Diabetes Medication Comparison Chart Class Sufonylureas
Examples
Side effects
glyburide (Micronase®, DiaBeta®, Glynase®)
weight gain, hypoglycemia (low blood sugar), diarrhea, & nausea
chlorpropamide (Diabinese®) glimepiride (Amaryl®) glipizide (Glucotrol®, Glucotrol XL®) Biguanides metformin (Glucophage®, Glucophage XL®) Thiazolidinediones rosiglitazone 'glitazones' (Avandia®)
Meglitinides
D-phenylalanine
Glucosidase inhibitors
Nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, rash, & lactic acidosis fluid retention/ weight gain, headache, liver damage, & anemia
pioglitazone (Actos®) repaglinide stomach upset, nausea, ® (Prandin ) diarrhea, vomiting, constipation, muscle aches, headache, hypoglycemia, & weight gain ® nateglinide (Starlix ) Hypoglycemia, weight gain, nausea, stomach upset, diarrhea, & dizziness ® acarbose (Precose ) flatulence (gas), diarrhea, abdominal pain, & liver ® miglitol (Glyset ) damage/ jaundice (not commonly used due to bothersome side effects)
DipeptidylJanuvia® (sitagliptin) Upper respiratory infection, peptidase (DPP)-4 stuffy or runny nose and sore inhibitor throat, headache, stomach discomfort and diarrhea see individual drug description Combinations Glyburide/ metformin (Glucovance®) Glipizide/ metformin (Metaglip)®
Amylin analog
Incretin mimetic
Rosiglitazone/ Metformin (Avandamet®) Symlin® (Pramlintide) *Injectable* Byetta® (Exenatide) *Injectable*
Nausea(goes away with time), decreased appetite, vomiting, stomach pain Nausea, low blood sugar when used in combination with other diabetes medications, vomiting, diarrhea, headache