The role of glucose | When is it prescribed
Hello dear readers and guests of our page! Diabetes is a rather insidious disease in which the pancreas does not produce insulin or does not produce enough insulin. Insulin is a hormone that is involved in sugar processing. And it is insulin in type 1 diabetes that is the main medicine, without which full-fledged human life is almost impossible.
What role does it play?
Food is the main source of sugar. The food we eat first enters the stomach, and only then, in the intestines, is it processed into glucose, which enters the bloodstream.
It is glucose what is the main source of energy, which is so necessary for our cells, of which the entire body consists.
When glucose has entered the bloodstream, the pancreas receives a signal that insulin is needed, and it starts producing it. Doctors, explaining the role of insulin in the body, give an example with keys.
If we imagine a million of our cells as closed houses, then insulin will be the key that will unlock them. An open cell receives glucose, which is converted into energy. In response to this, sugar levels begin to drop.
Energy production in the body can be compared to the energy production of a car.
In order for a car to move, a motor is needed to generate power. The engine needs gasoline to run. It is the source of energy in the car, and in the body this source is glucose. Gasoline enters the car tank through hoses, and glucose enters the cells through the vessels. Turn the ignition key to start the engine. In the body, insulin plays this “ignition key” role.
But not all glucose is processed; some of it accumulates in muscles, liver and adipose tissue. It is glycogen, which is essential for maintaining sugar in emergencies.
When is it prescribed?
In type 1 diabetics, glucose cannot enter the cells and turn into energy. This is due to a lack of hormone. Therefore, cells begin to “starve” without energy.
And then the body’s own fat begins to be used as a source of energy. To prevent this from happening, people with type 1 diabetes must use insulin.
In type 2 diabetes, the situation is somewhat different. The body becomes insensitive to the hormone. It is produced in the required amount, but the cells do not recognize it. Therefore, people with this type of diabetes can do without insulin — on pills.
When are hormone injections prescribed for type 2 diabetes?
Temporary transfer to insulin can be in case of pregnancy or planning it, surgery, heart attack, stroke, trauma.
Subsequently, it is possible to return to taking pills.
But if it is not possible to achieve stable sugar levels with the help of tablets, then patients are transferred to insulin injections on an ongoing basis.