How Do You Treat Diabetes?

Research has it that about 37.3 million of the global population have diabetes. Diabetes, type 2, is a disease where the body cannot assimilate glucose/ sugars in the bloodstream and convert it to energy. Worth noting that diabetes attacks both children and adults, males and females.

So, what are some of the tell-tale signs of diabetes?

Common Signs and Symptoms of Diabetes

The following are some popular type 2 diabetes symptoms:

• Frequent urination

• Increased appetite

• Blurry vision

• Extreme fatigue

• Sores

• Loss of weight

• Ketone spots in urine

• Irritability and short temperateness

Thanks to science and advanced research, having diabetes is not the end of the road. However, there are various treatment options for this puzzle. The treatment and management options are majorly medical and lifestyle changes.

How Do You Treat Diabetes?

The treatment options are medical and lifestyle-based.

Medical Options

The predominant medical treatment options are insulin, oral medication, transplant, and surgery. 

Follow along as we delve deeper into each of these options.

• Insulin Treatment

The pancreas secretes the insulin hormone, responsible for synthesizing glucose into energy. A deficiency of the insulin hormone results in type 2 diabetes. 

The following are the common types of insulin that your physician may recommend:

i. Short-Acting Insulin (Regular Insulin)

It takes approximately half an hour to absorb into the bloodstream. These short-acting insulin last up to six hours, taking three hours to hit their peak effects.

ii. Rapid-Acting Insulin

These types are predominantly taken ten minutes to meals and activate in less than an hour, lasting up to four hours. Rapid-acting insulin includes NovoLog (Insulin Aspart) and Humalog (Insulin Lispro).

iii. Long-Acting Insulin

They keep the body stable all through the 24 hours. They include: Levemir (insulin detemir), and Tresiba (insulin degludec).

• Oral Drugs

In addition to insulin, your physician may prescribe the following oral medication:

i. Bile Acid Sequestrants

They tone down the blood sugar and cholesterol within the bloodstream. Bile acid sequestrants include Welchol (colesevelam), Colestid (colestipol), etc.

ii. Alpha-glucosidase Inhibitors

These inhibitors slow down the synthesis of carbohydrates, thus lowering the amounts of sugars in the blood. They also decrease the absorption rate of the small intestines.

iii. Sulfonylureas

Sulfonylureas trigger the pancreas to secrete increased quantities of insulin. Examples of sulfonylureas are Glucotrol (glipizide), Amaryl (glimepiride), etc.

• Transplant

In extreme cases, your physician may recommend a pancreas transplant or the pancreatic islets transplant. The pancreatic secreting glands, islets of Langerhans, may be transplanted from one person to another.

However, these transplants will require immuno-suppression treatment.

• Bariatric Surgery

Bariatric surgery is weight-loss surgery that aims to cut down the excessive weight in the body, thus decreasing the carbohydrates within the bloodstream. It is an indirect treatment option, but it seems to be working for obese people.

With the above treatment options, you are sure of a reprieve from the adverse effects of diabetes. In addition to medical treatment, you should be keen on a balanced diet, exercise and avoid overly sugar-refined foods. Remember, good health is a journey. If you ever need more information about diabetes, you can refer to Tandem Diabetes.