If you are pre-diabetic and face the risk of developing diabetes due to a family history, healthy dietary and lifestyle choices are important. There are many lifestyle changes that you can make, including physical activity, eating healthy food, and losing weight to help slow down the progress of type-2 diabetes and manage type-1 diabetes. It minimizes risk factors like high blood cholesterol and high blood pressure, which can lead to severe health issues.

Some of the treatment options for diabetes includes the following:

1. Surgery options for diabetes

When lifestyle changes do not work, treatments like bariatric surgery, artificial pancreas, and pancreatic islet transplantation are undertaken for type 1 or type 2 diabetes patients:

• Bariatric surgery
  This surgery is also called weight loss surgery as it helps patients lose weight by making changes to the digestive system. Some types aim to make the stomach smaller so that patients eat smaller portions and feel full sooner, which helps maintain a healthy weight. It is suitable for people suffering from type 2 diabetes and obesity, and some patients may not even require diabetic medication after undergoing this surgery. However, blood glucose levels vary with every patient according to their weight loss and how long they have had diabetes.
• Artificial pancreas
  An artificial pancreas replaces the use of insulin pumps, shots, and manual blood glucose testing. This single system provides round-the-clock monitoring and a combination of medications like glucagon, second hormone, and insulin automatically. This system is remotely monitored by medical staff and parents, and artificial pancreas helps type 1 diabetes patients manage the condition. Additionally, it can help people with type 2 diabetes and gestational diabetes.
• Pancreatic islet transplantation
  This surgery is for people with type 1 diabetes, and it replaces isolated islets with new ones, which produce and release insulin, regulating blood glucose levels.

2. Medications in different treatments for diabetes

• Metformin/Glucophage/Glumetza is prescribed to type-2 diabetes patients. It lowers glucose levels and improves sensitivity to insulin, and side effects like diarrhea and nausea go down as the body gets used to the insulin. If this medication and healthy lifestyle changes turn out to be ineffective in managing blood sugar levels, other medications might also be prescribed.
• Sulfonylureas help the body produce and release more insulin, but their side effects include weight gain, hunger pangs, an upset stomach, and signs of low blood sugar like nervousness, sweating, and dizziness.
• Meglitinides include medications like repaglinide and nateglinide and work like sulfonylureas, helping stimulate the pancreas to secrete more insulin.