Type 1 diabetes develops when the immune system attacks the insulin-producing beta cells in the pancreas.cWhen these cells don’t work properly, the body can no longer produce insulin. People with type 1 diabetes therefore require lifelong insulin therapy.
Other medications and lifestyle changes may also help people manage the disease.
1. Test Regularly
None of us enjoy testing our blood but it is certainly a big help when it comes to getting our blood glucose levels under control. For example, you might find yourself asking questions about why you went too high such as:
- Did I take less insulin for lunch?
- Did I exercise less than usual?
- Did I have high sugar levels before lunch?
Testing regularly helps to reduce the number of factors that could have played a part, and so makes understanding highs and lows easier to understand, and gives you the chance to better learn and avoid these highs and lows in future.
2. Insulin Injection
Insulin must be injected, because if it were taken as a tablet, it would be broken down in your stomach – like food – and would be unable to enter your bloodstream. When you’re first diagnosed, your diabetes care team or physicians will help you with your insulin injections, before showing you how and when to do it yourself. They’ll also show you how to store your insulin and dispose of your needles properly. Insulin injections are usually given by an injection pen, which is also known as an insulin pen or auto-injector. However, injections are sometimes given using a syringe. Most people need two to four injections a day. To control your blood sugar you should consult your physician to learn to regulate the amount of insulin you need according to your blood sugar level.
3. Establish a Routine
Many of us who have struggled with our control at one time or another will likely be familiar with the feeling of being always one step behind our diabetes, such as needing to correct a series of highs and lows rather than being able to plan ahead so much. Making sense of our results is always going to be easier if there are fewer factors to consider, so to help make sense of your blood glucose results, try to keep to a regular routine as best as you can.
Taking injections at the same times of day, where possible, is a good place to start. It is particularly important to take your long term insulin at the same time(s) each day.
4. Weigh out portions and check carbohydrate value
Food portions can often be a source of misjudgment. You may have the same meal on two different days but get different results following from the meal if the size of portion was different on those two days. It can really help to spend some extra time weighing or measuring out portions of foods, particularly those that have a higher carbohydrate value, such as potatoes, rice, pasta and cereal. This will allow you to make more accurate judgments when making dosing decisions and when analyzing your results.
5. Regular Exercise
Be active and do regular exercise like brisk walking, stretching, sports and yoga for 1 hour. When stored glucose is exhausted, the body uses the glucose from the blood stream, thereby reducing the glucose level in blood. Regular workouts will keep diabetes under control.
