Insulin Therapy
Insulin therapy replaces or supplements the body's own insulin to control blood sugar in people with diabetes. Essential for everyone with type 1 diabetes and used in type 2 when other treatments are not enough, it is tailored to each person and delivered by injection pens or an insulin pump. A specialist team sets the regimen, teaches safe technique and adjusts doses to balance control against the risk of low blood sugar.
Medically reviewed by the Florence Healthcare medical team · Last reviewed June 2026
Overview
Insulin is the hormone that allows the body to use glucose for energy. People with type 1 diabetes make none and need insulin to live; many people with type 2 diabetes need it when tablets and other therapies no longer keep glucose in range. Modern insulin therapy uses different types — rapid-acting at meals and longer-acting for background control — combined into a regimen that suits each person's diabetes and daily life.
Getting the most from insulin depends on technique and education as much as the medicine itself. The team teaches how to inject safely with a pen, or how to use an insulin pump, how to match doses to food and activity, and how to monitor glucose — increasingly with continuous glucose monitoring. Crucially, it also teaches how to recognize and treat low blood sugar (hypoglycemia), the main risk of insulin treatment.
An endocrinologist and diabetes team set and adjust the regimen, fine-tuning doses to balance good control against safety. International patients receive a coordinator, a clear plan and a transparent cost estimate, and our specialists can review glucose data and results remotely so the regimen can be adjusted and continued after returning home.
Who is a candidate?
- Everyone with type 1 diabetes, who needs insulin to live
- People with type 2 diabetes whose glucose is not controlled by other treatments
- Those needing insulin temporarily — for example during illness, pregnancy or around surgery
- Patients whose current insulin regimen needs reviewing or optimizing
- People who would benefit from learning insulin-pump or continuous-glucose-monitor use
What happens
- 1
Assessment and regimen choice
The team reviews your diabetes, glucose patterns and lifestyle and chooses an insulin regimen — combining rapid-acting and longer-acting insulin, or pump therapy — to suit you.
- 2
Learning safe technique
You are taught how to inject correctly with a pen or use an insulin pump, how to store insulin, and how to rotate injection sites for reliable absorption.
- 3
Matching doses to life
You learn to match insulin to meals and activity and to monitor glucose, increasingly with continuous glucose monitoring, so doses fit your daily routine.
- 4
Recognizing low blood sugar
The team teaches you how to recognize, treat and prevent hypoglycemia — the main risk of insulin — so you can use insulin confidently and safely.
- 5
Dose titration and follow-up
Doses are adjusted over days to weeks based on your glucose readings, then reviewed regularly. International patients receive a plan so the regimen can be continued and fine-tuned after returning home.
Benefits
- Effectively lowers and controls blood sugar, including when other treatments are not enough
- Essential, life-sustaining treatment for people with type 1 diabetes
- Tailored regimens — pens or pumps — matched to each person's diabetes and lifestyle
- Education in safe technique and dose adjustment that builds confidence and independence
- Pairs well with continuous glucose monitoring for finer, safer control
Risks & considerations
- Low blood sugar (hypoglycemia) is the main risk, which education and monitoring reduce
- Weight gain can occur as glucose control improves
- Injection-site reactions or lumps if sites are not rotated
- Doses must be adjusted for illness, activity and changing needs over time
- It controls blood sugar but does not cure the underlying diabetes
Conditions this treats
Where it is performed
This procedure is delivered by our Diabetes Center.
Learn more before you decide
Provider-reviewed guides on the related conditions, symptoms and tests in our Health Library.
Insulin Therapy — frequently asked questions
Everyone with type 1 diabetes needs insulin to live, and many people with type 2 diabetes need it when tablets and other therapies no longer keep glucose in range. It is also used temporarily during illness, pregnancy or around surgery.
The main risk is low blood sugar (hypoglycemia). The team teaches you how to recognize, treat and prevent it, and tailors doses to balance good control with safety, so you can use insulin confidently. Continuous glucose monitoring can help further.
Both deliver insulin effectively; the right choice depends on your diabetes, lifestyle and preferences. Pens are simple and widely used, while a pump can offer more flexible, fine-tuned delivery for some people. Your team helps you decide and teaches safe use.
Yes. Share your glucose readings, recent results and current regimen and our specialists review your control and outline any adjustments, before you commit to travel.
Starting or optimizing insulin and the education around it are outpatient and can be done in a short visit, with dose adjustment continued over time, often remotely. Your coordinator confirms the plan and provides a transparent, itemized estimate after reviewing your case rather than a fixed online price.
Related treatments
Considering insulin therapy?
Share your reports for a medical second opinion and a transparent, itemized cost estimate — usually within 48 hours.