My first experience with diabetes was when I was twelve. One of my aunts was diagnosed with uncontrolled diabetes.
I knew diabetes was serious. But it was also a disease people experimented with. It was those times when people liked alternative concoctions to “cure” diabetes and hypertension. I particularly remember an Arabian magic herb heard of curing “madhumeha,” which my aunt’s friend was raving about. This conversation happened when I was a second-year medical student. My aunt was still looking for the magic cure and only taking insulin when things got bad. Do you get the timeline of experimentation?
Long story short, my aunt didn’t take insulin regularly until she was diagnosed with multiple complications of diabetes, and the doctor laid it out for her. But old habits die hard. My aunt continued her see-sawing with diabetes treatment. My lovely aunt is no more, and her smiling, happy face is now a memory.
Scenario two, one of my uncles-in-law, was diagnosed with Diabetes Mellitus when he fractured his leg. It was a wild blood sugar situation. Until then, he had never even checked his blood sugar. Luckily he listened, diligently got his insulin shots, and his fracture healed without much drama.
Diabetes is now a chronic non-infectious pandemic disease. By now, everyone and their pets know what a pandemic is, but it doesn’t get real until you understand numbers. It’s a long-term condition that affects you, your family, and society as a whole.
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So the stats for Diabetes are like this:
Almost half a billion people ( 463 million ) as in 2019 are living with Diabetes.
One in two people doesn’t know they have Diabetes, which makes it a big problem.
I shared these stories because many of my patients, too, show similar confusion about insulin therapy. I have diligently tried to explain to all my patients with diabetes to keep their blood sugar always in order.
My aunt’s problem and need for a natural solution helped me see the situation differently. Insulin is not medicine. It’s something your body already produces. But in people with diabetes , this is either not in the right amount (type 1) or not working (type 2) in the right way. Insulin is a normal hormone secreted by your pancreas. In Diabetes mellitus, insulin for some reason is not enough or doesn’t work, not doing what it should be doing in the body.
While there are genetic causes behind Diabetes Type 1(an autoimmune disease), Type 2 Diabetes is a lifestyle disease. Obesity in adults and children is a massive factor behind this problem of Diabetes.
The good news is that with a customized diet, exercise, medicine, or insulin, you can stop the steamrolling of Diabetes symptoms.
If you want quality of life, always keep blood sugar under reasonable control.
It’s not about one time, but every time the sugar crosses a threshold, it gets trapped inside the tissues and causes trouble. That’s why being aware of the type of insulin you need is essential. It’s also crucial to choose the right way to get this insulin inside your body. It will be multiple times a day and needs to be easy, convenient, and pocket-friendly without risks.
So what are the different types of insulin?
According to when the insulin starts to act and duration of action, insulin is usually divided as
| Type of Insulin | Peak Activity | Duration of action |
| Rapid-acting | 15 min | 3-5hrs |
| Short-acting | 30-60 min | 5 -8 hrs |
| Intermediate-acting | 1-3 hrs | 10-16 hrs |
| Long-acting | 1 hour | 24 hrs or more |
| Premixed | 15min | 10-16 hours or more |
Most insulin-dependent Diabetes needs a balance of short-acting and long-acting insulin for control.
How can you take insulin, and how do you choose the best method?
One of the oldest methods is an insulin syringe. A popular alternative choice is an insulin pen. Other options are an Insulin jet injector and insulin pumps.
Insulin syringe
It is a common method. It is a special syringe with a tiny needle. Cheap to use.The person must adjust the dose of intake manually.
Insulin pen
An insulin pen is less painful than an insulin syringe and much less complicated than a jet injector. It may be disposable, pre-loaded or reusable where cartridge must be loaded. Former is excellent for those with poor eyesight as it stops the problem if manual adjustment is needed. The insulin pen is popular, cost-effective, and user-friendly.
Insulin jet injectors
This helps insulin entry without needles. The cons are high cost, a complicated method with risk of wrong dosing.
Insulin pumps
This is body-worn and has a small catheter attached to a region on the belly. Timely graded doses of insulin are delivered. It helps to drip-feed insulin in a controlled manner and adjusted according to meals and overall lifestyle.
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Why is the choice of type and dosage of insulin necessary?
The type of insulin and dosage is crucial for managing Diabetes mellitus and preventing organ damage. Diet, exercise, stress, infections, other diseases, and medicines can alter the body’s insulin level. You should consult only your doctor for a good plan regarding insulin intake and not have random experiments. The problem of excess insulin and hypoglycaemic coma is life-threatening. Our brain depends on glucose to work, so a wrong high dose of insulin will starve the brain. A low insulin dose and high blood sugar will cause organ damage.
During excessive stress, post meals, or exercise, insulin need may change. Poor infection control causes spikes in blood sugar, and high blood sugar makes infections prolonged. This is the reason behind the vicious cycle of swinging insulin need and uncontrolled blood sugar.
Takeaway:
When you have regular blood sugar and on a good Diabetes mellitus care plan, there is a lower risk of aggressive infections taking hold and less chance of Diabetes-related complications. Diabetes mellitus has the power to affect each cell and system of your body. So never let it grow powerful. If you are someone with diabetes, watch your blood sugar like a hawk. Every step is essential. Talking to your doctor about what type of insulin and which delivery system will work best for you.
Diet, exercise, regular monitoring, and adherence to medication are important factors in diabetes management. Empower yourself to live better with diabetes and take the pledge today to be #MoreThanMyDiabetes.
Disclaimer:
The views expressed in the blog content are independent and unbiased views of solely the blogger. This is a part of the public awareness initiative supported by Sanofi India. Sanofi India bears no responsibility for the content of the blog. One should consult their healthcare provider for any health-related information.
References
- International Diabetes Federation. IDF Diabetes Atlas, 8th ed. Brussels, Belgium: International Diabetes Federation; 2017.
- https://www.diabetesresearchclinicalpractice.com/article/S0168-8227(19)31230-6/fulltext#back-b0005
More on Diabetes:
Diabetes Care: The little Secret No One Tells You Genes and Genetic Disorders: The Human Body for Kids
This is such an insightful post, my father in law is diabetic and these secrets will really give me more knowledge to be as a caretaker!!
My family has a history of diabetes and having faced it during my pregnancies I know for sure that it shouldn’t be taken for granted. Also, the stats blowed me away.
I remember once we were on a road trip and my son fell ill. I called my doctor and he asked me to nebuliser him for the time being but the chemist where we went to buy the asthalin gave antibiotics. When I asked why they gave me antibiotics, she said that my son has cough and fever, so anti biotic is imperative. I was shocked. How could she even know that it is bacterial or viral
Self medication is a curse. With half cooked knowledge, if we self medicate, several acute ailments will go unnoticed. Thanks for taking an effort to spread awareness.
Diabetes is perhaps the most ill-informed lifestyle diseases. Most of us don’t know what to do and what not to and depend on half cooked information. Thanks for this well thought out post
Right information from trusted sources like Into Life is very much needed. I didnt know that there are so many ways of taking Insulin. Thanks for this detailed post about Diabetes, it was helpful. #morethanmydiabetes
I know this fact that , diabetes brings so many other disease inside the body and make you feel more down day by day . Thanks for this detailed post Amrita.
My mother in law has diabetes this post is very helpful for me to know the treatment details. Very informative blog!
Accepting the change in the lifestyle with little tweaks can surely help one manage the diabetes to a larger extent. Your detailed post will be guideline to many to understand the effect of medication and healthy routine to maintain the blood sugar levels.
Thankfully we have all been away from diabetes problem, however, I understand how difficult it is. Your post has given a lot of information and awareness about the disease.
Diabetes should not be taken lightly as the risks later are very major. I’ve had many relatives with the issue who faced alot later in life. Healthy lifestyle, balanced food and proper meds are very important.
Thank you for sharing this detailed informative post. My husband is a diabetic and is on medication, luckily he doesn’t need insulin yet. We keep a regular check on his sugar intake and blood glucose levels.
I really appreciate your thoroughness of dealing with any subject you choose to focus on. Such a wealth of information contained in one post!
I admit I didn’t know so many things you enumerated doc and this will help me because my brother and mil are both diabetic
Great information about diabetes. Indeed it is a serious metabolic disorder and maintaining healthy lifestyle and taking regular medication is only key to manage it. Thanks a lot for including insulin information. It was so informative.
Amrita, you have explained everything is very simple language. Thanks for all the information. People having diabetes need such information that they can understand easily.
That’s a really informative post especially since both my mum and husband are diabetic. Luckily they haven’t reached the level of insulin yet and hence my relatively low knowledge of insulin. I never even knew there are types of insulin. Thanks again.
Glad you found this helpful
My professor always said if your get Diabetes everything else comes along. Diabetes involves a lot of complications and the right steps taken help prove beneficial to the patients.
That’s a detailed and informative post on Diabetes. It is good to know all the facts directly from a doctor.
Denial of a situation is biggest scare, the sooner we accept the condition and work on it the better are chances to improve it. All the information present in the post are guiding lines for many people.
Super detailed post! Thank you so much for sharing such a lot of information in the most simplified way!
This is a full some post to understand the activity of right insulin for our body
You have broken so many myths by sharing this information on insulin. When it comes through a doctor like you, the credibility of the information reaches to next level. Thank you for sharing it.
coming from a family that has diabetes running through it, I do feel the need to be tested….how often should be tested for it? every month? 6 months? year? It is too common a disease, and too easy to get- is it get? come down with? Is it a disease, a condition what? This is serious and I am sorry you had to deal with it when you were younger with your aunts! As an adult I lived with my Dad who had diabetes complicated by other issues- or which diabetes complicated?!?!
If someone is prediabetic or diabetic, having a glucometer at home helps to check the fasting and post prandial blood sugars.Good control every day is crucial to good health.
That’s very helpful guidelines finding the right solution for treating diabetes is very important. #MoreThanMyDiabetes
I didn’t realize there were so many choices for insulin delivery. I know many people struggling and am grateful I haven’t developed diabetes. Since my Valley Fever I have been more careful about diet and exercise. I think that helps.
I really enjoyed hearing your voice! I don’t have diabetes but I know a number of people who do, and this information would be very useful and helpful for them and it could inspire them to get better control of their condition and to live well with their diabetes. I’m definitely going to share this!
Thanks Doc, for such insightful post …I can imagine the loss in family because of diabetes even I lost one of my aunt, I am glad you shared the right way to take care !!
It was wonderful reading your post on Diabetes. Well explained! And great initiative by Sanofi India.
Did not knew that there are other methods of taking insulin… In 2008, my father got to know that he is diabetic… With some lifestyle changes, he is able to keep the blood sugar levels under control.
This is a very useful article for diabetics. Thanks for sharing this information
This is such good information for anyone who has diabetes! You explain clearly how important it is to take your insulin, and what the consequences can be when someone doesn’t take them. And I love the “you can do it, you can take control” message in your post. #MorethanMyDiabetes is inspiring! I hope lots of people who are just finding out they are diabetic will see this post.
this is a very insightful and well researched post. We should never ignore the early sign and yes agree with you “every step is essential” . My FIL is using insulin and I can surely vouch for it
Very informative blog! I’ve known a few people with diabetes who didn’t listen to the doctor about eating right and taking insulin. Unfortunately neither are here any longer.