Why some diabetics have to take insulin

When you have diabetes, it means you have too much sugar in your blood. Diabetes is a disease in which your body can’t use all the sugar that you get from food (carbohydrates). Your body turns these foods (bread, rice, pasta, milk, etc.) into sugar (glucose) to use for energy.

Insulin, which is made in your pancreas, is needed to help the sugar go into the cells of your body. Your body will use the sugar as “fuel” for energy. Insulin works like a key to a door. If your pancreas doesn’t make enough insulin, or if your body does not use the insulin very well, your body cannot use the sugar for energy. Instead of going into your body’s cells, the sugar stays in your blood. There must be a balance between blood sugar and insulin for you to use the energy properly.

Types of diabetes
There are two main types of diabetes: Type 1 and Type 2.

If your body does not make any insulin, this is Type 1 diabetes.

For people with Type 1 diabetes:

• The pancreas makes no insulin.
• It starts at a young age but may come on as an adult.
• The disease comes on quickly.
• The person is usually thin.

In Type 2 diabetes, your pancreas still makes insulin. Over time, your pancreas makes less insulin. Also, the insulin that your body does make doesn’t work very well. Most people with diabetes (90-95 percent) have Type 2 diabetes.

For people with Type 2 diabetes:

• The pancreas makes some insulin, but not enough.
• The body cannot use the insulin in the right way. The insulin is not able to move the sugar from your blood into your cells.
• It usually starts after 35 years of age, but is also seen in children.
• It comes on slowly.
• The person is usually overweight.

Insulin myths
People are sometimes scared to start taking insulin because they have heard stories from their friends and family that are often not true. You will not become blind or lose an arm or leg if you take insulin. Complications like those happen when a person with diabetes has had high blood sugar for a long time without controlling it. In fact, waiting too long to start insulin is what causes damage to parts of the body.

When you keep your blood sugar in the normal range, it will help to keep you from getting the complications of diabetes, such as losing your vision (blindness), kidney problems (kidney failure) or loss of your arm or your leg (amputations). Starting insulin, if it is needed, will help keep your blood sugar in the normal range so you can have a longer, healthier life.

You are in charge of your health
To learn more about the role of insulin and how it can help you keep your diabetes under control, go to www.ParklandDiabetes.com/Insulin. Taking insulin is one of the steps you can take to manage your diabetes and live healthier.

Talk to your healthcare provider about steps you can take to stay healthy and prevent complications. For more information about healthy living with diabetes, go to www.ParklandDiabetes.com.