How Should I Draw Up The Insulin
Insulin is a suspension not a solution, so before administering it you must mix it. Some insulins should be gently rolled and not shaken, while others should be shaken thoroughly. Your veterinarian will advise you on how to handle the insulin. Some insulin has more of a tendency to settle out of suspension, so mixing is very important for accurate dosing.
“The trick is to mix it vigorously enough to blend it without creating foam.”
The trick is to mix it vigorously enough to blend it without creating foam. When you have finished mixing the insulin, turn the bottle upside down to see if any of the white insulin molecules still adhere to the bottom of the bottle. If so, more mixing is needed.
Have the needle and syringe, insulin bottle, and dog ready. Then, follow these steps:
What Are The Pros Of Sliding Scale Therapy
Sliding scale is good for newly diagnosed patients. It allows the patient to begin to understand how insulin works in relation to their body and how much insulin they require to bring down their blood sugar. The method is also good for people who love schedules and already eat and exercise at the same time every day. This method works well for parents taking care of children diagnosed with T1D as it is a method that is straightforward and easy to understand. It requires the parents to be on top of it, but if they follow it to a T, there should not be any issues and it can bring comfort knowing they are doing the best they can. Sliding scale insulin therapy is also one of the cheapest ways to manage type 1 diabetes as it does not require an insulin pump or a CGM.
How Can I Keep My Blood Sugar Level From Getting Too High Or Too Low
You need to check your blood sugar level regularly using a blood glucose monitor. Your doctor or his or her office staff can teach you how to use the monitor. Youll need to write down each measurement and show this record to your doctor. He or she will use this information to decide how much insulin is right for you.
Blood sugar measurements can vary depending on your lifestyle. Stress levels, how often you exercise, and how fast your body absorbs food can affect measurements. Hormonal changes related to puberty, menstrual cycles, and pregnancy can, too. Illness, traveling, or a change in your routine may mean that you have to monitor your blood sugar level more often.
Don’t Miss: What’s New In Diabetes Treatment
What Is An Insulin Reaction
If youre going to use rapid-acting insulin, you need to be aware of insulin reactions and how to treat them. Rapid-acting insulin begins to work very quickly. So while you and your doctor are working to find the right dosage of this insulin, you may have some insulin reactions.
Hypoglycemia is the name for a condition in which the level of sugar in your blood is too low. If you use insulin, your blood sugar level can get too low if you exercise more than usual or if you dont eat enough. It also can get too low if you dont eat on time or if you take too much insulin. Most people who take insulin have insulin reactions at some time. Signs of an insulin reaction and hypoglycemia include the following:
- Feeling very tired.
- Being unable to speak or think clearly.
- Losing muscle coordination.
- Suddenly feeling like youre going to pass out.
- Becoming very pale.
- Candy: 5 Lifesavers.
- Glucose tablets: 3 tablets .
If you dont feel better 15 minutes after having a fast-acting carbohydrate, or if monitoring shows that your blood sugar level is still too low, have another 15 grams of a fast-acting carbohydrate.
What Are The Signs & Symptoms Of Type 1 Diabetes
People can have diabetes without knowing it because the symptoms aren’t always obvious and they can take a long time to develop. Type 1 diabetes may come on gradually or suddenly.
When a person first has type 1 diabetes, they may:
- pee a lot because the body tries to get rid of the extra blood sugar by passing it out of the body in the urine
- drink a lot to make up for all that peeing
- eat a lot because the body is hungry for the energy it can’t get from sugar
- lose weight because the body starts to use fat and muscle for fuel
- feel tired a lot
If these early symptoms of diabetes aren’t recognized and treatment isn’t started, chemicals can build up in the blood and cause stomach pain, nausea, vomiting, breathing problems, and even loss of consciousness. Doctors call this diabetic ketoacidosis, or DKA.
There’s good news, though getting treatment can control or stop these diabetes symptoms from happening and reduce the risk of long-term problems.
You May Like: Best Bread For Diabetics To Eat
What Can Help Me Manage Type 1 Diabetes
Sometimes people who have diabetes feel different from their friends because they need to take insulin, think about how they eat, and control their blood sugar levels every day. They may feel angry or depressed, or think that their parents are constantly worrying about their diabetes management.
Diabetes brings challenges, but people who have it play sports, travel, date, go to school, and work just like their friends.
Managing your diabetes might feel overwhelming at times, but you’re not alone. Reach out to your diabetes health care team. They can answer questions and help with all kinds of issues. Don’t hesitate to ask your doctors, dietitian, and others on the team for advice and tips. You might want to find a support group where you can talk about your feelings and find out how other people cope.
You also can get more information and support online at:
Can I Mix Rapid
You can mix a rapid-acting insulin with an intermediate-acting insulin, according to your doctors instructions. Rapid-acting insulin should always be drawn into the syringe first. This will keep the intermediate-acting insulin from getting into the rapid-acting insulin bottle. After mixing rapid-acting insulin in the same syringe with an intermediate-acting insulin, you must inject the mixture under your skin within 15 minutes. Remember to eat within 15 minutes after the injection.
Also Check: How To Treat Diabetes Without Insulin
When Should I Take Insulin
You and your doctor should discuss when and how you will take your insulin. Each persons treatment is different. Some people who use regular insulin take it 30 to 60 minutes before a meal. Some people who use rapid-acting insulin take it just before they eat.
Types of insulin:
- Rapid-acting insulin starts working in about 15 minutes. It lasts for 3 to 5 hours.
- Short-acting insulin starts working in 30 to 60 minutes and lasts 5 to 8 hours.
- Intermediate-acting insulin starts working in 1 to 3 hours and lasts 12 to 16 hours.
- Long-acting insulin starts working in about 1 hour and lasts 20 to 26 hours.
- Premixed insulin is a combination of 2 types of insulin .
Insulin Treatment In Type 2 Diabetes
The decision to take insulin is never an easy one. For many patients, it comes after years of having type 2 diabetes and trying multiple weight-loss regimens, diets, and oral medications. For other patients, the decision to take insulin is made when blood glucose levels are simply too high to control with other drugs.
The good news is that insulin almost always works. Daily injections, however inconvenient or painful at first, can be very effective at controlling blood glucose. Anxious about giving injections? Help is available. If your health care provider prescribes insulin, a trained diabetes educator or pharmacist can teach you how to measure out the proper dose and administer your daily injections.
Why should I use insulin?
With type 2 diabetes, over time, the pancreas is often unable to produce insulin on its own. When that happens, your blood glucose levels will become very difficult to control without daily injections of insulin. Injectable insulin is identical to the insulin made by the body, but can be categorized into two main types: basal insulin keeps your blood glucose stable all day long, even when not eating, while bolus insulin helps your body respond to the quick rise in blood glucose after meals.
Recommended Reading: Does Insurance Cover Cgm For Type 2 Diabetes
Throwing Away Your Needles And Lancets
Sharps bins and needle clippers are the safest way of disposing of your insulin needles and your lancets. A needle clipper removes the needle from your insulin pen, and is useful when youre out and about. How you get rid of your sharps bin depends on where you live. Your healthcare team should have information to help you get rid of your bin.
How Should I Store My Insulin
Like food, insulin doesnt have a forever shelf life. Its recommended that you store any insulin youre not using in the fridge.
However, injecting cold insulin may make the injection feel more painful. Because of this, a best practice is to keep the bottle of insulin youre currently using in a safe place, away from direct heat and sunlight. Insulin kept at room temperature can last about a month.
Do not store insulin in the freezer, and always check the expiration date before using it.
Side effects from injecting or receiving insulin are rare, but can occur in certain cases. The symptoms of mild allergic reactions are swelling, itching, or redness around the injection area. More severe insulin allergies may include nausea and vomiting.
In either case, talk with your doctor if you notice any of these signs.
Hypoglycemia, or blood glucose levels that are too low, can sometimes occur when you take insulin.
Its important to balance the insulin that you give yourself with food or calories. If you exercise longer or harder than usual or dont eat the right amount of calories or carbs, your glucose level can drop too low and trigger low blood sugar. Symptoms of low blood sugar include:
Recommended Reading: Type 1 2 3 Diabetes
Symptoms And Risk Factors
It can take months or years for enough beta cells to be destroyed before symptoms of type 1 diabetes are noticed. Type 1 diabetes symptoms can develop in just a few weeks or months. Once symptoms appear, they can be severe.
Some type 1 diabetes symptoms are similar to symptoms of other health conditions. Dont guessif you think you could have type 1 diabetes, see your doctor right away to get your blood sugar tested. Untreated diabetes can lead to very seriouseven fatalhealth problems.
Risk factors for type 1 diabetes are not as clear as for prediabetes and type 2 diabetes, though family history is known to play a part.
Insulin Injections For Diabetics Just Once Monthly With New ‘jelly’ Substance Being Tested
Early stage tests suggest the new substance could dramatically cut the number of injections type 2 diabetics need, researchers at Duke University in America said. Traditional insulin needs to be injected frequently to keep blood sugar levels stable but even then it creates ‘peaks and troughs’ as the body processes it quickly which can cause complications. Scientists have been working to find a way to deliver the drug in an even way over time. Engineers have created a liquid that turns to jelly once injected under the skin and leaches out its active ingredient gradually. Tests on mice showed it kept blood sugar levels stable for five days, 120 times longer than normal. Related Articles Fizzy drinks linked to prostate cancer risk 28 Nov 2012 NHS care hit by more rationing, claims report 18 Nov 2012 Hundreds of patients subjected to NHS blunders 29 Oct 2012 Ashutosh Chilkoti, professor of biomedical engineering in Duke’s Pratt School of Engineering, and lead author of the study said: “For a patient with type 2 diabetes, it would be much more desirable to inject such a drug once a week or once a month rather than once or twice a day. “Additionally, this approach avoids the peaks and valleys of drug concentrations that these patients often experience.” Other drugs could be delivered in the same way. The findings were published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.Continue reading > >
Also Check: Smoking And Type 2 Diabetes
The Difference Between Type 1 And Type 2
30.3 million people have diabetes , in one type or another. 84.1 million adults aged 18 years or older have prediabetes (33.9% of the adult US population. But what exactly is Diabetes? There are a lot of myths and misunderstandings surrounding the disease, particularly when it comes to type 1 versus type 2.
So lets start with the basics.
The two main types of diabetes are type 1 and type 2. In type 1 diabetes , the body completely stops making insulin. People with type 1 diabetes must take daily insulin injections to survive. This form of diabetes usually develops in children or young adults, but can occur at any age.In type 2 diabetes the body produces insulin, but the cells dont respond to insulin the way they should. This is called insulin resistance. In response to this insulin resistance, the pancreas should make more insulin, but in the case of type 2 diabetes, this does not happen. Because of these two problems, insulin resistance and trouble making extra insulin, there is not enough of an insulin effect to move the glucose from the blood into the cells. Type 2 diabetes is more likely to occur in people who are over the age of 40, overweight, and have a family history of diabetes, although more and more younger people, including adolescents, are developing type 2 diabetes.
Its important to know a few things about how your body works before you can take the best care of your diabetes.
Topics featured in this article
When To Contact A Medical Professional
- Chest pain or pressure, shortness of breath, or other signs of angina
- Loss of consciousness
Also call your provider if you have:
- Blood sugar levels that are higher than the goals you and your provider have set
- Numbness, tingling, or pain in your feet or legs
- Problems with your eyesight
- Sores or infections on your feet
- Frequent feelings of depression or anxiety
- Symptoms that your blood sugar is getting too low
- Symptoms that your blood sugar is too high
- Blood sugar readings that are below 70 mg/dL
You can treat early signs of hypoglycemia at home by drinking orange juice, eating sugar or candy, or by taking glucose tablets. If signs of hypoglycemia continue or your blood glucose level stays below 60 mg/dL , go to the emergency room.
Also Check: Is Stage 2 Diabetes Reversible
Alternative Medications For People With Type 2 Diabetes
People living with type 1 diabetes must use insulin to help control their blood sugar, but those living with type 2 diabetes may be able to use oral medications to help manage their blood sugar instead of injections.
Oral medication is typically prescribed along with lifestyle changes, such as increased activity, weight loss , and diet changes.
Medications for type 2 diabetes are designed to lower blood glucose levels, but they may not work for everyone. Typically, they work best for people who have recently developed diabetes and do not use supplemental insulin.
- sulfonylureas
- thiazolidinediones
Before prescribing any of these oral medications, your doctor will talk with you about your medical history and any additional medications you take.
If youre living with type 1 diabetes, your body does not produce insulin, so youll need to continue to permanently take insulin.
People living with type 2 diabetes can manage, and maybe even reverse, their diagnosis with lifestyle changes.
According to the , lifestyle changes that can help manage type 2 diabetes are:
- eating a nutrient-dense diet rich in fruits and vegetables
- maintaining a moderate weight
- staying physically active
These lifestyle habits are also helpful for managing type 1 diabetes, but they wont reverse the diagnosis.
Additionally, you can help manage your blood sugar by:
- eating at regular times
Why Do Some People Get Type 1 Diabetes
No one knows for sure why some people get type 1 diabetes. Doctors and scientists think a persons genes make them more likely to get it. But just having the genes for diabetes probably isn’t enough. Its likely that something else needs to happen. Scientists are studying if other things like some viral infections, a persons birth weight, or their diet might make someone who already has the genes for type 1 diabetes more likely to get it.
Type 1 diabetes cant be prevented, and can happen in people of any age.
Also Check: What Is The Best Thing For Diabetes
What Is Insulin Made Of
Insulin is made in different ways. You and your healthcare team will discuss which insulin you can take.
- Human insulin this is synthetic and made in a laboratory to be like insulin made in the body.
- Analogue insulin the insulin molecule is like a string of beads. Scientists have managed to alter the position of some of these beads to create genetically engineered insulin known as analogues.
- Animal insulin This isnt used much anymore, but some people find that insulin from animals works best for them. It is usually from a cow or pig.