Q: I am a 54 years old male suffering from diabetes for the last seven years. My sugar levels are 175 mg/dl (fasting) and 275 mg/dl (pp). I also suffer from hypertension, which is under control with Amdepin. I am taking Pioglit once a day before breakfast, Glyciphage 500 thrice a day and Diamicron xr60 twice a day. What should I take to keep my blood sugar levels under control? I want to avoid insulin. Is stem cell therapy advisable? Is this therapy available at AIIMS?

A:Your blood glucose levels are not controlled. I would suggest you to take Diamicron XR two tabs once a day as this medication has 24 hours action. Glyciphage should be increased to 1 gm BD and Pioglit to 30 mg once a day. To control post meal sugars you can take Volibo 0.3 mg thrice daily with each meal. If after a month your sugars are not in target range then you should go for basal insulin and oral medications. It is important to control glucose levels using means available to us including insulin as this will prevent complications of diabetes in future. Stem cell transplantation may be more useful for type 1 diabetes patients. To the best of my knowledge this facility is not available at AIIMS.