Over the past forty some years, there have been a lot of changes in diabetes technology. Management of this disease has seen significant changes in the types of insulin, measuring glucose, and insulin administration. The changes in diabetic supplies have greatly improved the lives of countless people. In the late 70s glucose was monitored with urine using monitoring tapes, tablets that changed color, and dipsticks had barely been introduced.

Even though medical professionals believed they were practicing modern diabetes management, technology was actually nonexistent. Between 1947 and 1977 there were no significant changes in diabetes management. Management consisted of one or two fixed doses of insulin and monitoring urine. Today folks have home glucose monitors, a variety of insulin types, and various injection options. Unfortunately, diabetes requires the patient to maintain a higher level of diligence than any other disease.

Because of the nature of the disease, it necessitates attention several times during the day. The patient must calculate meals and snacks, administer insulin, and check glucose. In addition, the need to pay close attention to how they feel to identify hypoglycemia. This condition requires a higher level of attention than most. Unfortunately, over the years, this fact has not changed.

Professionals who do not have the disease do not fully understand the huge burden their patients have. Regardless of the improvements that have changed the way people take insulin and monitor glucose, the day to day burden of managing the disease has not changed. Although the advances have made testing and insulin administering simpler, the individual will still need to be diligent with the attention this condition requires.

There have also been significant changes in nutrition. There is much dialog about the kind of food that the individual should eat. The topic seems to be about matching insulin to the food or matching the food to the insulin. Folks were given a specific diet to follow for years. They saw a dietitian and were handed lists for food exchanges and carbohydrate values. Their insulin was a set dose and they were prescribed a diet.

With diabetes Type I, people measure their glucose and then adjust the insulin dose according to the the level. This practice takes place before eating. Today folks have the option to match the insulin to the food after they have eaten. This is not a pass for the person to eat anything they want, however. This method gives insulin after meals.

This type of insulin requires the patient to spend time evaluating their meal content, amount, and type. The person will then make a judgment and determine the amount of insulin they need to administer. Not every individual, or family member, is capable to of performing this type of analysis. Not all patients have the skill to calculate the right dose of insulin.

In past decades, folks would take their insulin and then eat their meal. Today they choose their foods and after the meal they add up the foods eaten, accounting for glucose level before the meal, and calculate the insulin dosage needed. Matching insulin to food consumed is a shift in diabetes management.