People with diabetes can fast safely during Ramzan through careful planning before the fasting month begins, stated an international team of endocrinologists and metabolism experts.
The team, comprising expert doctors from various medical colleges in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, has come out with a “South Asian Consensus Guidelines” on fasting during the Islamic holy month of Ramzan, which begins later this week. Endocrinologist Dr Rakesh Kumar Sahay of Osmania Medical College, Hyderabad, is part of the research team.
“It is possible for people with diabetes to fast safely during Ramzan,” the South Asian Consensus Guidelines point out. However, diabetics, who plan on fasting, should carefully plan ahead to avoid problems that could be serious and have long-term effects.
Pre-Ramzan planning includes the choice of insulin therapy, to be decided by the previous regimen that the patient is taking, and blood glucose profiles. “The major objective of insulin therapy during Ramzan is to provide adequate insulin to prevent post-meal hyperglycaemia (high blood sugar levels) and also to prevent hypoglycaemia (low blood sugar levels) during the fasting period. With the use of analogues, these objectives may be met more easily,” the expert team noted in its Ramzan Consensus.
The Consensus Statement, for the first time, discussed pre-Ramzan assessment, planning, prescription, management, and monitoring of patients on insulin.