At some point, the medical profession is going to have to get serious about insisting that drugs do more than just alter numbers. If these drugs don’t prevent amputations, heart attacks, kidney disease, etc., then who cares if your lab values are great?
Hyperinsulinemia is thought to be problematic as well. Some of the oral agents decrease it.
Yes, I know it is thought to be the problem, but it could be just a symptom. If someone is going along thinking they are fine because their meds lower their blood sugar numbers, they could be in for a rude shock years later. No drug company has done a long term study (would need decades probably) that clearly shows that the oral hypoglycemic drugs do anything to prevent the serious complications of diabetes. It’s like getting rid of your cough when you have pneumonia. You may feel better, but you still have pneumonia.
The few studies they do cite as proof their drugs work, actually do no such thing. The results are reported in terms of relative risk rather than absolute risk. Even then, it takes some serious massaging of the data for them to attempt to claim their drugs are helpful.
Drug companies often stop trials prematurely if a drug looks really good (quit while we are ahead!) or bad (oops, try again). That is why so many side effects don’t show up until months or years later.
I am not anti-business nor do I believe the drug companies are evil. They are in business to sell drugs, and there is always the tendency towards bias. That is why doctors and scientists need to be sure they are being objective and not blinded by their own preconceptions. Every time there is a study that goes against conventional wisdom it is always disregarded and excuses are made for why the results weren’t as they were “supposed” to be.
Exercise and diet should be the first line of defense against diabetes. Yes, I know that’s easier said than done. I’m not doing so hot myself. People need to realize that the lower numbers they achieve by means of drug therapy may not be doing them much good. The jury is still out.