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Treating Diabetes

Diabetes can lead to serious complications, such as blindness, kidney damage, cardiovascular disease, and lower-limb amputations, but people with diabetes can lower the occurrence of these and other diabetes complications by controlling blood glucose, blood pressure, and blood lipids.

  • Many people with type 2 diabetes can control their blood glucose by following a healthy meal plan and exercise program, losing excess weight, and taking oral medication. Some people with type 2 diabetes may also need insulin to control their blood glucose.

  • To survive, people with type 1 diabetes must have insulin delivered by injection or a pump.

  • Among adults with diagnosed diabetes—type 1 or type 2—14 percent take insulin only, 13 percent take both insulin and oral medication, 57 percent take oral medication only, and 16 percent do not take either insulin or oral medication. Medications for each individual with diabetes will often change over the course of the disease.

  • Many people with diabetes also need to take medications to control their cholesterol and blood pressure.

  • Self-management education or training is a key step in improving health outcomes and quality of life. It focuses on self-care behaviors, such as healthy eating, being active, and monitoring blood glucose. It is a collaborative process in which diabetes educators help people with or at risk for diabetes gain the knowledge and problem-solving and coping skills needed to successfully self-manage the disease and its related conditions.

Drawing of a pie chart displaying the distribution of insulin and oral medication treatment among U.S. adults aged 20 years or older with diagnosed diabetes in 2004 to 2006. Fifty-seven percent were treated with only oral medication, 13 percent received insulin and oral medication, 14 percent received only insulin, and 16 percent received neither oral medication nor insulin.

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