Type 2 Diabetes Management

Time to Start Insulin with Type 2 Diabetes Management

Posted on September 25, 2011 by Lu Young RN

How do know when it is time to start insulin with type 2 diabetes management?  Usually the right time to start insulin with type 2 diabetes management is when diet, exercise, weight loss, and medications fail and blood glucose levels remain elevated.

 When people are diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, usually referred to as adult onset diabetes, treatment follows a familiar pattern.

First, patients must learn about the disease and a proper diet. Such diets emphasize portion control as well as limiting carbohydrate consumption, especially foods containing simple sugars. Insulin sensitizers, which enable the body’s insulin to work better, are first-line medicines, especially metformin.

Next come sulfonureas, such as glyburide. These medications force the pancreas to release more insulin and can hold blood sugar levels to more acceptable levels. Eventually most diabetics end up on insulin. This transition is typically not easy for patients.

Some patients resist insulin therapy long after it should be started. Perhaps it is fear of needles. Perhaps it is simply the wish to avoid close glucose monitoring, a more disciplined diet, testing and extra expense for insulin, needles and diabetic strips.

The use of insulin in type 2 diabetes is advisable when oral medications and lifestyle changes no longer adequately control blood glucose. Insulin allows doctors and their patients to dial down blood glucose levels, and in many patients, helps diminish or forestall the complications of long-term exposure to high blood sugar.

If you or a loved one have type 2 diabetes and are beginning to have difficulties controlling your blood glucose levels consistently, talk to your therapist about the use of insulin. If appropriate, avidly embracing this therapy coupled with a disciplined lifestyle should result in good glucose control.

Click here to view the original source of this post

So, time to start insulin with type 2 diabetes management is sooner rather than later.  But many doctors are reluctant to initiate insulin therapy in their patients.  According to a study from John Hopkins, they (doctors) waited an average of 240 days in patients who could not maintain good blood glucose control.  It may be up to you to ask to start insulin with type 2 diabetes management when your blood glucose is not under control.