Type 2 diabetes medication side effects

Nausea, diarrhoea, stomach discomfort, or reduced appetite may occur with some tablets or injectable medicines, especially after a treatment is started or changed. Medicines that increase insulin activity can sometimes lower glucose too far, causing sweating, shaking, hunger, dizziness, irritability, or confusion. Other treatments may cause thirst or more frequent urination when glucose remains high. Kidney function, dehydration, illness, and interactions with other medicines can alter how a treatment affects you.

Take each medicine exactly as prescribed and do not stop insulin or another glucose-lowering treatment suddenly without advice. Record the medicine, dose, timing, symptom, and glucose reading if you have a monitor. Ask a clinician or pharmacist whether food, hydration, timing, or a dose adjustment could help. Check your feet regularly, because reduced sensation can hide an injury; a wound may become cellulitis. If low glucose is a recurring problem, ask about a personal treatment plan for hypoglycaemia.

Seek urgent help for severe confusion, fainting, a seizure, trouble breathing, repeated vomiting, or inability to keep fluids down. Contact your diabetes team promptly for persistent diarrhoea, a new rash or swelling, marked weakness, repeated low readings, or glucose that stays high despite following your plan. Do not drive if you feel confused, faint, or unable to treat a low reading safely.

Which side effects fit my medicine, and how long should they last? What should I do if I miss a dose or cannot eat? Which symptoms mean I should hold a medicine and call? Do my kidney tests or other prescriptions change the safest option?