Pramlintide - Medication for Blood Sugar Control

Pramlintide is a medication used to help control blood sugar levels in individuals with type 1 or type 2 diabetes by working in conjunction with insulin.
Category
Medication
Where to get
Prescription required from healthcare provider
Applicable for
Prepared by Lee Cheng, reviewed by Jane Cox

Pramlintide FAQ


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How does pramlintide work?

Lastly, pramlintide triggers the feeling of fullness after meals to help control your appetite and decrease how much food you eat. Pramlintide is used together with insulin to treat type 1 or type 2 diabetes. Pramlintide is usually given after other diabetes medicines have been tried without success.

How does pramlintide lower blood sugar?

Pramlintide is a man-made form of a hormone that occurs naturally in the body. Pramlintide lowers blood sugar in three ways. It slows the rate that food moves from your stomach to your intestines, which keeps your blood sugar from rising too fast. Pramlintide also lowers the amount of glucose (sugar) your liver produces.

How long does pramlintide last?

Opened (in use) vials and pen-injectors should be refrigerated or kept at room temperature (no greater than 86 F, 30 C ) and used within 28 days. Pramlintide (Symlin) is an injectable drug prescribed for the treatment of type 1 diabetes (in conjunction with insulin) and in patients with type 2 diabetes who use mealtime insulin.

What is symlinpen & pramlintide?

(PRAM-lin-tide) COMMON BRAND NAME (S): Symlinpen WARNING: Pramlintide may increase the risk of very low blood sugar when used with insulin, particularly in patients with type 1 diabetes. This reaction is most likely to occur within 3 hours after an injection. Your doctor may decrease your insulin dose when you start pramlintide.

What is pramlintide?

Pramlintide is an analogue of amylin, a small peptide hormone that is released into the bloodstream by the β cells of the pancreas along with insulin after a meal. Like insulin, amylin is completely absent in individuals with Type I diabetes.

How do I use pramlintide?

This medicine is given as a shot under the skin of your stomach or upper thigh. Inject pramlintide at a site that is more than 2 inches away from your insulin injection. Never inject insulin and pramlintide in the same site. When you first start using this medicine, you will need to adjust your insulin dose.

Does pramlintide lower blood sugar?

(subscription required) Pramlintide allows patients to use less insulin, lowers average blood sugar levels, and substantially reduces what otherwise would be a large unhealthy rise in blood sugar that occurs in diabetics right after eating.

Pramlintide References

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