How to Bring Down Blood Sugar Levels

Please share this one!

… Continued …

Insulin therapy

This is particularly true for type-1 diabetes since there’s usually very low or no any insulin released by the pancreas. Sometimes insulin therapy is also required by people with type 2 diabetes.

Insulin for this therapy is available in many types. But in general, they’re classified according to how long they will provide the effects. So basically there are 3 main types of insulin; long-acting insulin, intermediate-acting insulin, and short-acting insulin.

A drawback of insulin therapy, you need to inject it. It’s not available for oral medication since enzymes in your stomach can interfere with the action of insulin.

Oral medications or other necessary treatments

If necessary, other medications are prescribed to bring down your blood sugar levels. These could be injected or oral medications.

Medications for diabetes work in several ways;

  1. Some diabetes medications block the production of glucose released by the liver.
  2. Others can drive the pancreas to make and release more insulin.
  3. Certain medications may also help make the body’s tissues and cells become more sensitive to the action of insulin so the amounts of glucose in the bloodstream are easily used for energy and blood sugar level decreases.
  4. Or to help inhibit the action of certain enzymes in the digestive system so this reduces or delays the breakdown of carbohydrates.

*For more comprehensive information about what diabetes medications you need most, see a doctor!

Pancreas transplantation

This option is usually not recommended for people with type 2 diabetes since their pancreas is still able to make some insulin. The story is different for type 1 diabetes, a condition in which the pancreas is only able to make very little insulin or sometimes no insulin at all.

Unfortunately, this procedure is not going without risks. Not all transplants are successful, and the side effects also could be serious. Comprehensive evaluation about pros and cons of the procedure is necessary before taking the operation.

How about bariatric, weight loss surgery?

As the name suggests, this surgery is a procedure used to help people with obesity in losing extra pounds of their weight. Does this work for glycemic control?

As well we know, obesity is one of the leading risk factors for insulin resistance and diabetes. One study suggests that bariatric surgery is probably effective enough to help control blood sugar in people with diabetes.

About 135,000 participants (those with type 2 diabetes and did bariatric surgery) in this study showed that most participants had an improvement in controlling their blood sugar and were less likely to take high dosage of diabetes medications. This finding was published in the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery [19].

But bariatric surgery should be the last option to lose weight. Lifestyle modifications (e.g. exercise and weight loss diet) are recommended at first. If these lifestyle approaches fail to work, probably bariatric surgery is your best bet.

.

Please Leave a Few Words

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *