Most type 2 diabetics begin as insulin resistant meaning the body produces insulin, but the receptors on the cells are resistant to using the insulin. Insulin resistance is treated with a combination of medicines that open the receptors on the cells and boost insulin production. Once your insulin production stops and you begin insulin replacement, the need for the oral medicines does not necessarily go away.

You can read more about all of the medicines prescribed for diabetes here in the drugs database. Insulin information can be found here. Look over the list of drug interactions and make sure you doctors are aware of everything you take daily including over the counter meds, vitamins and herbal treatments.

Hope this helps!! Stay in touch and let us know how you are doing!

Vicki M

That would depend on what kind of oral medication you were taking. Some diabetes medications (metformin, the TZDs) reduce insulin resistance, so it would make sense to keep taking them because it would mean you'd need less injected insulin.

But the sulfonylureas just make your own pancreas produce more insulin, and it doesn't make sense to me to keep taking them if you're injecting insulin.

Sometimes price is a factor. You may have to try different combinations and decide on the one that works best for your own individual case.

However, different doctors have different approaches to medications, so what you're actually prescribed may differ depending on the doctor. If you really don't like what your doctor is telling you to take, you can try to find another doctor whose approach is closer to yours.