www.2aida.org Diabetes / Insulin Educational - Teaching

Diabetes practices and regimens can vary between countries, hospitals / clinics, & specialists. Therefore what may be encouraged in one setting may not be so recommended in another. This insulin tutorial is not meant to provide a didactic (regimented / fixed) plan for using insulin. Rather the tutorial intends to show some ways of doing things, and provide some explanations as to why things may be done in a certain way. Furthermore it is hoped that this tutorial may encourage people to think a bit more about what insulin regimens are possible, & how they might be improved and / or tailored for an individual. In all this remember that people's mileage may vary - so what works for one person may not be appropriate for someone else. Therefore, as with all medical information on the Web, it is important that you consult your doctor or diabetes specialist before considering acting on any of the information discussed in this tutorial.

Insulin Tutorial 4-3

Renal threshold = a dam for glucose

Do you understand the relationship between the kidney and the blood sugar level?

Lots of people find this difficult to understand. But because it is so important we shall try to explain it once more in a different way.

Imagine that we are standing beside a large river at the end of which a dam has been built. The dam holds back the water in the river. Only when the water in the river rises very high can it flow over the dam.

The kidney is like the dam
The "renal dam" or "renal threshold" is roughly 160 mg/dl (8.9 mmol/l) high. Although the exact height does vary from person to person.

18 mg/dl (mg%) of glucose = 1 mmol/l

The renal threshold for glucose

18 mg/dl (mg%) of glucose = 1 mmol/l
Diabetes Insulin Tutorial

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The information presented at this site is for general use only and is not intended to provide personal medical advice or substitute for the advice of your doctor or diabetes specialist. If you have any questions about any of the information presented here, concerns about individual health matters or the management of your diabetes, please consult your doctor or diabetes specialist

The material in this on-line Diabetes / Insulin Tutorial has been drawn from a number of different sources.
However the original Web-based version can be found at the AIDA Website at: http://www.2aida.org/tutorial.