Insulin treatment for type 2 diabetes

Type 2 diabetes can become harder to control over time, even when you take tablets and follow an established routine. Insulin supplies the hormone needed to move glucose into cells. The starting plan may be temporary during an illness or around a procedure, or it may become a longer-term part of care.

The dose and timing depend on the insulin type, your readings, food pattern, activity, other medicines and kidney health. Your care team should demonstrate injection technique and explain how insulin is stored and carried.

Use the prescribed dose at the prescribed time. Check glucose as advised and write down readings that are unexpectedly high or low. Inspect injection sites, rotate them, and use a new needle as directed. Keep supplies available when away from home and dispose of used needles in a suitable sharps container.

Low glucose, or hypoglycaemia, may feel like trembling, sweating, palpitations, blurred vision, irritability or confusion. Learn the exact steps your clinician recommends for treating it, and tell them about any episode. Good follow-up also considers feet, nerves, circulation, kidneys and infection risk; cellulitis, peripheral neuropathy and peripheral arterial disease deserve prompt assessment when symptoms arise.

Call emergency services for collapse, a seizure, severe confusion or inability to swallow safely. Seek urgent advice for repeated low glucose, persistent vomiting, dehydration, breathing difficulty or very high readings with increasing drowsiness. A new foot wound, spreading redness, warmth or swelling also needs prompt medical review, especially if sensation is reduced.

Ask what your glucose target is, how to respond to a low reading, whether meals or exercise require a planned adjustment, and what to do if you miss an injection. Ask how kidney function, weight changes, infection and other medicines may affect the plan, and when your next review should occur.