This greatly depends on the type and stage of diabetes that you are diagnosed with. For Type 1 diabetes in which the body does not produce enough insulin to control blood sugar, lifelong insulin therapy would be needed.
Type 2 diabetes starts off with insulin resistance, where the cells in your body aren’t responding to the insulin produced, and may be accompanied with a lack of insulin as the disease progresses. There is also a pre-diabetic phase, also known as impaired glucose tolerance, where your blood sugar level may be higher than the normal range but not high enough to be diagnosed as Type 2 diabetes.
If you fall into this phase, the western doctor would usually advise diet control and increased exercise instead of prescribing medications. On top of the lifestyle changes, you can also undergo TCM treatment to prevent your condition from progressing into Type 2 diabetes. This is when TCM treatment alone may be sufficient.
You would also need to go for regular blood tests to monitor your blood sugar levels. If you have been diagnosed with diabetes, you would have to proceed with western treatment to maintain your blood sugar levels. TCM treatment can help to control your blood sugar levels in the long run but it does not have immediate effects.
It is important for you to continue your western drugs, to lower the chances for heart disease and other health problems that diabetes may bring about.
