|
Diabetes treatment regimen includes various things such
as diet, exercise, medication, lifestyle changes, monitoring blood sugar
and the like. There is more for you to explore. The best way to treat
diabetes is to control your blood sugar which helps you avoid any
long-term complications.
The treatment for
diabetes is a step-by-step process. The first step involves healthy diet
and exercise. In the second place some alternative medicines can also be
tried. If they are able to do no good, go for your doctor's
prescriptions and recommendations. If all these fail to provide any kind
of relief, transplantation of pancreas or islet cell is the last avenue
left. Treatment like transplantation works well for those people whose
kidneys fail to respond to any other treatments. Let's explore these
steps of treatments in detail.
Diet for diabetes
If you
have diabetes, it is not necessary that you will have to eat only bland
and boring foods. Instead, you will have to eat more fruits, vegetables
and whole grains. Foods that are high in nutrition and low in fats and
calories should be the diet for the diabetics. Diabetes diet should
include fewer animal products and sweets.
To know what and how
much to eat is a very uphill task. A dietitian can bail you out of this
problem. He/she will help you chalk out a plan that fits your health
goals, food preferences and lifestyle. Once your meal plan is home and
hosed, adhere to it very consistently. Consistency is of essence. By
eating the same amount of food with the same proportion of
carbohydrates, proteins and fats at the same time every day, blood sugar
level can be controlled. Sticking to your diet can be very challenging
but you are required to stay motivated.
Exercise
Exercise is essential for everyone and people
with diabetes are no exception. It has been found that exercises that
are good for heart and lungs also help lower blood sugar levels. But,
before beginning any exercise, do consult your doctor. Once you are
ready to take exercise, decide which activities you enjoy and are likely
to stick with, such as walking, hiking, jogging, biking, tennis,
cross-country skiing, swimming and the like.
At
least a 30 minutes aerobic workout should be your target. To get the
best results, combine your aerobic activity with strength-training and
stretching exercises.
Medications
Medication is an
integral part of diabetes treatment. Despite maintaining diet, exercise
and healthy weight, you may need the help of medications. Everyone with
Type 1 diabetes and some people with type 2 diabetes are required to
take insulin every day. Insulin can not be taken in a pill form. That's
why, many people, by using a syringe or an insulin pen injector, inject
themselves with insulin. Insulin pump can also be used which provides a
continuous supply of insulin and eliminates the need for daily shots.
An
insulin pump is a pumping device. It is worn outside your body. A small
tube connects the reservoir of insulin to a catheter. Catheter is
inserted under the skin of the abdomen. The pump gives out the set
amount of insulin into your body and can be adjusted to infuse more or
less insulin as per the requirement.
Synthetic human insulin is a widely used form of insulin, which is
chemically identical to human insulin and manufactured in a laboratory.
But, synthetic human insulin isn't the last word in the diabetes
treatment. Actually it doesn't mimic the way natural insulin is secreted
and this is its big shortcoming. But, there are some newer types of
insulin, such as insulin analogs which resemble the way natural insulin
acts in the body. Some of these are lispro (Humalog), insulin aspart
(NovoLog) and glargine (Lantus).
Sometimes,
some drugs are combined to have better results. With the help of drug
combinations, you may be able to control your blood sugar in a better
way. Any class of oral medications can be combined with drugs from any
other class. Most doctors prescribe a combination of two drugs. However,
the number of drugs may increase to 3, as per the need.
Transplantation
Transplantation
is another way to treat diabetes. Researchers have been increasingly
paying attention on transplantation for type 1 diabetics in the recent
past. Transplantation is done in two ways:
1) Islet cell transplantation
2) Pancreas transplantation
However, as earlier said, transplantation is the last option and is only
used in extreme cases.
|
