How to Treat Type 1 Diabetes Without Insulin
Type 1 diabetes, which is also known as diabetes mellitus type 1 or juvenile diabetes, is an autoimmune disorder in which the beta cells in the pancreas are destroyed, limiting insulin production. This lack of insulin creates a glucose increase that is damaging to the body and can be lethal. Although it has been suggested that insulin injections are the only way of treating type 1 diabetes, pancreas transplants can also treat type 1 diabetes, as well as experimental stem cell transplants.
Instructions
Speak with your doctor. He or she is the first step in determining whether or not you can manage your diabetes without insulin. Although type 1 diabetes cannot be managed only with diet, like type 2 diabetes, there are a few other options you and your doctor can consider.
Determine if you have blood vessel or heart disease. Your doctor can give you a test to see if you suffer from these diseases. If you have one or both of these disorders, you are probably not a good candidate for a pancreas transplant.
Consider the risks. According to the Diabetes Association, about 10 to 20 percent of people who receive pancreas transplants die within a year of receiving the transplant.
Sign up at a transplant center. You may want to ask your doctor to recommend a transplant center. There can be long waiting lists for pancreatic transplants and you will be less apt to receive a transplant if you are at risk for blood vessel or heart disease, even if your doctor has recommended you for a transplant.
Sign up for an experimental stem cell transplant. Although this procedure is not yet medically approved, both experimental animal and human stem cell transplants have proven hopeful in curing type 1 diabetes.