I often see many patients in the clinic whose diabetes medication regimen is not very appropriate or even seriously wrong. Once asked, they realize that they have adjusted it by themselves. And the blood sugar is not well controlled, either the blood sugar is bizarrely high or high blood sugar alternates with low blood sugar. Here are a few misconceptions in understanding. I hope they can help you. Myth 1: As long as you take medication, you can not control your diet: It cannot be overemphasized: diet control and exercise are the most basic, priority and necessary effective means to treat diabetes, and they are in the primary position in the treatment of diabetes. On this basis, if blood glucose is still unsatisfactory, appropriate oral medication needs to be given under the guidance of a physician, depending on the different conditions of each patient. It is important to note that just because you are taking medication, you cannot eat as much as you want and you do not need to exercise. The principles of diet control – “reduce the total amount”, “balance the diet”, “refuse sugar”, and “Eat less and eat more”. Principles of exercise – “moderate intensity”, “appropriate duration”, “planned”, and “sustainability”. Myth 2: Frequent change of drugs and random combination: Often patients think that taking one kind of hypoglycemic drugs is not good for blood sugar control, so they add one more, and if two kinds are not up to the standard, they take three or even four. This idea is also incomplete. The danger is: the drug effect does not increase, but the “side effects” increase. The common clinical principles of combined medication are: (1) avoid the simultaneous application of different drugs of the same type; (2) two or three different classes of drugs can be used in combination; (3) insulin can be used with any kind of oral hypoglycemic drugs. Commonly used oral hypoglycemic drugs with: sulfonylurea + biguanide, sulfonylurea + alpha-glucosidase inhibitor, sulfonylurea + thiazolidinediones, biguanide + alpha-glucosidase inhibitor, biguanide + thiazolidinediones. Myth 3: Insulin is “dependent” and “addictive”: So far, insulin is still the best and most efficient glucose-lowering drug. The perception that insulin has “dependence” and “addiction” is absolutely wrong. Because the medical profession used to call type 2 diabetes “non-insulin-dependent diabetes”, many patients believe that type 2 diabetes should not be injected with insulin. In fact, this perception is incorrect. In addition to type 1 diabetes, type 2 diabetes requires insulin in the following cases: (1) those whose blood sugar is not satisfactorily controlled after adequate oral hypoglycemic therapy; (2) combined with acute complications; (3) combined with serious chronic complications; (4) combined with other serious diseases; (5) surgery and stress reactions; (6) infections; (7) pregnancy, etc. Most of these cases require insulin. The use of insulin in most of these cases is temporary and can be changed to oral medication after the acute state is eliminated. As for those patients who originally failed to oral hypoglycemic drugs, after using insulin for a period of time, on the one hand, high glucose toxicity is eliminated; on the other hand, pancreatic beta cells can be allowed to rest and recover. At this time, a switch to oral hypoglycemic drugs can be considered. Of course, if the function of one’s own beta cells completely declines, or if the above-mentioned combined conditions cannot be removed, long-term insulin injections are required. Myth 4: Follow your feelings and don’t worry if your blood sugar is high: Since many people with diabetes don’t have any symptoms, they don’t see a doctor even though their blood sugar is high. This is a big misconception. As we all know, at present, the diagnosis of diabetes and the judgment of the condition are mainly based on blood sugar level, and the symptoms can only be used as reference indicators. It has been proven that the occurrence and development of all complications of diabetes are closely related to blood glucose levels. Therefore, it is recommended that patients insist on regular blood glucose testing, including fasting blood glucose and 2-hour postprandial blood glucose. It is generally recommended that those with more stable blood glucose should have their fasting and 2-hour postprandial blood glucose checked every 2 to 4 weeks, but for those with large fluctuations in blood glucose or after treatment adjustment, the number of blood glucose tests should be increased appropriately. Glycosylated hemoglobin reflects the average overall level of blood glucose in the past 2-3 months, and it is generally required to be checked once every 3 to 6 months in order to have a more comprehensive grasp of the level of blood glucose control. As far as the current level of medical technology is concerned, the world has not yet found a drug that can completely cure diabetes, but it must be a preventable and controllable disease. As long as you take scientific and reasonable methods and persevere, through the joint efforts of you and your doctor, you can definitely achieve: blood sugar standard, easy life!