Diabetes Medicine
The past thirty years have seen many advances in diabetes medicine. In the past, people who were diabetic, particularly if they had Type 1 (juvenile) diabetes, had to eliminate most carbohydrates from their diet. If these people had diabetes medicine, it was very rudimentary and did little to stave off the ravage effects diabetes can have on the body. Now, though, diabetes medicine has come a long way, and people are finding that they can live long, and relatively normal lives even if they have this disease.
Synthetic insulin is available in vial and epi-pen form for people who have juvenile diabetes. These insulin types work with the body’s inability to use the insulin it makes or its inability to produce insulin in the first place. The most basic type of insulin is basal insulin. Diabetics can take this insulin once a day, and if they did not eat, it would keep their blood sugar under control. They then take bolus insulin on top of the basal to control for eating. This type of insulin discovery has made it easier for diabetics to medicate for what they eat instead of watching every mouthful.
New discoveries in diabetes medicine have made diabetes even less intrusive than before. Many people opt to use the insulin pump, for instance, which keeps a monitor and needles on the diabetic’s body. It allows for insulin to drip into the bloodstream more slowly so the blood sugar can be controlled more easily. Juvenile diabetics who are not aware of how lucky they are may not see the insulin pump as a great breakthrough, however. Because more people have Type 2 diabetes, which is largely a lifestyle disease, the medications available for these people include pills, which most juvenile diabetics would absolutely love to have instead of relying on injections multiple times a day.
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