Is insulin a hormone? Will it be addictive?

Is insulin a hormone? Will it be addictive? In the insulin treatment of diabetes, patients often ask such questions, is insulin a hormone? Will it be addictive? Can’t it be removed after use? Today, let us unveil its mystery together?

Insulin is a protein hormone secreted by human pancreatic β-cells, and its main role is to lower blood sugar. Insulin is involved in regulating sugar metabolism, controlling blood sugar balance, and promoting the synthesis of glycogen, fat and protein. If insulin is lacking, it can lead to diabetes.

As the saying goes, “What is lacking to make up for what?” Insufficient insulin secretion, naturally requires exogenous supplementation to give the pancreas a break. The concept of short-term insulin intensive treatment for newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes has long been established in the world. In China, it was also proposed in an article published by Professor Weng Jianping in 2008 that intensive insulin therapy can improve pancreatic β-cells. Nearly half of patients received intensive therapy. Through lifestyle control, blood sugar can be controlled to reach the standard. As long as the pancreas can secrete enough insulin, the injection can be stopped without external source supplementation.

Is insulin omnipotent?

of course not. When there is severe insulin resistance, just increasing the dose of exogenous insulin will not have such a good hypoglycemic effect. At this time, oral hypoglycemic drugs can exert their hypoglycemic advantages from different mechanisms, improve resistance, and make up for insufficient insulin Therefore, it is important to understand the pathogenesis of diabetes, evaluate the complications, and choose the appropriate hypoglycemic program.

How to use insulin properly?

• 1. According to the doctor’s order, the injection time is different for different dosage forms. The dosage of insulin varies from person to person. It is determined according to the type of diabetes, weight, blood sugar, and severity of complications. Be sure to follow the doctor’s advice.
• 2. The injection sites are mainly the abdomen, buttocks, outer thighs and upper arms. Generally, short-acting insulin or premixed insulin is most suitable for injecting into the abdomen. Medium-long-acting insulin is suitable for injecting the buttocks or the outer thighs. When injecting insulin, choose the above-mentioned parts and pay attention to the angle when injecting insulin. Also, do not always choose the same site, otherwise redness and nodules will appear after the injection. Choose different sites for injection.
• 3. Store insulin correctly to avoid blood sugar fluctuations caused by insulin failure. Unopened insulin can be stored at 2-8°C and cannot be frozen. The opened insulin can be kept at room temperature to avoid heat or sunlight to prevent shock.

(source:chinanet, reference only)

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