Insulin Insufficiency

This is information assembled from the ADA website, and a number of other sources, written as I understand it. Cross reference and double check the accuracy of what I am presenting.

New information about diabetes is appearing constantly, so the attitudes on different types of diabetes are changing, at least with the more informed physicians. Many doctors though, are still using older standards of diagnostics, and may mis-diagnose diabetes based on false assumptions.

Insulin insufficiency occurs because the pancreas fails to produce enough insulin. This usually occurs because of damage to the cells in the pancreas which produce insulin, but there are a few other causes as well. This damage may occur because of another disease process in the body, or because of chemical or other exposure that unintentionally kills pancreatic cells.

Insulin insufficiency may happen suddenly, or gradually. If it happens suddenly, it results in a medical crisis, and generally an immediate dependence on insulin injections. If it happens gradually it is more likely to be mis-diagnosed, mistaken for, or complicated by, insulin resistance.

Since your body does not make enough insulin, your goal has to be to get more. This only happens in two ways:

1. Using medications or herbs which increase the ability of the pancreas in one way or another, to produce more insulin. Normally, these have a limited effect, so they will usually only improve the control by a marginal amount, and will NOT replace injections unless you were originally using only a tiny amount.

2. Insulin supplementation, by injection or inhalant. This is a sure solution, but a complex one. Learning how to appropriately use insulin is a necessary skill, and will depend a great deal on your ability to observe your personal reactions to the factors that effect your blood sugar levels. Actually injecting the stuff is pretty easy, and is not a horrid, painful thing. The needles are small and easy to use. Learning how to keep your blood sugar carefully balanced will take some practice though. Allergies to insulin do occur, so be on the alert for unusual reactions, which must be reported to a doctor. If an allergy develops, there are methods to address the problem, but they are not necessarily pleasant or easy.

High blood sugar is no joke. It kills the cells in your body one by one. The higher the blood sugar level, the faster the damage. So avoiding insulin use if you need it is NOT a practical option. Believe me, living a life around a schedule of injections is nothing in comparison to dealing with the problems that high blood sugar will eventually cause. I have used insulin, and have had to check my blood sugar, carry glucose tabs, watch for unusual symptoms, and stick myself in the belly with every meal. It simply was not a big deal, even when pregnant, to do that, and I lived a normal life around it. It was fast to do, and easy.

If your high blood sugar is caused by insulin insufficiency, then it is a totally different matter than if it is caused by insulin resistance. Careful dietetic control is even more critical, both to avoid too much, and to insure that you get enough, and strict adherence to your insulin dosages is essential.

I have been coping with high blood sugar for months now, and most days, it seems like it would be SUCH a relief to just be able to use the insulin and not have to be quite so picky. But until we know what it is that is causing me to not be able to lose weight consistently, insulin would be more of a problem than a solution.

Many sources say that use of insulin injections can cause weight gain. It does not. Improper eating, and the belief that all you have to do is take a bit more insulin if you overeat is what causes the weight gain. Your diet must still be controlled!

Written by Laura Wheeler, Owner of Firelight Business Enterprises, Inc.