Do type 1 and 2 diabetes take insulin?

With type 1 diabetes, the body does not produce insulin and, therefore, insulin must be injected regularly every day to stay alive. In type 2 diabetes, the body doesn't produce enough insulin or the insulin that is produced doesn't work well. Insulin injections are sometimes needed to control blood glucose levels. Insulin therapy is often an important part of treating diabetes. It helps keep blood sugar under control and prevents the complications of diabetes.

It works like the hormone insulin that the body usually produces. The cost of an insulin pump is usually covered by private health insurance for people with type 1 diabetes (a waiting period applies). The disposable accessories needed for their use (such as cannulas, tubes and reservoirs) are subsidized by the National Diabetes Service System (NEWS). Half of people with type 2 diabetes don't know they have the disease because they don't have symptoms.

The National Diabetes Services Plan (NDSS) has fact sheets on type 2 diabetesExternal link and how to understand type 2 diabetesExternal link. As type 1 diabetes progresses, beta cells are thought to disappear completely (although some preliminary research suggests that there may still be weak beta cell activity in some people with type 1 diabetes).

Diabetes mellitus

(diabetes) is a chronic and potentially fatal condition in which the body loses the ability to produce insulin or begins to produce or use it less effectively, causing blood glucose levels that are too high (hyperglycemia)). It's important to know a few things about how your body works before you can best care for your diabetes.

Type 1 diabetes is thought to be caused by an autoimmune reaction (the body attacks itself by mistake). These substances indicate that the body is attacking itself and are often found in type 1 diabetes, but not in type 2 diabetes. Over time, most people with type 2 diabetes will need tablets to help keep their blood glucose levels within ideal limits. Some people have certain genes (traits passed down from parent to child) that make them more likely to develop type 1 diabetes.

Your doctor or diabetes nurse educator will help you decide what size syringe and needle is right for you. So it's no accident that the global epidemic of type 2 diabetes coincides with rising obesity rates. Type 1 diabetes often occurs in children and people under 30 years of age, but it can occur at any age. In type 1 diabetes, the body's immune system begins to attack and destroy parts of itself, specifically its own beta cells.