What is the best treatment for diabetes?

The best treatment for diabetes depends on several factors, such as the type of diabetes the individual is diagnosed with, whether the individual with diabetes has any other underlying conditions, individual preference, and how the individual with diabetes responds to treatment.

With that in mind, the standard treatment for type 1 diabetes is insulin therapy, in addition to other possible medications, such as high blood pressure medicine or medication that lowers cholesterol. Treatment for type 1 diabetes also includes daily blood sugar monitoring and diet and exercise routines.

For type 2 diabetes, the most common treatment is metformin, a glucose-lowering medication that helps your body insulin more efficiently. Treatment for type 2 diabetes also includes weight loss, a healthy diet, regular exercise, and blood sugar monitoring.

When you come to Joshua Medical Center in Omaha, NE, for diabetes management, our board-certified physicians and diabetes management specialists will make sure that you receive the best treatment possible for your particular case of diabetes!

What are the five stages of diabetes?

When you are diagnosed with diabetes, it is not uncommon for individuals to go through five stages similar to the grieving process. As such, you can go through periods of denial, anger, the need for control, depression, and acceptance at different times when grappling with the fact that diabetes has marked its presence in your life.

These specific stages are as follows:

• Denial: The individual diagnosed with diabetes may be in disbelief when they first receive a diabetes diagnosis, thinking the results must be for someone else or that they don’t need to make any lifestyle or dietary changes. This reaction is normal, as it takes some time for anyone to get used to having a chronic condition imposed upon them.
• Anger: The individual may feel a sense of injustice that their potential is being cut short or that their lives are being changed without their consent. While the denial stage often involves avoiding the implications of diabetes, anger often results when those implications are addressed.
• Bargaining: After the anger subsides, the individual could still feel a need to control their lives and find ways to compromise or bargain with the restrictions that diabetes imposes on them. As such, they may try to find ways around dietary restrictions or lifestyle changes without fully committing to healthy diabetes management. As with anything challenging, it takes practice and time before a person can fully thrive with the obstacles in front of them.
• Depression: When the reality sets in that diabetes management requires you to be all in or that your efforts to find a compromise have ultimately failed, it can feel like your old life has been replaced by servitude to diabetes. Consequently, it is entirely normal to feel depressed when dealing with diabetes. However, all is not lost!
• Acceptance: Eventually, individuals with diabetes learn to accept the challenges of their condition and find healthy ways of living meaningfully despite diabetes. That said, acceptance may come and go for many individuals with diabetes, but you can live without feeling as though you are ruled by diabetes with proper treatment and management.

Can diabetes go away?

While there is currently no cure for diabetes, there have been instances where type 2 diabetes has been reversed for some people! If you can maintain a normal blood sugar level without treatment, your doctor will likely declare that you have overcome diabetes. That said, there is always the possibility that it could come back after going away. Sadly, it is highly doubtful for type 1 diabetes to be reversed, as the vast majority of type 1 diabetes patients require lifelong treatment.

If you are looking for a clinic specializing in diabetes management, we would love to meet you at Joshua Medical Centers in Omaha, NE! We welcome you to schedule an appointment with us through our website or call us during the hours of 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM from Monday to Friday. You can find our clinic at 2429 M Street in Omaha, Nebraska.