Treatment For Diabetes
If you’re diagnosed with diabetes, it means that your body is unable to produce or use insulin. The hormone insulin is secreted by the pancreas and facilitates the transfer of sugar or glucose into the cells. Diabetes is a chronic metabolic disorder where your body fails to respond to the insulin it produces or fails to produce enough insulin, denying your body of its main source of energy.
Since glucose cannot transfer to the cells, it begins to build up in the blood, increasing your blood sugar level. This can lead to serious health problems, including the increased risk of stroke, heart attack, and limb amputation. Fortunately, diabetes can be successfully managed through medication, diet, and lifestyle modifications.
Depending on your case, your doctor can provide one of three treatment options, namely:
Oral treatments
Type 2 diabetes, which is the most common type of diabetes, can be successfully managed with a prescription to modulate your glucose levels in different ways. The pills can stimulate the pancreas to produce more insulin, slow down glucose absorption from the digestive system, reduce glucose production from the liver, or lower glucose production in the liver.
Insulins
People with type 1 diabetes often need to inject themselves frequently with insulin to manage their glucose levels. Insulins are quite easy to administer using injection pens with pre-measured doses and high-pressure jet injection devices that shoot the insulin under your skin.
Injectable non-insulin medications
There are other injectables besides insulin that can be used in diabetes treatment, such as: GLP-1 receptor agonists, which stimulate insulin secretion and lower glucagon production, and Symlin, which slows gastric emptying to reduce your appetite and suppress glucagon production.
Final note
Diabetes is a chronic condition, meaning that you will have to constantly monitor your blood glucose levels and actively strive at living a healthy lifestyle. Please visit your physician for professional help staying in control of your condition and to prevent any complications.