What diabetic patient needs insulin?

Answer 1

Always check your blood glucose level before administering insulin. Your brain must have glucose to function. If you take insulin when your blood glucose level is already low (below 70 mg/dl) you could lose consciousness and die.

A good rule to remember is high and dry. If your level is low you are more likely to be somewhat sweaty and many people feel funny, confused or have vision problems. Normally, insulin is given just before a meal and you already know what the blood glucose level is. Carbohydrates supply your body with glucose. After a meal the body has a large amount of glucose available for use as fuel and insulin makes the glucose available to cells or to the liver for conversion of glucose to glycogen. Consider glycogen to be the glucose reserves for between meals. There are several types of insulin available, each with its own characteristics. The most rapid acting insulins: Lispro and Aspart can start taking effect in as little as 10-15 minutes with peak action occurring in around 60-90 minutes with a duration of effect lasting around 3-4 hrs. You would take these 10-15 minutes before a meal and as your food digested the peak action would offset all of that available glucose and help keep the levels in a normal range (somewhere around 100, higher in the elderly). This is called a bolus dose. Normally an intermediate acting insulin is given along with the shorter acting insulin to provide insulin in the body until the evening meal. This is called a basal dose. There are insulins available that have a more constant action and have a duration that lasts 24+ hrs. With these there are no peaks and you only need one shot of this per day. These are the long lasting insulins glargine and detemir. They take effect in 1-2 hours, but they are much more expensive.

Answer 2

Diabetes mellitus is a chronic and complex disease, which can affect the entire body. Diabetes is caused by having too much glucose (sugar) in the blood.

Diabetes types

Diabetes is classified into 2 groups they are type 1 and type 2 diabetes. Sub classified into prediabetes and gestational diabetes.

Type1 diabetes - body has no or low insulin production, which is caused by autoimmune disorder and only treated with insulin shots.

Type2 diabetes - pancreas does not produce enough insulin, or the muscle cells does not able to properly utilize the insulin.

Diabetes Insulin treatment

Once diagnosed as type 1 diabetes or even though type 2 diabetes but doctor advised to take insulin shots, then you have to know this information for effective treatment. Type 1 diabetes needs insulin and they cannot live without insulin, on the other hand type 2 diabetes commonly does not need insulin and they can manage blood glucose level with lifestyle changes and with oral medication. Rarely if oral medication does not produce result then doctor's may suggest insulin treatment.

Answer 3

Diabetics must eat very healthy food which includes much vitamins and rich protein food.

- Bran, Oats, porridge, barley, fruits, apple, citrus, peaches, Pears, plum, and rubard.

Vegetables - avocados, beans, broccoli, cabbage, carrots, celery, cucumber, onions, lettuce, pepper, spinach, mushrooms, tomatoes, olives, peas.

Answer 4

The timing of insulin treatments depends on the type of insulin a diabetic is using. There is rapid acting with last 4 hours, short acting which lasts 8 hours, intermediate lasting 20 hours and long acting which can last up to 24 hours. The frequency of injections depends on the type of insulin and diet of the diabetic.

Answer 5

Insulin is taken when the blood sugar is high and can not be controlled by diet & exercise.

Answer 6

Some patients with Type II diabetes may need to use insulin injections if their diabetes cannot be controlled with diet, exercise, and oral medication. Injections are given subcutaneously