Type 1 Diabetes: Living With the Disease - Medications
Everyone with type 1 diabetes needs to take insulin. You are probably taking more than one type of insulin, either as an injection or by using an insulin pump.
The amount and type of insulin you take will likely change over time, depending on changes that occur with normal aging, changes in your exercise routine, and hormonal changes (such as during rapid growth of adolescence or pregnancy). You may need higher doses of insulin when you are ill or experiencing emotional stress. A woman needs much more insulin than usual during the last part of pregnancy.
Learn about insulin:
- Know the dose of each type of insulin you take, when you take the doses, how long it takes for each type of insulin to start working (onset), when it will have its greatest effect (peak), and how long it will work (duration).
- Never skip a dose of insulin without the advice of your doctor.
Medication Choices
- Insulin
- Amylinomimetics, such as pramlintide (Symlin)
What To Think About
You may need other medicines at some point in your life.
- If small amounts of protein are found when your urine is tested (microalbuminuria), you may be in the early stage of diabetic nephropathy. You may be given an angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor or an angiotensin II receptor blocker (ARB).
- Talk to your doctor about whether you should take low-dose aspirin. Daily low-dose aspirin (81 milligrams) may help prevent heart problems if you are at risk for heart attack or stroke. People with diabetes are 2 to 4 times more likely than people who don't have diabetes to develop fatal heart and blood vessel diseases.5
- If you have high blood
pressure or
high cholesterol, you may need other medicines to
treat these conditions. Adequate treatment may help prevent complications from
diabetes. You may need one or more medicines to lower blood pressure. You also
may need to take
statins to lower your cholesterol. Statins are
medicines that can reduce LDL levels and the risk of heart disease in people
who have diabetes.5
WebMD Medical Reference from Healthwise
Type 1 Diabetes: Living With the Disease Topics
Is This Normal? Get the Facts Fast!
Answer:
0-69
70-130
131+
Your level is currently
If the level is below 70 and you are experiencing symptoms such as shaking, sweating or difficulty thinking, you will need to raise the number immediately. A quick solution is to eat a few pieces of hard candy or 1 tablespoon of sugar or honey. Recheck your numbers again in 15 minutes to see if the number has gone up. If not, repeat the steps above or call your doctor.
People who experience hypoglycemia several times in a week should call their health care provider. It's important to monitor your levels each day so you can make sure your numbers are within the range. If you are pregnant always consult with your health care provider.
Congratulations on taking steps to manage your health.
However, it's important to continue to track your numbers so that you can make lifestyle changes if needed. If you are pregnant always consult with your physician.
Your level is high if this reading was taken before eating. Aim for 70-130 before meals and less than 180 two hours after meals.
Even if your number is high, it's not too late for you to take control of your health and lower your blood sugar.
One of the first steps is to monitor your levels each day. If you are pregnant always consult with your physician.
Did You Know Your Lifestyle Choices
Affect Your Blood Sugar?
Use the Blood Glucose Tracker to monitor
how well you manage your blood sugar over time.
This tool is not intended for women who are pregnant.
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