How to make blood cells open and accept glucose?

@tomlowerbs welcome to Mayo Clinic Connect. Yours is the age old question & concern of diabetes. Insulin is the key for cells to utilize glucose for proper metabolism. Diabetics typically either don’t make insulin, have enough insulin, or use it efficiently. After 50+ years of diabetes myself I don’t have any answers for you. I wish I did. Let’s see what input there is from other members. You are not alone.

Lowering blood sugar can be done in multiple ways. Your medical team should be able to prescribe which treatment is best for you. There are multiple medications for those who have type 2 diabetes. Plus, some type 2s take insulin as well. As a type 1, i take insulin. Steroids normally cause blood sugar to go high. I have to increase my insulin dosage when I get cortisone injections.

For insulin resistance (insulin in the blood but not getting in the cells) medications like pioglitazone (cheap, generic, check side effects) and the GLP1s (Ozempic/Mounjaro) seem to work best. Have a discussion with your doctor about these. Nothing OTC does much. Losing fat will also help a lot so diet and exercise.

To what do you attribute having lots of energy? If it was exercise, or just being more active -- physical activity of any kind decreases insulin resistance and helps get blood sugar down and keep it down.