The ultimate goal of insulin therapy is to mimic normal insulin levels. Unfortunately, current insulin replacement therapy can only approximate normal insulin levels. Insulin therapy for type 2 diabetes varies from one injection per day to multiple injections and using an insulin pump (continuous subcutaneous insulin infusion – CSII). The more frequent the insulin injections, the better the approximation of natural or normal insulin levels.
Insulin is continuously released from the pancreas into the bloodstream. Although insulin is destroyed quickly (5-6 minutes), the effect on cells can last 1-1/2 hours. When your body needs more insulin, the blood level rises rapidly, and conversely – when you need less, the blood level falls rapidly – the situation is different when you have diabetes and receive insulin replacement therapy. Once you’ve injected a dose of insulin, it will be absorbed into your bloodstream whether you need it or not.
During a meal, some insulin is released even when you smell or chew the food. This prepares your body to receive the amount of sugar from the meal. Then, as you eat and the food is digested, your sugar levels rise, which causes a spike in insulin. Insulin levels rise rapidly and peak in about 45 minutes to 1 hour before falling back to background or basal levels – The situation is different when you have diabetes and are receiving insulin replacement therapy.
Blood glucose is the concentration of sugar (serum glucose) in the blood. In Romania, blood glucose is expressed in milligrams per deciliter (mg/dl), while in many European countries, it is measured in millimoles per deciliter (mmol/dl).
Blood sugar is among the most important blood parameters to measure, as an abnormal level can cause serious health problems.
Blood sugar values are a reference guide for diabetes management. Most diabetes treatment regimens aim to keep blood sugar as close to normal as possible.
Blood sugar levels are constantly fluctuating and changing throughout the day. Obviously, blood sugar is lowest in the morning or after a longer period without food. Then, blood sugar levels rise during and after meals as the body digests the food.
Blood sugar can rise for many reasons. Triggers include:
For healthy adults, blood sugar is in the range of 74-106 mg/dl, in the morning, before meals.
For children younger than 6 years, a normal blood sugar ranges between 60 and 100 mg/dl.
For children between the ages of 6 and 12, a normal blood sugar before meals, in the morning, is 60-100 mg/dl.
Also, children between the ages of 13 and 17 have a normal blood sugar of 60-100 mg/dl in the morning, before meals, and no more than 180 mg/dl during the day.
Some blood sugar is made by the liver and muscles, but most of it comes from foods and drinks that contain carbohydrates. The body releases insulin to keep the blood sugar level at an optimal value. Insulin is a hormone that tells the body’s cells to take up glucose and store it.
If the body, through the pancreas, does not produce enough insulin or if the insulin does not work properly, the blood sugar level rises, causing hyperglycemia. High blood sugar can cause health problems.
Low blood sugar, also known as hypoglycemia, can be a dangerous health problem. Low blood sugar can occur in people with diabetes who take medicines that increase the level of insulin in the body.
Blood sugar can drop if these people take too many medications, skip meals, eat less than usual, or exercise more than usual.
People with type 2 diabetes need insulin in certain situations. Thus, there are people who temporarily require insulin treatment, for example only when the disease is discovered, until the blood glucose is balanced, or in the conditions of severe acute conditions, such as myocardial infarction, cerebrovascular accidents, severe infections, pneumonia, surgical interventions. For these people, insulin treatment is most often temporary and its establishment, as well as its discontinuation, must be decided together with the diabetologist.
For people with diabetes for more than 10 years (sometimes even less), with constant blood glucose values over 200 mg/dl, impossible to control with oral antidiabetic medication, with important complications of diabetes (severe retinopathy, renal failure, ulcer neuropathy) or with other conditions that contraindicate treatment with oral antidiabetics or require important precautions, such as liver cirrhosis, insulin therapy remains the only diabetes treatment option, according to Support for Diabetes, writes doctorulzilei.ro.
2023-07-30 22:44:36
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