Diabetes brings a handful of unfamiliar words with it. Here’s a glossary to help you understand some of the concepts that are important in taking steps toward a healthy balance.
A1C testA standard test that shows the average amount of sugar (glucose) in your blood over the past 3 months—as well as how well your blood sugar is being controlled over time. It can be performed in a laboratory or in your doctor’s office.
blood sugar
(See glucose below)
diabetes
A disease of high blood sugar. When you have diabetes, your blood sugar is too high. The most common type of diabetes is type 2 diabetes.
DPP-4
When your blood sugar gets too high, your body send messages to your pancreas to make more insulin and your liver to make less sugar. But some of these messages do not get through because of a substance in your body called DPP-4. JANUVIA works by blocking DPP-4, so more of the important messages get through.
glucose
A type of sugar from which your body gets the energy it needs. Glucose is also called blood sugar. Your body gets this sugar from 2 sources:
After you eat, your blood sugar rises. But with type 2 diabetes, your body doesn't make enough insulin to lower your blood sugar levels, or the insulin does not work as well as it should. Your liver may also make too much sugar.
high blood sugar
(See hyperglycemia below)
hyperglycemia
The medical term for high blood sugar. Type 2 diabetes is a disease of high blood sugar. For most people, blood sugar levels that stay higher than 140 mg/dL (before meals) are too high. For many people, the normal blood sugar range is 70 to 140 mg/dL, with the higher reading occurring mainly after meals.
hypoglycemia
The medical term for low blood sugar. It occurs when your blood sugar level drops too low to provide enough energy for your body’s activities. This can result in nervousness and shakiness, perspiration, dizziness or light-headedness, confusion, difficulty speaking, or any combination of these. Other causes of hypoglycemia are certain diabetes medicines, too much exercise, and excessive alcohol consumption. In general, a blood sugar reading lower than 70 mg/dL is too low.
insulin
A hormone made by the pancreas that carries the sugar from your blood into your cells, where the sugar is used for energy. The right amount of insulin helps keep your blood sugar level balanced. In type 2 diabetes, the body does not make enough insulin, or the insulin that the body makes does not work the way that it should; this causes the blood sugar level to become too high.
JANUVIA
JANUVIA (jah-NEW-vee-ah) is a once-daily prescription pill that, along with diet and exercise, helps lower blood sugar levels in adults with type 2 diabetes. It's a type of prescription diabetes medicine called a DPP-4 inhibitor (blocker). DPP-4 blockers enhance the body's own ability to control blood sugar levels.
JANUVIA enhances your body's own ability to lower blood sugar when it is too high. JANUVIA works only when your blood sugar levels are high. When your blood sugar levels are at a healthy balance, JANUVIA doesn't have an effect.
A doctor may prescribe JANUVIA alone or together with certain other diabetes medicines to help control blood sugar.
low blood sugar (see hypoglycemia above)
mg/dL
Milligrams per deciliter, the metric unit in which blood sugar is measured. One milligram is one-thousandth of a gram, approximately the weight of one paper clip divided by a thousand. A deciliter is one-tenth of a liter, or a little less than one-half a cup.
pancreas
A gland behind your stomach. The hormone insulin is produced in your pancreas.
type 2 diabetes
A disease of high blood sugar. It is the most common form of diabetes and can develop at any age. In this type of diabetes, the body does not make enough insulin, or the insulin that the body makes does not work the way that it should; this causes the blood sugar level to become out of balance because it gets too high. The body may also keep making sugar even though it does not need it. Once a person has type 2 diabetes, it does not go away. However, by working with your health care team, you can take steps to control it.
JANUVIA (jah-NEW-vee-ah) is a once-daily prescription pill that, along with diet and exercise, helps lower blood sugar levels in adults with type 2 diabetes.
JANUVIA should not be used in patients with type 1 diabetes or with diabetic ketoacidosis (increased ketones in the blood or urine). If you have had pancreatitis (inflammation of the pancreas), it is not known if you have a higher chance of getting it while taking JANUVIA.
Selected Risk Information About JANUVIA
Serious side effects can happen in people who take JANUVIA, including pancreatitis, which may be severe and lead to death. Before you start taking JANUVIA, tell your doctor if you've ever had pancreatitis. Stop taking JANUVIA and call your doctor right away if you have pain in your stomach area (abdomen) that is severe and will not go away. The pain may be felt going from your abdomen through to your back. The pain may happen with or without vomiting. These may be symptoms of pancreatitis.
Do not take JANUVIA if you are allergic to any of its ingredients, including sitagliptin. Symptoms of serious allergic reactions to JANUVIA, including rash, hives, and swelling of the face, lips, tongue, and throat that may cause difficulty breathing or swallowing, can occur. If you have any symptoms of a serious allergic reaction, stop taking JANUVIA and call your doctor right away.
If you take JANUVIA with another medicine that can cause low blood sugar (hypoglycemia), such as a sulfonylurea or insulin, your risk of getting low blood sugar is higher. The dose of your sulfonylurea medicine or insulin may need to be lowered while you use JANUVIA. Signs and symptoms of low blood sugar may include headache, drowsiness, weakness, dizziness, confusion, irritability, hunger, fast heart beat, sweating, and feeling jittery.
Your doctor may do blood tests before and during treatment with JANUVIA to see how well your kidneys are working. Based on these results, your doctor may change your dose of JANUVIA. The most common side effects of JANUVIA are upper respiratory tract infection, stuffy or runny nose and sore throat, and headache.
You are encouraged to report negative side effects of prescription drugs to the FDA. Visit www.fda.gov/medwatch, or call 1-800-FDA-1088.
Please read the Medication Guide and discuss it with your doctor. Also available is the Prescribing Information.
JANUVIA is a registered trademark and Steps to Balance is a trademark of Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp., a subsidiary of Merck & Co., Inc.
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