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Does going on insulin mean your diabetes is really bad?

There are many myths surrounding insulin and many people believe that having to take insulin means you're doomed. On the other hand, there are also people who believe not having to take any medication means their diabetes is nothing to worry about.

Whether you have to take medication or not, diabetes is a disease where proper management is crucial. By adopting healthy eating habits, exercising regularly and checking your blood-glucose levels regularly, you can help your body regulate its blood-sugar levels far better and avoid unnecessary complications.

Whether you have to go on insulin or not is determined by your body’s blood-sugar (glucose) control. Sometimes changing your diet is enough to control blood glucose. In other cases, the combination of diet and non-insulin diabetes medication helps to control blood-glucose levels. However, when none of these work, as is the case with type 1 diabetes where the pancreas has stopped producing insulin, artificial insulin is necessary.

Artificial insulin is one of the safest medications around and has been a lifesaver for diabetics for decades. Sadly, some people falsely believe that insulin causes complications of diabetes and therefore are hesitant to take it.

According to US study, people diagnosed with type 2 diabetes often resist taking insulin because they fear gaining weight, developing low blood sugar, and seeing their quality of life decline.

However, the study suggests that these fears are largely unfounded. Insulin actually helps to slow down or prevent diabetes complications and should be taken as a frontline defence, as opposed to a treatment or last resort for non-insulin-dependent diabetes.

We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred
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