Most diabetic patients, especially those diagnosed with type 2 diabetes (T2D) are overweight. Having too much weight, particularly abdominal fat, can cause your body to become insulin resistant. Insulin resistance refers to a condition where your body does not effectively use the insulin it produces leading to high blood sugar. If left untreated, insulin resistance can result in T2D. Type 2 diabetes is a chronic condition characterized by higher than normal levels of blood glucose. Patients with T2D require diabetes drugs such as metformin to control their blood glucose levels.
Diabetes medications that cause weight loss
Diabetic patients are usually prescribed diabetes medication in addition to regular exercise and healthy diet to help them control their blood sugar and maintain a normal weight. Today, we have diabetic drugs which not only help diabetic patients to control their blood sugar, but also to lose weight. Losing weight is important because it can help reduce high amounts of blood sugar in type 2 diabetic people. The following are diabetes medications that cause weight loss.
Metformin
Metformin is an oral prescription drug that is marketed under the brand name glucophage, and is the first diabetes medication prescribed to type 2 diabetic patients. Metformin may cause weight loss in diabetic patients by reducing their appetites. When you take this medicine, it prevents the pancreas from producing excess insulin by improving the body’s insulin sensitivity and reducing the amount of glucose that is released by the liver. This prevents the level of blood sugar from going too high, which means your pancreas doesn’t have to produce excess insulin.
Victoza
Victoza is a once daily non-insulin injectable drug that is used to control blood glucose in type 2 diabetic people. Victoza, also know by its scientific name liraglutide, belongs to a class of medication called incretin mimetics. Liraglutide mimics the action of the hormone known as glucagon-like peptide 1, which stimulates the pancreas to secrete insulin in response to increase in blood glucose after eating. GLP-1 drugs, such as Victoza, also reduce the amount of sugar the liver produces. Victoza is also known to cause weight loss in diabetic patients by reducing their appetite. This helps you to feel full for longer, hence you will tend to eat less food.
Byetta
Byetta is an injectable diabetic medication that is prescribed to type 2 diabetic patients. The medical name of Byetta is exenatide and is produced by a pharmaceutical company called Eli Lilly. This diabetes medication helps to reduce blood sugar by stimulating insulin secretion when the level of blood glucose rises after eating. Studies also show that Byetta can help non-diabetic people who are overweight shed some weight when taken while exercising regularly and eating healthfully. Other studies have shown that exenatide can help overweight diabetic people reduce their blood glucose and lose weight. Byetta promotes weight loss by suppressing appetite, which makes you eat less and increases the feeling of fullness.
