 times a day.
If you have type two diabetes which you’ve had control of for a while then you can check your blood sugar levels twice a day.
You may have to check your blood sugar levels more if they are fluctuating.
If you’re unwell, you’ll need to monitor your blood sugar levels more regularly. This is because your condition may be affected by antibodies that your body releases to fight the illness. Children with diabetes also need testing more frequently.
Some people back up their blood sugar monitoring by using an alert dog. These dogs will raise the alarm if they detect blood sugar levels that are too high or too low.
Once you’ve been diagnosed with diabetes it’s important to follow the prescribed treatment plan. This involves a lot more than simply monitoring your blood sugar levels.
Some treatments will be prescribed for both types of diabetes. These include:
- Maintaining a healthy diet
- Exercising for at least thirty minutes every day
People with type one diabetes may need to discuss carbohydrate counting with an experienced dietician. This is so that they avoid ingesting more glucose than their body can handle.
Beyond this, the treatments for each type of diabetes are different depending on the patient’s needs.
Treating Type One Diabetes
Treatment options for type one diabetes all focus on providing your body with the insulin it needs to function properly. This is also known as insulin therapy.
There are a few different types of insulin medication. Some are fast-acting while others offer a slow release of a big dose of insulin. Often people with type one diabetes use a combination of these to suit their day- and night-time needs.
Insulin has to be delivered directly into the bloodstream rather than being ingested. You can either do this using a needle (sometimes known as an insulin pen) or via an insulin pump.
The most recent development in insulin delivery involves an insulin loop or an artificial pancreas. This treatment option is still in the trial phase.
Some people with type one diabetes may also be put on the transplant list for a new pancreas. Before this happens, a doctor must identify that the cause of the condition lies solely in the pancreas.
These procedures are a lot riskier than insulin treatments. That’s why the majority of patients opt for management rather than a magic bullet cure.
Treating Type Two Diabetes
There are several approaches to treating type two diabetes. The right one for you depends on the cause of your diabetes and how severe the condition has become.
Most doctors will focus on lifestyle changes that you can make to help manage your condition. As well as healthy eating and regular exercise, they may recommend that you quit smoking or diet to lose weight.
In some type two cases, doctors will recommend bariatric surgery. This involves fitting a gastric band for people with a BMI of 35 or more. This can really improve their chances of losing weight.
Doctors may also prescribe oral medication to treat type two diabetes. In some cases, you may be treated using insulin therapy although this is much rare for type two diabetics.
So There You Have It!
For two conditions under the same umbrella name, there really are a lot of differences between type one vs type two diabetes. From the causes to the treatments it’s important to keep these differences in mind when managing your type one or type two diabetes.