Often a combination of medications with different effects on the body will be used to simultaneously increase the insulin you make, improve how you use insulin, and lower your blood sugar in other ways.
Keep a blood sugar log so you can manage your treatment. Ask your doctor if you should check your sugar before or after meals. Write down the time, if it’s before or after you ate, what your blood sugar is, when you last had insulin, and what the dose was. Keep track of changes in your blood sugar before and after you exercise. [7] X Trustworthy Source Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Main public health institute for the US, run by the Dept. of Health and Human Services Go to source
Keep your unopened insulin in the refrigerator. Use a new needle for every injection and do not ever share needles. Rotate your injection site (that is, avoid always injecting yourself in the same place on your body, and change to a new location frequently). Do not use expired or frozen (even if defrosted) insulin.
Your doctor is more likely to recommend an insulin pump if you have type 1 diabetes rather than type 2. [11] X Trustworthy Source Cleveland Clinic Educational website from one of the world’s leading hospitals Go to source Even with a pump, you still have to monitor your blood sugar at home.
These medications are not used very frequently anymore. Talk to your doctor about the possible risks of using this type of medication, since they can cause problems with low blood sugar if you don’t take them with food. You might experience weight gain with sulfonylureas. In rare cases, your doctor may prescribe a different type of medication called a meglitinide. These work faster than sulfonylureas, but they don’t last as long. [13] X Research source
Stay away from sweets, including sugary sodas. [15] X Trustworthy Source National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases Health information from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, a division of the U. S. National Institutes of Health Go to source Skip processed snack foods like chips and other “junk-food” aisle products. Choose lean poultry and fish over red meat.
Men should stick to no more than 60g of carbs per meal. If you’re a woman, limit your carbs per meal to 45g. Avoid eating more than 15g of carbs per snack between meals.
Talk to your doctor before starting a new exercise regime, especially if you’re diabetic. Ask your doctor how exercise affects your blood sugar, and what you need to do to manage it.
Cooling your body down for 2-3 hours a day by sitting in a cold room, taking cool baths or showers, or taking a long walk outside in a cool climate. Cold weather stimulates brown fat production. Exercising regularly in a cool environment, around 63–64 °F (17–18 °C). Get plenty of iron in your diet, and eat plant fats over animal fats (cook with olive oil instead of butter, for instance).
