Diabetes and Insulin What You Need To Know

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Brunilda Nazario, MD
There are a lot of places that you can inject yourself with insulin. Generally, there are four places that are recommended-- the abdomen, the back of the arm, the thigh, or the upper part of your buttocks. And the reason those parts are chosen is because there's a little bit of the layer of fat and there's not a lot of nerves there, so your injection is less painful.

Brunilda Nazario, MD (Continued)
The best place to inject yourself is actually in the abdomen. Insulin absorption is quicker there and it's smoother. It is recommended that you rotate the sites of injection. Because if you continue to inject in the same area, you can develop scarring of tissue.

Brunilda Nazario, MD (Continued)
Other side effects of insulin that you might see is you might see a weight gain from the use of insulin.

Brunilda Nazario, MD (Continued)
There are occasions when either you're injected too much insulin or you've eaten too little or you've exercised excessively for the amount of food and the insulin that you've taken that you see a drop in your blood sugar. And that's called hypoglycemia.

Brunilda Nazario, MD (Continued)
If you take insulin, does that then commit you to lifelong therapy with insulin? If you have type 1 diabetes, absolutely. If you have type 2 diabetes, the cornerstone of therapy for a person that has type 2 diabetes is really diet and exercise. Even if you're put on insulin, there's certainly the possibility of controlling your sugars with lifestyle changes and diet. So no, it's not a lifelong commitment.