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Understanding Insulin
Understanding InsulinIf your body does not produce enough insulin or your body doesn’t use the insulin it does produce, yourdiabetes care team may recommend you take the medication insulin as a part of your plan to manage yourdiabetes.“I, at that point, was afraid of needles. Still am, kind of sort of. So having to mentally wrap my headaround giving myself insulin that took me a minute to be ready for.”Even though you may have been able to manage with healthful diet and activity or oral medications for manyyears, insulin may be necessary to manage blood glucose now.Having to take insulin doesn’t necessarily mean your diabetes has gotten worse.And, it doesn’t mean your diabetes is more serious than the diabetes of someone who takes pills, or ofsomeone who takes no medication at all.It just means you need insulin as part of your management plan - to help keep your blood glucose in a healthyrange and help you avoid the long-term complications of diabetes.It may help you to understand how insulin works.Diabetes affects the way your body uses the food you eat.Most of the food you eat changes to glucose, a form of sugar. Glucose enters the bloodstream causing yourblood glucose level to rise.As your blood glucose rises, the pancreas releases insulin. Insulin works like a key to open the cells and letglucose enter. The glucose is used for energy now or stored for later use.In people who don’t have diabetes, the body maintains a balance of glucose and insulin in the bloodstream byreleasing the right amount of insulin at the right time.But when you have diabetes, your body can’t keep your blood glucose in this healthy range without help.The exact cause of diabetes varies from person to person but it may be because your body does not makeenough insulin or it doesn’t use insulin properly.If that’s the case, you may be prescribed insulin to keep your blood glucose in a healthy range.No matter if you use an insulin pen, or have an insulin pump, take your insulin as directed to manage yourdiabetes and reduce the complications that can result from having high blood glucose over a period of time.Although Diabetes is complex, it’s manageable when you have the right information and support. Diabeteseducators are trained to be your diabetes expert and can help you learn how to successfully thrive withdiabetes. You deserve nothing less!Ask your provider for a referral today! Find one at www.DiabetesEducator.org/find.This program is for informational purposes only. Publisher disclaims all guarantees regarding the accuracy, completeness,or suitability of this video for medical decision making. For all health related issues please contact your healthcare provider.HCDB10166B EN UnderstandingInsulin.pdf© The Wellness NetworkPage 1 of 1
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