When you start on an oral drug treatment, it is important that you see your doctor at least every 2-4 weeks, so you can quickly be placed on the best dose of the medicine. Frequent visits, at the start of treatment, may, if necessary, also help the doctor determine whether another medication should be added without delay. This class of agents was the mainstay of the treatment of type 2 diabetes for many years. They stimulate the body to produce, or secrete, more insulin. Other beneficial effects of the sulfonylurea class of drugs include suppression of glucose production in the liver and enhancement of the body's ability to dispose of excess glucose into fat and muscle tissue.
Sulfonylureas remain the most popular group of medications today.
In part, this may be a function of physicians' habits but an important factor is their low cost. Many types of sulfonylureas are now generic and are among the cheapest medications available for the treatment of diabetes. Individual patients may have a more prolonged course of successful sulfonylurea treatment and others may need supplements even earlier than six years. Failure occurs more rapidly in younger, more hyperglycemic individuals and in those with lower insulin secretion at the start of treatment. While this may sound like a high rate of failure, it is important to remember that some of the newer drugs have not been in use for very long and we don't yet know how effective they are long-term.