Timely and early injection of insulin to lower blood sugar may help regulate pancreatic function and provide better long-term disease control – Sky Post

When the body’s blood sugar is too high, the body’s pancreatic beta cells act as “blood sugar managers” and secrete insulin to help blood sugar drop, preventing excessive sugar in the blood from damaging various body functions. 90% of diabetes cases are type 2 diabetes. Patients have insulin resistance, which means the body is less sensitive to insulin. Pancreatic beta cells therefore need to “work overtime” and work harder to secrete insulin in order to control blood sugar at normal levels. Dr. Lui Dewei, a specialist in endocrinology and diabetes, said: “If the body continues to be at high blood sugar levels, the function of insulin secretion by pancreatic beta cells may be affected. Timely and early injection of insulin can help control blood sugar to normal levels as soon as possible. On the one hand, it can reduce the complications of diabetes. On the other hand, it can give pancreatic beta cells a chance to breathe, which will help manage diabetes in the long run.” Diabetes that is not properly managed can lead to various complications throughout the body Pancreatic islets are located in the pancreas, and their main cells are islet beta cells, which are responsible for secreting insulin every day and absorbing sugar from the blood into the cells. This mechanism helps maintain blood sugar in the body at normal levels. However, most diabetic patients have insulin resistance problems, which leads to an imbalance in this mechanism and makes blood sugar levels out of control. Dr. Lui pointed out: “Excessive glucose in the body will form glycation end products (AGEs), which can lead to a variety of complications, including stroke, heart disease, peripheral vascular obstruction, diabetic eye disease, diabetic kidney disease, and neuropathy.” If the condition Poor control and infection can cause blood sugar to spike and induce acute hyperglycemia complications such as diabetic acidosis. Use insulin promptly and early to help regulate pancreatic function Glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) is one of the important indicators for diagnosing and monitoring diabetes. The higher the glycated hemoglobin value, the higher the blood sugar value. An index of 6.5% or above is an indicator of confirmed diabetes. ⼀It is generally recommended that diabetic patients control their glycosylated hemoglobin value within 7% to reduce the risk of various diabetic complications. When the body continues to have high blood sugar levels, pancreatic beta cell function may be affected. Therefore, especially diabetic patients with very high blood sugar levels should use insulin promptly and early to control blood sugar levels as soon as possible. On the one hand, this treatment plan reduces the impact of high blood sugar on the body. On the other hand, it can also help the pancreatic beta cells reduce their workload, allowing them to temporarily have space to breathe and recuperate, giving the pancreatic beta cells a chance to recover. Injections directly supplement insulin to help long-term disease management There are many drugs to treat diabetes, and doctors formulate treatment plans based on the patient’s physical condition, medical history, and diabetes condition. Among them, insulin injections, which have been available for many years, still play an important role in the management of diabetes. Because it can directly supplement insulin, especially for patients who have insufficient insulin secretion or have been diagnosed with diabetes for many years, injecting external insulin can directly supplement the insufficient insulin secretion of pancreatic beta cells. Dr. Lui explained: “Some of the main mechanisms of oral medications include stimulating insulin secretion or increasing the body’s sensitivity to insulin. However, the fundamental problem in some patients is that the function of pancreatic beta cells is reduced and therefore they are unable to secrete enough insulin.” Therefore, in formulating the plan. Before the treatment plan, the doctor will have a clear understanding of each patient’s diabetes condition so as to prescribe appropriate treatment. Case: Insulin may not equal “a life-long fight” Mr. Wang is about 50 years old and suffers from obesity. He sought medical treatment two years ago because of polyuria, thirst and weight loss. A blood test found that his fasting blood sugar was 16mmol/L, his glycated hemoglobin was as high as 15.6%, and his postprandial blood sugar was higher than 30mmol/L, so he was admitted to the hospital for treatment. The doctor prescribed insulin for him to control his blood sugar to normal levels as soon as possible. He also prescribed metformin to further control his blood sugar. When he was discharged from the hospital, he needed 4 injections of insulin a day.

In the second half of the year, his glycated hemoglobin dropped significantly to 5.7%, so the doctor gradually simplified his insulin treatment plan to only one dose of long-acting insulin every day, and also added an oral diabetes drug DPP4 inhibitor. In addition, the blood test results showed that he still had a certain ability to secrete insulin, so he did not need to inject insulin later. He mainly used two oral medications to continuously control his blood sugar. Two years later, his glycated hemoglobin was still maintained at the ideal level of 5.9%. Original Post：《晴報》適時及早注射胰島素降血糖-或有助調節胰臟功能-長遠控制病情更理想