Learning about Insulin
People can have a lot of false ideas about insulin. This may be based on rumor or old information. If you have Type 2 Diabetes, you should consider these facts:
Four Things You Should Know About Insulin
1. Insulin helps you manage your diabetes
As part of an overall diabetes treatment plan that includes diet, exercise and oral diabetes medications, insulin helps you manage your blood sugar levels.
2. Insulin helps blood sugar control
If you have reached a point where your diabetes treatment plan isn’t giving you adequate blood sugar control, you’re not alone. If you have, Type 2 Diabetes your blood sugar levels may rise more and more over time. Adding insulin to the treatment regime can help you to control your blood sugar levels.
3. Blood sugar control helps reduce risks of
diabetes-related complications
Years of untreated diabetes and high blood sugar levels may contribute to the development of complications. Controlling the sugar levels, with insulin if necessary, has been shown to reduce this risk substantially.
4. Insulin technology is advancing
Today’s insulin needles are quite small. Most people are surprised how quickly they get used to injecting themselves. Many types of insulin now come in easy-to-use pens. They can be taken just about anywhere and used without refrigeration for days. Insulin doesn’t have to interrupt your lifestyle.
Diet, exercise and diabetes medications alone might not get your blood sugar levels where you and your diabetes team want them and insulin may be a tool to help you better control your blood sugar. Many people with diabetes feel better when they start taking insulin, as their symptoms of diabetes, for instance tiredness, go away.
Blood Glucose Levels
An important part of managing your diabetes is checking your blood sugar levels. This type of checking is called self-monitoring or home monitoring. Checking your blood sugar levels – and keeping a record – helps you and your diabetes team:
Checking your blood sugar levels – and keeping a record – helps you and your diabetes team set goals for your individual blood sugar targets.
Your diabetes team will help you decide how often you should check blood sugars. They can also teach you to use the results to adjust your diet, exercise, and/or medication.
Blood Sugar Diary
It is important to write your results in a chart or log or personal monitoring diary. A blood sugar diary lets you record your blood sugar readings on the date and time you checked your blood sugar.
You, along with your diabetes team, will be able to analyse the numbers you’ve recorded and determine how well your blood sugar levels are being managed.
Adding Insulin
As diabetes is a progressive condition, blood sugar control may change over time and as a result the treatment plan may need to be adapted. You may have worked hard to control your blood sugar levels with diet, exercise and oral diabetes medications. But your blood sugar levels may still be too high and you may find that you require increasing amounts of oral medicines to maintain blood sugar control. This can be a predictable outcome of Type 2 Diabetes – but it is not a “defeat.”