Has your doctor recommended taking insulin?
By CINDY VANDEVENDER County Extension Agent

CINDY LOU VAN DEVENDER

Studies show that many people resist starting insulin when their doctor tells them it is needed. They try to postpone it or ask their doctor to let them try harder because many people think taking insulin means they are a failure.

Doctors recommend insulin when they believe it is needed to keep blood glucose in the ranges that reduce risk of complications. On average, the pancreas of a person with diabetes produces 50 percent less insulin every five years. You may be doing everything your doctor told you to do, including eating the right foods in the right amounts, exercising and taking diabetes pills, but your blood glucose is not in the recommended range.

If you are not achieving your A1C goals, your doctor will eventually prescribe insulin for you.

If your blood glucose is out of range, even though you are trying very hard, most diabetes experts believe you should not delay starting insulin for more than three months. If your blood work still shows you are out of range, go back and tell your doctor you are ready to try insulin.

Insulins today are very different than a few years ago. One type keeps a steady amount of insulin in your blood for 24 hours with one injection; there are no peaks and valleys. You can use a rapid-acting type to deal with the abrupt rise in blood glucose after meals.

Insulin pens make giving yourself the right dose much easier and with so much less discomfort than older methods because the needles are so thin. Many people with diabetes can give themselves rapidacting insulin right at the table in a restaurant without anyone realizing.

Some people think they will never be able to give themselves insulin because they are afraid of needles. There are many ways to reduce this fear or to learn how to deal with it.

Others think they will be unable to travel or do things like hiking or bike riding with insulin because they have to keep it refrigerated. There are pocket-sized cool packs that keep insulin bottles or pens adequately cooled even during Texas summers. Soaking the packs in water allows them to keep insulin cool.

If you want to learn more about insulin and how to deal with things like giving yourself an injection, traveling, doing things you have always done while taking insulin, sign up for the Do Well, Be Well with Diabetes series of five classes that cover nine different topics. Classes are taught by volunteer nurses, dietitians, pharmacists, and other health professionals from your community.

Texas AgriLife Extension Service is offering these free classes May 28 to June 24; 384-3721 or call ETHAN at 384-2099 to sign up to learn the latest information about managing type 2 diabetes.