Fact Or Fiction: What it the Connection Between Insulin and Dialysis?

​Diabetes is one of the most common medical conditions in the United States. If you have diabetes, it means your body either cannot make or properly use insulin. Insulin is a hormone that is made by the pancreas. It allows the body to take sugar (glucose) from carbohydrates found in the food that we eat and use it for energy. Insulin also helps keep your blood sugar level from getting too high or too low.

​According to the American Diabetes Association, diabetes is the most common cause of kidney failure. When your kidneys start failing, it means they are having trouble keeping up with the rest of the body. With diabetes, the small blood vessels in the body are injured, and when the vessels in the kidneys are injured, your kidneys cannot clean your blood properly.

The National Kidney Foundation states that keeping diabetes controlled can significantly lower the risk of developing severe kidney disease. Controlling your diabetes includes taking your medication, using insulin if you need it, eating a healthy diet, and exercising for at least 150 minutes per week.

Insulin, whether it’s made by your body or you inject it yourself, helps control diabetes, and controlling your diabetes is the most important thing you can do to keep you and your kidneys healthy!

So, this is FICTION: using insulin does not lead to dialysis. Instead, insulin helps to control diabetes, which helps protect the kidneys and prevent dialysis.

Contributed by:
Coral Kahane and Amanda Ward, PharmD Candidates | 2019
University of Colorado, Skaggs School of Pharmacy