Myths around the administration of the hormone (insulin) in many cases harm the patient's condition.
Federal authorities estimate that 6.5 million Mexicans are diagnosed with diabetes, of which only 25 percent receive treatment.Now, less than 12 percent of them use insulin, mainly because it is believed to cause blindness, renal damage and amputations.
In this regard, the endocrinologist Mariana Mercado García points out that among patients with diabetes there is a distorted perception of the prescription of the hormone, since they think that a severe advance of their illness means."The one that a person needs insulin is not synonymous with grievance, it means that the disease has been evolving more years and it is more difficult to reach control goals without medication help."
International treatment guides indicate that diabetes diagnose changes in lifestyle, diet and frequency with which exercise is exercised, and after that it should be assessed if the patient is controlled.If not, in the first instance, metformin will be prescribed and to continue the lack of control will be added to insulin treatment.
Diabetes manager at Novo Nordisk Mexico points out that insulin is one of the most powerful tools to control blood glucose levels, it is not a prescription measure for the end of the disease, as it creates a high percentage ofPatients.
“In Mexico there is a five -year delay to diagnose diabetes, when chronic damages are already present.Then, the medication administered in the first instance fails to control the patient, so insulin is recipe in order to avoid complications in various organs as a result of high blood sugar levels.
"When the diabetic patient has been with oral antidiabetics for five years, they gradually lose the effectiveness in the body and are not enough to control their glucose levels, and it is advisable to add insulin."
The internist says that it is also important to educate the patient and explain how insulin treatment and its first effects work, such as hypoglycemia or low glucose, which is a normal effect when starting the administration of the hormone.
On the other hand, it points out that the diabetic patient treatment should be dynamic and not stay in the same for five years, but to evaluate it every six months and verify that glucose goals are achieved.
The glucosylated hemoglobin test, a blood test that shows the sugar level of the last three months, will be the way of knowing when to adapt the treatment.