Treatment for diabetes

Treatment for diabetes

Diabetes (diabetes mellitus) is a disease where the body is unable to regulate its own blood sugar level. Diabetics have reduced or no production of insulin, often combined with reduced insulin action.

Diabetes

There are several types of diabetes, and the different types of diabetes are treated differently.

• Diabetes type 1

• Diabetes type 2

• Gestational diabetes

Treatment of diabetes consists of medication, motivation, knowledge, diet and physical activity.

Treatment goals for diabetics

Diabetes treatment aims to reduce the risk of late complications and ensure the best possible quality of life. Late complications of diabetes are diseases or ailments that occur due to high blood sugar over time. Good blood sugar control for diabetics is essential to avoid late complications. In the worst case, late complications can be fatal.

What can you do yourself if you have diabetes?

Diabetes is a disease for which there is no curative treatment, but medication for diabetes means that you can live well with the disease. For those with type 2 diabetes, the disease can be kept under control with only self-effort in the form of lifestyle changes. While for those with type 1 diabetes, insulin is always part of the treatment, but self-effort can reduce the amount of insulin needed.

Proper diet. You can eat almost normally even if you have diabetes, but some adjustments are beneficial. Reduce fast-acting carbohydrates, eat little saturated fat and lots of vegetables. Read more about diabetes and diet here.

• Be physically active. Everyone who has diabetes is recommended a minimum of 30 minutes of brisk walking, or equivalent activity at least five times a week. Muscle use reduces the body's need for insulin, thus improving blood sugar control.

• Understand your own illness. Optimum treatment of diabetes requires a great deal of personal effort and good cooperation with healthcare personnel. You must understand your own illness, learn to recognize the signs of high or low blood sugar and be willing to spend time getting the right medication and blood sugar measurement. Also remember that you have to have frequent check-ups with healthcare personnel.

• Blunt the smoke. Smoking increases the risk of cardiovascular diseases, to which diabetics are initially more susceptible.

Medicines for diabetes

Insulin

Insulin is an anabolic hormone, which, among other things, enables the body to use sugar as energy, and is important in the regulation of blood sugar.

Insulin is destroyed if you swallow it, so insulin is only available as injections. There are many different types of insulin that are made with different pharmaceutical properties. For example, the various pharmaceutical properties ensure that there is insulin with both fast and slow action.

Blood sugar lowering tablets

Type 2 diabetics can control their diabetes with blood sugar-lowering tablets. There are a wide range of blood sugar-lowering tablets (antidiabetics). Antidiabetics work by increasing the secretion of insulin, increasing the sensitivity/effect of insulin, reducing the body's own production of sugar, increasing the absorption of sugar into the cells or by reducing the absorption of carbohydrates from the intestine.

Blood sugar measurement

Decisive for a good treatment of diabetes is a good blood sugar control. For type 2 diabetics, it may be sufficient to measure blood sugar once a day or even less often, while for type 1 diabetics, more frequent measurements are usually necessary. Read more about blood sugar measurement here.

Sources:

Norwegian electronic drug handbook, Diabetes Association, Store norske lexikon and Norwegian health informatics.