Insulin resistance can disrupt how your body processes glucose, making it harder to maintain healthy blood sugar levels. This eventually contributes to pre-diabetes, type 2 diabetes, weight gain, fatigue, and nerve issues. If you’re dealing with these effects, your body may need help functioning the way it is supposed to in response to insulin.
Physiologic Insulin Resensitization (PIR) is a method that helps retrain the body to respond to insulin more effectively. This approach can support improvement in several metabolic and neurologic conditions by restoring insulin function where it has been impaired. At RejuvaCare Aesthetics and Wellness, we use PIR to address a range of health concerns.
What Is Insulin Resistance?
When your cells stop responding properly to insulin, your body struggles to move glucose from the bloodstream into the cells. To compensate, the pancreas produces more insulin, which can eventually overwhelm the system and disrupt metabolic balance. Restoring insulin sensitivity means helping the body use insulin more efficiently, so glucose can fuel cells instead of building up in the blood.
What Causes Insulin Resistance?
Insulin resistance often develops when the body faces a constant demand for insulin. Diets high in processed carbohydrates, long periods of physical inactivity, and chronic stress can all contribute. Inflammation can interfere with insulin signaling in muscle, liver, or fat tissue, making it harder for those tissues to absorb and use glucose. Genetics may also affect how easily a person develops resistance, but lifestyle factors typically accelerate the problem.
Signs of Insulin Resistance
Fatigue after eating, frequent cravings for sweets or starches, and trouble losing weight despite effort can all point to insulin resistance. Some patients notice brain fog or increased irritability when they go too long without eating, and they may have dark patches of skin around the neck or armpits. Lab work often reveals elevated fasting insulin or triglyceride levels before blood sugar becomes abnormal. These early signs usually show up long before diabetes is diagnosed.
What Is Physiologic Insulin Resensitization (PIR)?
Physiologic insulin resensitization is a treatment that helps the body respond to insulin the way it was originally meant to. Instead of focusing only on lowering blood sugar, PIR retrains the cells to recognize and react to insulin at natural levels and rhythms. This treatment mimics the body’s healthy insulin signaling patterns and addresses the root problem: damaged or unresponsive insulin receptors. PIR restores how cells handle glucose rather than simply managing the symptoms of insulin resistance.
How PIR Works
The PIR method delivers insulin in a pattern that reflects how a healthy pancreas would release it. An FDA-approved pump administers small pulses of insulin every few minutes rather than a single large dose. These precise, physiologic amounts of insulin help re-engage the insulin receptors that have stopped responding. The technique replicates the body’s own timing and hormone levels to gently guide the cells back to normal function. This can support improved cellular energy production, better glucose balance, and relief from insulin-related symptoms.
5 Key Conditions That PIR Can Help Address
1. Pre-Diabetes and Diabetes
When glucose stays elevated for too long, the body responds by producing more insulin, but the cells become less responsive to it. The breakdown in insulin signaling creates the conditions for both pre-diabetes and type 2 diabetes. Rather than just lowering glucose, it improves how cells use it. As insulin receptors begin to function again, the body can regulate blood sugar levels more efficiently without needing to rely as heavily on excess insulin production. Improving insulin action directly can reduce the metabolic strain that drives disease progression.
2. Retinopathy
Retinopathy develops when chronic blood sugar imbalances damage the small blood vessels in the retina. The retina relies on consistent oxygen and nutrient delivery, and impaired insulin signaling can interfere with that process. PIR may support retinal health by improving microvascular function through better cellular glucose uptake and more stable insulin activity.
3. Diabetic Neuropathy
Diabetic neuropathy often begins when nerves do not receive enough oxygen and energy to maintain their function. Poor glucose utilization starves peripheral nerves of the fuel they need, leading to pain, numbness, and tingling in the hands and feet. PIR supports nerve health by helping cells improve their ability to use glucose, which can stabilize energy levels in sensitive tissues. Supporting nerve function through improved insulin response may also reduce inflammation around the nerves themselves.
4. Fatty Liver Disease
Fatty liver disease frequently occurs alongside insulin resistance because the liver becomes overwhelmed with glucose and starts converting it into fat. Insulin is also important for regulating how much fat the liver stores, so when receptors stop responding, fat tends to accumulate. PIR can help correct this imbalance by promoting better glucose metabolism, which can reduce the pressure to store excess energy as fat. As insulin signaling improves, the liver becomes more efficient at clearing out lipids and restoring normal enzyme activity.
5. Alzheimer’s
Alzheimer’s is sometimes informally referred to as “type 3 diabetes” because of the growing link between insulin resistance and neurodegeneration. Brain cells depend on glucose as their primary fuel, and when insulin signaling fails, those cells may struggle to survive. PIR supports better brain function by helping restore access to glucose in neurons that have stopped responding properly. Improved insulin sensitivity in the brain may also reduce the accumulation of amyloid plaques, which interfere with communication between cells.
Additional Improvements From PIR
In addition to the conditions above, PIR may support improvement in a wide range of other metabolic and inflammatory conditions linked to insulin resistance, such as:
- Improved energy levels
- Support for kidney and liver function
- Reduction in nerve-related symptoms
- Improved blood pressure regulation
- Erectile function and circulation-related issues
- Wound healing and skin health
- Cognitive clarity and memory support
- Weight stabilization
- Mood and sleep improvements
Get to the Root of Insulin Resistance with PIR in Golden, CO
PIR therapy offers a way to restore healthy insulin function and support long-term metabolic health. Patients dealing with complications from insulin resistance may benefit from improved energy, better glucose control, and more stable organ function. We provide PIR therapy at RejuvaCare Aesthetics and Wellness in Golden, CO, using a clinically monitored, biomimetic approach that mimics the body’s natural insulin rhythm. To schedule a consultation or ask questions, please contact us through our website or call (303) 903-3775.
