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Insulin Therapy for Type 1 Diabetes
People with Type 1 diabetes often do not make enough insulin naturally to deal with the sugar that is in their bloodstream. Several methods are used in diabetes treatment and management, one method which includes insulin therapy.
What is Insulin?
In the body, insulin is a naturally-occurring hormone. It is secreted by cells in the pancreas in response to blood sugar levels. When the body needs sugar for fuel, the insulin is secreted to carry the sugar to the cells. When there is more sugar than insulin, blood sugar levels can rise above normal.
In people with Type 1 diabetes, there is a problem with the insulin production system. The body produces little or no insulin. That leaves the body vulnerable to the effects of high blood sugar; effects which may include nerve damage, eye damage, poor wound healing, and kidney damage.
There are many manners in which medicinal insulin is obtained and many types of insulin. At first, insulin was obtained from animals and processed for administering in people. Unfortunately, there was always the rejection factor which often worsened the condition. Now, insulin is obtained by harvesting pancreatic cells and creating human insulin for injection. With this source, there is less chance of rejection.
Insulin Therapy
Insulin therapy is necessary for Type 1 diabetics. It has to be administered each day and sometimes more than once a day to stop blood sugar levels from going too high and to keep sugar moving into the cells for energy. When a person is dependent on insulin, it is important to monitor several times a day. This helps to make sure the blood sugar remains stable.
Along with different sources of insulin, there are also different types of insulin:
1. Regular
2. Intermediate acting
3. Long acting
4. Rapid acting
Depending on the blood sugar management program prescribed by your doctor, you may be taking more than one type of insulin.
Onset time is important when it comes to insulin. This determines how fast it will lower the glucose levels in your blood. For instance, Rapid Acting insulin can begin to lower your blood sugar in less than fifteen minutes while Regular Onset insulin products take up to an hour to react. Regular Onset insulin is often used when your sugar is high, but not at a dangerous level, like after you have eaten a meal. It is not necessary to drop the levels quickly.
When diabetes is well managed with diet, exercise, and insulin, a Long Acting or Intermediate Acting insulin product may be appropriate. When glucose levels are well controlled over a long period of time, your doctor may put you on this type of insulin treatment program.
There is some trial-and-error expected with taking insulin. You and your doctor will carefully monitor your progress and change your treatment method as needed. This may take time, so don’t worry. Follow all instructions given by your health care professional and take charge of your diabetes.
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Foot Care for Diabetics
Diabetes is a metabolic condition that can affect different areas of your body, even when your treatment is successful. One area that most people don’t think about is the foot. As a diabetic, taking care of your feet is paramount to your overall health and well-being.
Hard Working Feet
Let’s face it – the feet are the hardest working body parts you have. They hold up all the weight of your body. When we “tiptoe through the tulips,” our feet get stung, stepped on, stubbed, and even cut up by jagged stones and litter. Sometimes our feet take a real beating, but still endure.
Diabetes may affect the feet and go unnoticed. In diabetic patients, wounds take longer to heal. There is the potential for nerve and blood vessel damage in your feet as well as throughout the body. So, one small cut on the bottom of your foot could go undetected. That cut could turn into an unhealed sore that, left unattended, could lead to gangrene. For a diabetic patient, gangrene is the last word they ever want to hear.
Caring for Your Feet
Now, we turn to a more pleasant aspect of foot care: simple things to do to keep your feet healthy. Your feet work hard. Why shouldn’t they get special care?
Use the following tips to keep your feet healthy:
1. Examine your feet everyday – At the beginning of the day, perhaps after your morning shower, examine all sides of your feet and between your toes for any injuries or suspicious looking spots. Even a slight redness from irritation can turn into a serious concern if you don’t attend to it.
2. Wear cotton socks – Cotton is good for wicking moisture away from the feet. Too much moisture can provide a place for bacteria to grow and cause an infection. Damp feet are likely to chafe, and chafing causes irritation which can lead to sores.
3. Wear comfortable shoes – Neither the shoes or the socks you wear need be too tight. That can cut off circulation and lead to problems. If you have problems with arches wear gel supports in your shoes for better comfort. If you have shoes that don’t fit properly, get rid of them. It’s better to find one or two pair that fit well. Go to a good shoe store if you need help getting a comfortable fit.
4. Get medical attention for feet problems – It is tempting to self-diagnose and treat simple things like blisters on your feet, but don’t. Pricking a blister to drain it, or peeling off the skin, can introduce infection into your foot. You may end up with an open wound that will have a hard time healing properly. If you notice a blister or something else on your foot, get it taken care of by your health professional.
5. Eat sensibly – Keeping your blood sugar under control helps your feet. How? Preventing nerve damage is key to keeping your feet healthy. Many people don’t know that they have stepped on something and cut their foot until the injury becomes very serious. This complication, nerve damage, as well as others, can be prevented by keeping your diabetes under control with proper diet.
Foot care is important for everyone, but especially for diabetics. Take care of your feet daily in order to prevent serious problems later down the road.
The Diabetes Diet
Type 2 diabetes is often treated with diet, exercise, and medication. Type 1 diabetes incorporates insulin into the equation to control blood sugar. In both cases, your doctor may place you on a special diabetes diet to help keep your blood sugar stable.
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Drug Therapy for Type 2 Diabetes
For people with Type 2 diabetes, insulin therapy may not always be necessary. Type 2 diabetes is often controlled with diet, exercise, and medication. In this article you will learn about some of the medications that are prescribed to manage blood sugar in diabetics.
When your doctor tells you that you have diabetes, lifestyle changes will be one of the first things discussed. The first discussion will involve your current risk factors. These include obesity, poor diet, and a sedentary lifestyle. As you work to change your diet and incorporate a more active lifestyle, your doctor may prescribe certain medications to get you on the right track faster.
Even though Type 2 diabetics don’t take insulin, they still have to monitor blood sugar to determine how well their dieting and exercise efforts are working. Sorry, you won’t be able to avoid that finger pricking; it is still necessary for control.
Medications
Now, we don’t always eat what we should. If you are diabetic, the results of non-compliance can be very detrimental to your health and well-being. If you eat something that is off your diet, like a cookie, your blood sugar will usually rise in response to too much sugar moving into the blood.
Anti-Hyperglycemic Drugs
These are given orally (a relief to those who don’t like needles) to lower your blood sugar through stimulating the natural process of insulin production in the body. One such drug is metformin. Another name for it is Glucophage. It reduces the amount of glucose produced by the liver.
It also helps the cells to become more welcoming to insulin in diabetics who have developed insulin resistance. For those with risks of heart attack and stroke, this drug also helps to lower blood cholesterol levels and blood pressure. It is particularly useful for diabetics who are overweight.
Another class of drugs that help with lowering blood sugar is sulfonylurea. They work to naturally stimulate an increased production of insulin in the body. This is good for diabetics that have a limited insulin secretion that is not managing their blood sugar levels.
Precose is a diabetes management drug that works in the intestinal tract. It decreases the amount of carbohydrates that are absorbed into the intestines. Once carbs are broken down, the glucose is moved through the walls into the bloodstream where it circulates until used. When there is less sugar available to the bloodstream, then the amount of insulin the body produces can handle it.
Injectable drugs are used as a companion for Type 2 diabetics who have to use insulin. The blood sugar is not easily controlled with insulin alone so these drugs (Symlin and Byetta for example) are used for greater control.
Your doctor may use one drug, several drugs, or a combination drug to manage your diabetes. It all depends on your risk factors, any other complications with your diabetes, and how well you are controlling your diabetes with diet and exercise. All these options for treatment should be discussed with your health care professionals.
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The Diabetes Diet – Healthy Diabetic Eating
To be clear, there is not one official diabetes diet. Instead, we are looking at a series of guidelines set by the American Diabetes Association to help diabetics get control of their blood sugar, whether they take insulin or not. This diet also induces weight loss at the same time for diabetics who are overweight.
Before proceeding with any diet consult your doctor. He or she is a starting player on your diabetes management team, right alongside you.
Your particular dietary requirements will depend on many factors, such as:
1. Your type of diabetes
2. Other risk factors present (obesity, heart disease, kidney disease, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, etc.)
3. The need for insulin, or not
4. Management with medication, or only diet and exercise
5. Sedentary lifestyle or active lifestyle
So, let’s start with the makeup of your average meal. The plate can be divided into three sections: protein, fats, and carbohydrates. Sounds pretty standard huh?
Carbohydrates are what supply the sugars that the body will use as fuel after the food is broken down.
At least 55-60 percent of your meal will be carbohydrates. And, these are not just any carbohydrates. You are encouraged to eat foods that are high in fiber and low in calories. Think vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and beans. Be sure that your food is definitely whole grain and not just processed white flour dressed up to look like a beneficial whole grain.
Fats are needed by the body in many capacities. The most beneficial fats are those that are poly- and mono-unsaturated. Try olive oil, canola oil, vegetable oil, and peanut oil. Omega-3 fatty acids are used by the body for heart health and immunity. Fish is a major source especially cold water fish. Aim for about 25-30 percent of your meal.
Protein is a building block in the body. All of the cells need access to protein for one reason or another. Try lean meat, fish, and dried beans, peas, and lentils. Protein, at most, needs to make up about 20 percent of your meal.
Meals are coordinated with insulin injections and timing of medications to get the most use of them. There are also snacks you can eat before bed or when you awake to keep blood sugar within normal levels. Exercise, which can lower your blood sugar, also has to be factored into the equation of eating and insulin. For the Type 2 diabetic, losing weight can bring you one step closer to possibly stopping any sort of diabetes medication for good.
If you are diabetic and need to control your blood sugar, a special diet is in order for you. There is not one single diet that qualifies as a diabetic diet, but the above guidelines will help you know in which direction you need to go. Your doctor and nutritionist will help you develop a plan that works for you.
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