Diabetes is basically a metabolic disease. This disease is caused by insulin deficiency or insulin inefficiency. The first step in diabetes treatment is diet control and regular exercise. The next step is medication or insulin. Most people are afraid of insulin, but insulin is a very effective and side-effect-free medicine in the treatment of diabetes. Let’s find out when a person with diabetes needs insulin.
1. Type 1 diabetes
It mainly occurs in children and adolescents or before the age of 30. In these cases, the beta cells of the pancreas that produce insulin are damaged, so insulin is not produced. Therefore, the only treatment for this type of diabetes is insulin.
2. Gestational diabetes
If you have diabetes during pregnancy, only oral medications like metformin are safe. Other oral medications are completely contraindicated. Insulin becomes essential in most cases because diabetes needs to be controlled very carefully during this time. Insulin is completely safe for the mother and the unborn child.
3. Type 2 diabetes
Around us, 95 percent of people are affected by this type of diabetes. After 30 years, overweight or obese people, those who have improper eating habits or lack of physical labor and have a family history of diabetes, are more likely to be affected by this diabetes. The main cause of type-2 diabetes is insulin inefficiency. Therefore, many times it can be controlled only by controlling diet, regular exercise and food and medicine. Even then, insulin is required in the cases mentioned below in this type of diabetes.
- If your blood sugar is more than 14 mmol on an empty stomach and 16.5 mmol two hours after a meal.
- If HbA1c or three-month diabetes average is more than 10.
- If diabetes is not controlled even after three oral medications or adequate doses.
- Any medical emergency that requires hospitalization, such as a heart attack, stroke, any severe inflammation or infection, such as a urinary tract infection, jaundice, tuberculosis, pneumonia, or leg ulcers.
- Before and after any operation.
- Complications of long-term liver and kidney problems.
- We have a misconception that once you start taking insulin, you have to take it for the rest of your life. In fact, the opposite is true. In many cases, it is possible to return to oral medication once the emergency has passed.
