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PUBLIC SYMPOSIUM: Why is Insulin right for you?
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Taking insulin jabs is not the 'end of the road' but the 'light at the end of the tunnel' for diabetes treatment, health experts at a recent DSS bilingual public symposium said. Held on 16 July at the Suntec City Convention Centre, the event was supported by the Sanofi-Aventis Group. Speaking at the English forum, Dr Tham Kwang Wei,
consultant endocrinologist from Singapore General Hospital (SGH),
said that while oral medications for the treatment of Type II
diabetes are effective, they will only help lower the patient's
blood glucose and HbA1c to a certain limit.
"Insulin
has the advantage of being able
to achieve a lowering of the HbA1c
without a limit per se. However, the occurrence of hypoglycaemia can
limit its aggressive use;" she explained. Dr Tham added that currently available insulins
have been proven to be safe and effective in controlling diabetes.
Along with the proper diabetes education and support, patients can
easily adapt and tailor the use of insulin to suit their lifestyles. Agreeing with Dr Tham, SGH's
senior psychologist Evelyn Boon said patients needed to seek
counselling to dispel their fears over insulin treatment, if they
want better control of their blood glucose levels. She stressed that
individual patients still contribute the
bulk of inputs for their diabetes
care even with the presence of their healthcare Dr Dennis Teng,
Medical Director of Sanofi-Aventis, and DSS nurse educator Kelly Loh
spoke at the Chinese forum. Besides getting a dose of encouragement from testimonies by patients with diabetes, the 40 attendees were
also taught by DSS' nurse educators the right way to administer
insulin jabs and manage - blood sugar levels.
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