Treatment and prevention

treatment and prevention

Type 1 diabetes:

The primary treatment for type 1 diabetes is insulin. Insulin is provided through multiple daily injections or through an insulin pump. Following an active, healthy lifestyle is important in type 1 diabetes, as well as managing blood pressure and cholesterol levels. Regular monitoring of blood sugar as well as an individual’s carbohydrate intake is extremely important in type 1 diabetes. Currently, type 1 diabetes cannot be prevented or cured.

Read also about Do insulin injections hurt? Get the facts.

When told they need to move to insulin injections, many people fear the pain associated with needles. Yet the reality is that when insulin therapy is started, most people are surprised to find how little the injections hurt.

Type 2 diabetes:

The usual treatment of type 2 diabetes initially involves a combination of both lifestyle changes as well as oral diabetes medications.

Lifestyle changes are very important in the management of type 2 diabetes and include:

Healthy diet
Regular exercise
Avoiding/quitting smoking
Weight loss (if overweight/obese)
Managing blood pressure and cholesterol

While metformin is the most common oral diabetes medication initially prescribed at diagnosis, other classes of diabetes medications include:

Sulfonylureas
SGLT2 inhibitors
DPP-4 inhibitors
Meglitinides
Alpha-glucosidase inhibitors
GLP-1 agonists

Insulin is usually reserved for individuals with a very high A1C who have symptomatic diabetes at diagnosis. It is also used for those who are already on multiple diabetes medications, where the A1C target is still not optimal.

In individuals with prediabetes, following a healthy diet, engaging in regular exercise, quitting smoking, and losing weight can all be effective ways to prevent diabetes. It is important to consult your doctor if you have been diagnosed with prediabetes, to discuss strategies for diabetes prevention.

Read also about Type 2 diabetes oral medications

Since type 2 diabetes is thought to involve both the pancreas not making enough insulin and the cells in the body being unable to use insulin effectively, medications are developed to correct various steps involved in both these deficiencies.