Diabetes Treatment

At this time, there is no cure for diabetes. With regular medical care and consistent compliance with treatment, you can manage diabetes to minimize the risk of serious complications, such as diabetic retinopathy, cardiovascular disease, and stroke.

The treatment of diabetes varies depending on the type of diabetes you have. Management all forms of diabetes includes regularly monitoring your blood sugar levels; eating a well-balanced, healthy diet; and following a regular exercise program.

Type 2 diabetes is generally treated with oral antidiabetic medications, such as glipizide, glyburide and metformin. Pregnant women and have gestational diabetes may be treated with glyburide.

Type 1 diabetes is treated with insulin, and some people with type 2 diabetes or gestational diabetes may need insulin injections as well. A new treatment that may be an option for some people who have type 1 diabetes is pancreatic islet transplantation. This experimental surgery transplants insulin-producing beta cells from a donor into the pancreas of a person who has type 1 diabetes.

To minimize complications, it is also important not to smoke and to follow your health care provider’s advice on preventing, monitoring, and treating any coexisting medical conditions, such as hypertension and high cholesterol.