The importance of taking medication
When you eat, some of your food is broken down into glucose (a kind of sugar). Glucose travels in your blood to all your body's cells. Insulin, made by your pancreas, helps glucose move from your blood into your cells. Glucose helps your cells produce the energy you need for healthy living. Your body needs the right amount of insulin and glucose all the time to work properly.
Glucose from food makes your blood glucose level go up. Insulin lowers blood glucose levels by helping glucose move from your bloodstream into your cells. When you have diabetes your body doesn’t make any insulin, enough insulin, or your body prevents the insulin you do produce from working properly. You must do the work your body did before diabetes to keep your insulin and glucose in balance.
Taking insulin when you need it helps control blood glucose levels so your body cells will have the energy they need to keep you feeling well. The insulin you take is working properly if it keeps your glucose levels near normal.
Over time, high blood glucose can damage your blood vessels and nerves, which can lead to:
- Heart and blood vessel problems
- Eye disease
- Kidney disease
- Nerve disease
- Infections of the skin or gums
- Problems with your legs and feet
Keeping blood glucose levels as close to normal as possible may lower your risk for these serious health problems.
The most common ways to get insulin into your body are to inject it with an insulin pen or syringe, or by continuous subcutaneous insulin infusion using an insulin pump. Insulin cannot be taken as a pill because it would be destroyed by the acid in your stomach. Taking insulin or other medications, together with healthy eating and physical activity, are the main ways people with diabetes can keep their blood glucose levels in their target range.
