Insulin therapy for type 2 diabetes involves injecting (usually with a very small needle just under the skin) either a harvested or manufactured insulin hormone which is responsible for assisting the body to uptake and utilize sugar from the blood. Typically insulin therapy for people with type 2 diabetes is reserved for those who are not able to control their blood sugar with other types of medications.
Type 2 Diabetes Treatment
There is no known cure for type 2 diabetes. However, if you manage your condition effectively, you can expect a long, healthy life. Type 2 diabetes is treated with a combination of diet, exercise, and regular blood glucose, or blood sugar, testing.
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Dr. Daniel R. Spogen, MD , Family Medicine, answered on behalf of Univ. of Nev. School of Medicine, Family Medicine -
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Dr. Daniel R. Spogen, MD , Family Medicine, answered on behalf of Univ. of Nev. School of Medicine, Family Medicine
Insulin therapy for type 2 diabetes may have interactions with other medications. The biggest problem of insulin therapy for type 2 diabetes arises from concurrent use of insulin with other blood sugar lowering medications. This could lead to a large drop in blood sugar. Blood sugar that is too low is far more dangerous than high blood sugar. Alcohol has been known to both increase and decrease the blood sugar lowering effect of insulin, so it is advised to use extreme caution when consuming alcohol with insulin.
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See All 8 AnswersMedication is the first-line treatment for type 2 diabetes, says Holly Anderson, Outpatient Diabetes Coordinator at Reston Hospital Center. Learn why by watching this informational video.
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Dr. Jack Merendino, MD , Endocrinology Diabetes & Metabolism, answeredFor most people, the type of insulin that should be used first depends upon when during the day their blood sugar is not well-controlled. By “when,” I don’t mean the time on the clock, I mean whether the sugar is at its most poorly-controlled when the person is fasting or after they have been eating.
Many patients have very high sugars when they first awaken in the morning. They have “fasting hyperglycemia,” and they typically find that their blood sugar levels are higher before breakfast than they are before dinner. Often these people are surprised because they have would not have expected to have high glucose values after so many hours without eating. But it turns out that our liver begins to release glucose into the blood stream about 4 to 5 hours after hour last meal. This is so that we do not run out of fuel between meals. In many people with diabetes, however, much too much glucose is released resulting in a very high sugar before eating anything in the morning. These people are best treated with a long-acting or “basal” insulin. This word is derived from “base” or “baseline,” and this kind of insulin provides a baseline or background amount of insulin over a period of 24 hours or more. Because the many non-insulin medications provide better control of the glucose rise that occurs with eating than they do of the glucose release that occurs with fasting, most people with type 2 diabetes who need insulin are first treated with basal or long-acting insulin.
Long-acting insulins include glargine and determir which are marketed under the brand names Lantus, Toujeo and Levemir.
For those people whose morning glucose values are generally within an acceptable range but who have a big rise in glucose values after eating, short-acting (also called “bolus”) insulin given with one or more meals of the day may be the best form of insulin.
Short-acting insulins include the generic form “regular” insulin and the brand-name insulins Humalog, NovoLog and Apidra.
If a person needs both long-acting and short-acting insulin, they can take the two separately or can sometimes take a pre-mixed form of a short-acting insulin with the intermediate-acting insulin NPH. -
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Spotsylvania Regional Medical Center answeredSee All 5 AnswersThere is no known cure for type 2 diabetes. However, you can significantly lower the risk for type 2 diabetes and even prevent this condition with lifestyle changes such as proper diet and regular exercise. Some drugs may also help lower your risk of developing diabetes. Research studies and clinical trials are underway to help determine the causes of type 2 diabetes and how this condition can be prevented.
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Spotsylvania Regional Medical Center answeredSee All 3 AnswersIf you have been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, you may not need to take any medication. The primary ways to manage type 2 diabetes are sticking to a proper diet and exercise program, and testing blood glucose levels regularly to make sure they're within a target range. However, you may need some medications to help stabilize your blood glucose levels and keep them within as normal a range as possible. These medications-whether pills, insulin, or other medicines-help maintain sufficient insulin in the body. Insulin is a hormone produced by the pancreas, and is required to stabilize blood glucose levels.
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Dr. Athena Philis-Tsimikas, MD , Endocrinology Diabetes & Metabolism, answered on behalf of Scripps HealthSee All 2 AnswersIf you have type 2 diabetes, medications may be part of your treatment plan. In this video, endocrinologist Athena Philis-Tsimikas, MD, of Scripps Health, describes some of the diabetes drug options, from insulin to appetite suppressants.
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Dr. Jack Merendino, MD , Endocrinology Diabetes & Metabolism, answeredThe short answer to this question is no, but it deserves an explanation. First of all, and unfortunately, there is a severe shortage of endocrinologists in many parts of the country, so even if I thought the right answer was yes, it wouldn’t be a practical answer for everyone. But the right answer for this, and for most medical problems, is that you need a good working relationship with a primary physician who is interested in you as a person and your concerns, keeps as up-to-date as can be expected to knowing how much there is to know, communicates well and knows his or her limits. I know of family practitioners, nurse practitioners and general internists who render great diabetes care, and I know some endocrinologists who I don’t think do such a good job.
It’s important to be your own healthcare advocate. Start by being prepared when you go in for your visits. This means having your blood tests done in advance of your visit so that you can discuss the results at the time of the appointment, brining an up-to-date list of all your medications, and bringing well-organized blood sugar readings with you. These steps will go a long way to ensuring that you get good care.
If you’re not having success despite good care from your primary physician and a good effort on your part, ask to see an endocrinologist your doctor trusts. -
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Dr. Craig B. Primack, MD , General Practice, answeredSee All 2 AnswersWeight loss in itself is helpful, often very helpful, for treating type 2 diabetes. Initially there were several reports of weight loss surgery curing diabetes but studies are now showing the cure was not complete and over time sometimes the diabetes does come back.
This just demonstrates that weight, and for sure diabetes, are complex diseases and are better treated with a team approach which will include your primary care physician, possibly an endocrinologist, a medical obesity specialist and perhaps a bariatric surgeon.
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Type 2 diabetes drugs that have been shown to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease in people with diabetes at high risk include empagliflozin and liraglutide. The results of a trial of the type 2 diabetes drugs empagliflozin and liraglutide unexpectedly demonstrated beneficial cardiovascular effects in people with type 2 diabetes who had high pre-existing cardiovascular risk.
The importance of these findings is that specific glucose-lowering therapies have been found to reduce cardiovascular disease in high-risk patients with type 2 diabetes.