Procedures
The goal of successful diabetes of management is to get just enough insulin to keep glucose levels steady---neither too high nor too low. This can be a delicate balance to maintain, and you'll need to do regular glucose testing, from one to four times a day, depending on how closely you're tracking it. Aim for pre-meal levels of 6.1 to 6.9 mmol/L and bedtime levels of 7.8-11 mmol/L.
To test glucose levels, most people use a device that makes a tiny jab in their fingertip. They place a drop of blood on a specially treated test strip, and insert the strip into a glucose meter for a reading. Recent innovations produce very little discomfort: microneedle devices are so tiny you can barely feel the pinprick. Ask your doctor about the possibility of an insulin pump, which you wear on your body. This amazing device measures your glucose all the time, silently injecting exactly the amount of insulin your body needs.
Rarely, for people with very severe diabetes, a transplant of the pancreas or a double pancreas/kidney transplant may be needed.
Medications
To keep your blood sugar levels within normal limits, you'll need insulin therapy, which is determined by your weight, diet, activity level, overall health and other shifting factors. Becauivese insulin is destroyed by digestive juices, you can't take it by mouth. Like it or not, it must be injected from the skin.
Various forms of insulin are used for different situations. Fast-acting insulin (Humalog, Novarapid) can be valuable before eating and for tight glucose control because it enters the blood in 15 minutes. Intermediate-acting (Actrapid) and longer-acting insulins (Isophane, Lente) are active
Insulin Pens
from 2 to 20 hours. Your doctor will help design a program using one or more types of insulin to optmise your blood sugar control. A common regimen is a short-acting insulin before you eat, and a longer-acting one for coverage between meals or at night.
>Does it really matter where on my body I inject the insulin?
Yes, the injection location will affect your blood glucose levels. Insulin enters the bloodstream fastes when you inject it into the abdomen (ideal prior to a meal, for example). It takes a little longer if you inject it into the upper arm, and even more time when injected in the thigh and buttocks (often best for a bedtime insulin shot.) Also shift your exact injection site regularly to avoid developing hard lumps or extra fatty deposits at that spot.
PROMISING DEVE,LOPMENTS
Lifestyle changes
Stick to a strict timetable for injections, glucose testing, meals and exercise. A chart or a small portable journal can be very helpful. Wise diet choices will make a huge difference in how you feel (see on shortly). Some people with type 1 diabetes gain some weight when they start insulin because their cells have been 'starved' for sugar, but, unlike type 2 diabetes, actual obesity is rare.
The best way to control your weight is through exercise, which may even lessen your insulin needs. When your body is active, its demand for glucose increases--and the glucose in your bloodstream is used up first. Time your injections to avoid working out when insulin is peaking. (If you don't, you risk a dangerous drop in blood sugar.) A few other tips: inject in sites distant from the muscles you excercise most intensely; eat a snack 30 minutes before you work outt.
The goal of successful diabetes of management is to get just enough insulin to keep glucose levels steady---neither too high nor too low. This can be a delicate balance to maintain, and you'll need to do regular glucose testing, from one to four times a day, depending on how closely you're tracking it. Aim for pre-meal levels of 6.1 to 6.9 mmol/L and bedtime levels of 7.8-11 mmol/L.
To test glucose levels, most people use a device that makes a tiny jab in their fingertip. They place a drop of blood on a specially treated test strip, and insert the strip into a glucose meter for a reading. Recent innovations produce very little discomfort: microneedle devices are so tiny you can barely feel the pinprick. Ask your doctor about the possibility of an insulin pump, which you wear on your body. This amazing device measures your glucose all the time, silently injecting exactly the amount of insulin your body needs.
Rarely, for people with very severe diabetes, a transplant of the pancreas or a double pancreas/kidney transplant may be needed.
Medications
To keep your blood sugar levels within normal limits, you'll need insulin therapy, which is determined by your weight, diet, activity level, overall health and other shifting factors. Becauivese insulin is destroyed by digestive juices, you can't take it by mouth. Like it or not, it must be injected from the skin.
Various forms of insulin are used for different situations. Fast-acting insulin (Humalog, Novarapid) can be valuable before eating and for tight glucose control because it enters the blood in 15 minutes. Intermediate-acting (Actrapid) and longer-acting insulins (Isophane, Lente) are active
from 2 to 20 hours. Your doctor will help design a program using one or more types of insulin to optmise your blood sugar control. A common regimen is a short-acting insulin before you eat, and a longer-acting one for coverage between meals or at night.
>Does it really matter where on my body I inject the insulin?
Yes, the injection location will affect your blood glucose levels. Insulin enters the bloodstream fastes when you inject it into the abdomen (ideal prior to a meal, for example). It takes a little longer if you inject it into the upper arm, and even more time when injected in the thigh and buttocks (often best for a bedtime insulin shot.) Also shift your exact injection site regularly to avoid developing hard lumps or extra fatty deposits at that spot.
PROMISING DEVE,LOPMENTS
- Insulin inhalers, A study in the The Lancet in 2001 suggested insulin inhalers might be useful to deliver fast-acting insulin. However, larger studies are needed before these can be made available.
- Islet cell transplantation. A recently developed surgical procedure--the Edmonton protocol--might prove to be a cure for some diabetics. In it, islet cells from a donated human pancreas are injected into a diabetic recipient, who must take lifelong immuno-suppressive drugs to avoid transplant rejection.
Lifestyle changes
Stick to a strict timetable for injections, glucose testing, meals and exercise. A chart or a small portable journal can be very helpful. Wise diet choices will make a huge difference in how you feel (see on shortly). Some people with type 1 diabetes gain some weight when they start insulin because their cells have been 'starved' for sugar, but, unlike type 2 diabetes, actual obesity is rare.
The best way to control your weight is through exercise, which may even lessen your insulin needs. When your body is active, its demand for glucose increases--and the glucose in your bloodstream is used up first. Time your injections to avoid working out when insulin is peaking. (If you don't, you risk a dangerous drop in blood sugar.) A few other tips: inject in sites distant from the muscles you excercise most intensely; eat a snack 30 minutes before you work outt.
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