Conventional insulin therapy is a therapeutic regimen for treatment of
diabetes mellitus
Diabetes, also known as diabetes mellitus, is a group of metabolic disorders characterized by a high blood sugar level ( hyperglycemia) over a prolonged period of time. Symptoms often include frequent urination, increased thirst and increased ap ...
which contrasts with the newer
intensive insulin therapy
Intensive insulin therapy or flexible insulin therapy is a therapeutic regimen for diabetes mellitus treatment. This newer approach contrasts with conventional insulin therapy. Rather than minimize the number of insulin injections per day (a te ...
.
This older method (prior to the development home
blood glucose monitoring
Blood glucose monitoring is the use of a glucose meter for testing the concentration of glucose in the blood ( glycemia). Particularly important in diabetes management, a blood glucose test is typically performed by piercing the skin (typically, ...
) is still in use in a proportion of cases.
Conventional insulin therapy is characterized by:
* Insulin injections of a mixture of regular (or rapid) and intermediate acting insulin are performed two times a day, or to improve overnight glucose, mixed in the morning to cover breakfast and lunch, but with regular (or rapid) acting insulin alone for dinner and intermediate acting insulin at bedtime (instead of being mixed in at dinner).
* Meals are scheduled to match the anticipated peaks in the insulin profiles.
* The target range for blood glucose levels is higher than is desired in the intensive regimen.
* Frequent measurements of blood glucose levels were not used.
The down side of this method is that it is difficult to achieve as good results of
glycemic control
The term ''diabetes'' includes several different metabolic disorders that all, if left untreated, result in abnormally high concentration of a sugar called glucose in the blood. Diabetes mellitus type 1 results when the pancreas no longer produces ...
as with intensive insulin therapy. The advantage is that, for diabetics with a regular lifestyle, the regime is less intrusive than the intensive therapy.
References
Insulin therapies
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