Diabetes
Diabetes means your blood sugar stays higher than normal. These guides explain the tests used to diagnose and follow diabetes, the less common types, insulin, sugar sensors and pumps, diabetes in pregnancy and what remission means. Treatment decisions are always made with your own doctor.
Diagnosis and tests
Type 1 and unusual types
CGM and pumps
Insulin basics
Pregnancy and gestational diabetes
Remission
Common questions
- Does insulin damage the kidneys?No, insulin does not damage the kidneys, while long-standing high blood sugar and high blood pressure do. Good sugar control, including with insulin when needed, lowers the risk of diabetic kidney disease, and insulin is often one of the safest options for people whose kidneys are already weak. The myth arises because insulin is often started late, when kidney damage has already happened.
- Why do my glucometer and lab readings differ?A home glucometer and a lab test measure sugar in different samples, at different times and with different methods, so a difference of around 15% is expected and allowed by international accuracy standards. Bigger gaps usually come from technique, old or badly stored strips, timing after food, or a lab sample that waited too long before testing. If the gap is large or keeps happening, check your meter against a lab sample taken at the same time and show the results to your doctor.
Tools
- Blood sugar unit converterThis tool converts blood glucose between mg/dL and mmol/L, in either direction. Indian labs and meters mostly use mg/dL, while reports from the UK and many other countries use mmol/L. The conversion only changes the unit, not the meaning of the reading.
- HbA1c to average glucose converterThis tool converts HbA1c to the estimated average glucose (eAG) it corresponds to, and also works the other way round. The result is an estimate based on a research formula. It does not replace your lab report or your doctor's advice.
Videos
- Alternative medicines for diabetes: what to think about firstMany alternative diabetes remedies are marketed using thinking traps such as anchoring, framing and survivorship bias rather than strong evidence. Some herbal products have caused liver injury or contained heavy metals, so talk to your doctor before trying any of them.
- Managing diabetes during festivals (in Hindi)Festival season brings travel, missed check-ups, sweets and late nights, which can upset sugar control. This Hindi discussion gives practical tips on keeping medicines and check-ups on track, saying no to sweets politely, cooking diabetes-friendly food, staying active and checking sugar more often.
- Does eating sugar cause diabetes? (in Hindi)A large 2025 analysis found that the form of sugar matters more than the total amount. Sugary drinks and fruit juice were linked to a higher risk of type 2 diabetes, while sugar eaten as part of whole foods was not clearly linked.
- How to protect your kidneys if you have diabetes (in Hindi)Diabetic kidney disease usually causes no symptoms until it is advanced, so yearly blood and urine tests are essential. Good control of sugar and blood pressure, less salt, a healthy weight, no smoking and kidney-protecting medicines chosen by your doctor all help.
- The science behind type 2 diabetes remissionType 2 diabetes develops when the pancreas can no longer make enough insulin to overcome the body's insulin resistance. Remission becomes possible when that balance is restored, most often by losing a significant amount of weight early in the course of diabetes.
- Diabetes and sexual problems: erection, sex drive and early ejaculationSexual problems are common in men with diabetes but are rarely discussed in the clinic. Erectile problems can be an early warning of heart and blood vessel disease, so they are worth raising with your doctor rather than treating with unverified products.