How does insulin work, when is it needed, and how is it given?
Let’s first talk about what insulin is. Insulin is a protein — a protein that comes from an organ called the pancreas which is located in the mid-abdomen. Now, insulin has many different functions, although we usually think about insulin as controlling blood glucose levels. Insulin is normally secreted in small amounts throughout the day in somebody without diabetes but then is secreted in much higher levels around the time of eating to control the blood glucose. In somebody with diabetes, not enough insulin is secreted from the pancreas, and in fact, in people with type 1 diabetes, no insulin is secreted, so all of the insulin has to be provided by an injection. And right now, insulin shots are the only way we can give insulin, and in fact it’s been that way since the early 1920s.
