Diabetes Education

There are four types of insulin: long-acting, intermediate-acting, short-acting, and rapid-acting. Each type of insulin works differently than another. It is not uncommon to pair two different kinds of insulin together to manage your diabetes. See below for a description of each insulin.

If you use insulin (including injections and pumps), you should have glucagon and ketone strips on hand at all times. If your blood sugar drops too low that you cannot eat or drink anything, or if you pass out, glucagon is an emergency medication that can be injected into the fatty tissue in your body to make your blood sugar level rise quickly. Some patients can inject themselves but most people require someone else to inject the glucagon for them. You should have a snack or a meal within 15 minutes of injecting the glucagon to prevent your blood sugar from dropping again.

Ketone strips should be used to test your urine for ketones if your sugar is much higher than usual and not coming down, such as when you’re sick or using medications such as corticosteroids. Urinate into a clean cup, dip the ketone stick into your urine, and wait about 1 minute for the blocks on the strip to turn colors. Compare the colors on the strip to the colors on the bottle label. If you have mild, moderate, or high ketone levels (1-4+), you should go to the emergency room. Elevated ketone levels may indicate the onset of diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) which is a medical emergency.

Many people are surprised to learn that diabetes isn’t just “high sugar”. It increases your risk for heart disease, kidney disease (nephropathy), nerve damage (neuropathy), hearing loss, vision problems and even blindness (retinopathy). Diabetes can also affect your skin, feet, and nails. These complications can be prevented or reversed with improved blood glucose control.

DKA used to only be associated with type 1 diabetes, but it’s also a possibility for type 2 diabetics – even though it’s rare. The acid in your blood builds up and throws off the rest of your electrolytes like sodium and potassium, which can cause important organs like your heart not to work correctly. This is a medical emergency; you should go to the hospital and plan to stay for a few days. Only intravenous (IV) fluids and correction of your blood sugars with insulin will correct this. You must control your blood sugars to prevent this from happening again. Too many episodes of DKA can cause organ failure and death. 

Prediabetes should be called stage I diabetes. Your blood sugars are too high to be normal, but without lifestyle modifications you will surely be a diagnosed type 2 diabetic. Lifestyle includes committed, lifelong modifications you can stick to: healthy diet, regular exercise, and a healthy weight. Prediabetes can be managed with lifestyle alone, but can quickly and easily morph into type 2 diabetes if left unchecked.