type 1 or type 2 diabetes, the goal of effective diabetes management is to control blood glucose levels by keeping them within a target range that is individually determined for each child. Optimal blood glucose control helps to promote normal growth and development and allows for optimal learning. It is also needed to prevent the immediate dangers of blood glucose levels that are either too high or too low. Research has shown that maintaining blood glucose levels within the target range can prevent or delay the long-term complications of diabetes such as heart attack, stroke, blindness, kidney failure, nerve disease, and amputations of the foot or leg.
When insulin is no longer made, it must be obtained from another source--insulin shots or an insulin pump. All people with type 1 diabetes must take insulin. People with type 2 diabetes use diet and exercise, and oral medications, and/or insulin to manage their disease. Neither insulin nor other medications, however, are cures for diabetes: they only help control the disease.