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Januvia (sitagliptin) is an orally-administered type 2 diabetes medication used to lower blood glucose levels.

Its active ingredient, a phosphate salt named sitagliptin, decreases gastrointestinal hormones secreted in response to food. This allows the pancreas to produce more of the hormone insulin while producing less of the competing hormone glucagon. Since insulin is the hormone responsible for limiting blood glucose, the medication results in lower blood glucose levels and better control of those levels.

In clinical trials involving patients with type 2 diabetes, treatment with Januvia produced clinically significant improvements in A1C, fasting glucose, and 2-hour post-meal blood glucose levels.

Managing Type 2 Diabetes with Januvia

There are many type 2 diabetes medications available these days, and most of them, like Januvia, work by lowering blood glucose. While Januvia is not completely unique among them, it does offer some benefits not found among many of its competitors:

• Does not cause weight gain
• Orally administered---no needles or injections
• Portable & discreet
• Can be taken with or without food as desired
• Convenient once-a-day administration
• Very low tendency to cause dangerously low blood glucose
• Can be used in conjunction with metformin, insulin, and many other medications

As is again the case with most type 2 diabetes treatments, results are best when a healthy diet and exercise program is also implemented. Successfully-made lifestyle changes often lead to discontinuing dependency on medications, though unfortunately for some patients lifestyle changes are not realistic or not enough to resolve the issue.

It is quite common for patients to be taking other, related medications while taking Januvia, such as metformin, one of the most widely-prescribed diabetes medications in the world. The medications can be taken independently or are sometimes available in combination formulas, such as Janumet, which contains both Januvia's sitagliptin and metformin in one convenient tablet.

Other medications being taken, as well as other medical conditions, age, weight, and numerous other factors, will influence dosage to some degree; this should be determined by a doctor for individualized treatment.

That said, standard treatment in adults is:

• Most patients take 100 mg per day. This will need to be lower for patients with moderate or severe kidney damage.
• Tablets should be taken once per day, with or without food as desired.
• Ideally tablets should be taken at the same time each day for consistency.
• If a dose is missed it should be skipped completely; resume treatment with the next dose.

Lower blood glucose levels and proper control means fewer type 2 diabetes symptoms. Treatment can slow or even halt progression of the disease, preventing catastrophic, life-altering, or even life-ending complications.

Important Precautions

Patients are strongly advised to have kidney function tested prior to starting treatment with Januvia and at regular intervals for the duration of treatment. Untreated kidney damage can lead to costly, painful, and potentially fatal complications, and symptoms are rarely noticeable by patients until damage is already severe.

As always, blood glucose levels should be carefully monitored and any significant variation reported to a physician.

Januvia produces remarkably few side effects; in studies side effects were no more common among those taking Januvia than those taking a placebo, with the exception of rare nausea, cold symptoms, and photosensitivity.

Taking Januvia has itself is not correlated to a higher risk of low blood glucose, as its effects are produced on-demand in the pancreas only when blood glucose levels are elevated. However, low blood glucose may be a risk if other anti-diabetes medications are being taken.