When you have type 2 diabetes, and diet, exercise and other medications cannot control the blood sugar, or if you cannot use the medicines, it will be necessary to take insulin. This is known as insulin therapy, which your medical provider will prescribe for you. When you understand how insulin therapy works in your body, you can more easily control your blood sugar.
Things you’ll need to know are:
- What type of insulin are you using?
- When is that insulin active in your body?
- What is your dose?
- How much insulin do you take and when?
- Is the insulin doing what it is supposed to do?
This section explains how to use insulin therapy to treat diabetes
It focuses on:
- Insulin Basics:
Background information about the principles of insulin replacement. - Types of Insulin:
Action and characteristics of the different, commercially available types of insulin. - Insulin administration:
Different ways to get insulin into your body. - Medication goals:
Blood sugar targets when treated with insulin. - Designing an insulin regimen:
Concept of insulin replacement. - Calculating insulin dose:
Formulas to calculate general total daily requirements, and basal and bolus insulin replacement. - Intensive insulin therapy:
Insulin therapy based on what the body does naturally. - Sliding scale therapy:
Insulin therapy based on blood sugar levels. - Insulin treatment tips:
Practical reminders for people treating with insulin.
Self-assessment Quiz
Self assessment quizzes are available for topics covered in this website. To find out how much you have learned about Insulin Therapy, take our self assessment quiz when you have completed this section. The quiz is multiple choice. Please choose the single best answer to each question. At the end of the quiz, your score will display. If your score is over 70% correct, you are doing very well. If your score is less than 70%, you can return to this section and review the information.