A quick question???

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sasha1

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Hi All ...

I'm sorry if this sounds a bit of a thick question .... But I'm a bit confused on this matter ...

Over the past couple of days I have had a conversation with 2 type 2 diabetics .. One a family friend and the other a gentleman in a cafe who knows Nathan is type 1 and wanting some information regarding pumps.

Basically both are convinced that if they need insulin at some point they will become type 1 diabetic ... and this is what is confusing me ... Now I realise that some type 2 diabetics do require insulin and some are originally misdiagnosed as type 2 when in fact they are type 1 ... I also understand there are several forms of diabetes, other than type 1 or 2 ..

So my question is ... If you are type 2 and need insulin do you become type 1 or are you still type 2 with a need for insulin??

Heidi
xx🙂
 
You are still type 2 unless you suffer catastrophic failure of the pancreas, such as with pancreatitus.

It becomes a little less clear though if you start to look at some of the other forms of diabetes as a number of health care professionals do not recognise or acknowledge some of the variations.

I'm in the situation where some of my team class me as type 2, some as lada and some as type 1.
 
sasha1 said:
Hi All ...

I'm sorry if this sounds a bit of a thick question .... But I'm a bit confused on this matter ...

Over the past couple of days I have had a conversation with 2 type 2 diabetics .. One a family friend and the other a gentleman in a cafe who knows Nathan is type 1 and wanting some information regarding pumps.

Basically both are convinced that if they need insulin at some point they will become type 1 diabetic ... and this is what is confusing me ... Now I realise that some type 2 diabetics do require insulin and some are originally misdiagnosed as type 2 when in fact they are type 1 ... I also understand there are several forms of diabetes, other than type 1 or 2 ..

So my question is ... If you are type 2 and need insulin do you become type 1 or are you still type 2 with a need for insulin??

Heidi
xx🙂
Click to expand...
well i can only comment on my case i was orginally diagnosed as type 1 then told i was type 2 now that my levels have raised recently and need insulin the consultant has told me im type 1 and not 2 as he had previously diagnosed. it seems diffrent health authorities have different guidlines
 
Hi All ..


Thank you for the replies .... 🙂

My understanding of my question was as Nikki says .. you would still be type 2 but insulin treated ...

However I now see its not as straight forward as that ...

Heidi
xx🙂
 
Even if you have type 2 and it progresses that you have very little insulin production that you can get DKA, you are still type 2 needing insulin. If your diabetes is autoimmune in cause then you have type 1.

I think the confusion comes from when people were refered to as insulin dependent or non-insulin dependent.

As we know some cases are not clear cut or take time to show what is really happening. Whatever the type though, the most important thing is the treatment is right. Whatever is needed to control blood sugars, be that diet, exercise, insulin, meds or any combination.
 
I think that one of the differences is that Type 2 tend to suffer insulin resistance so their pancreas might produce a lot of 'native' insulin but it isn't enough to keep levels down. Eventually, the pancreas will start to fail and so more insulin is needed by injection. This is why some Type 2s can just have a basal insulin plus meds - the meds help overcome the insulin resistance so the native insulin stimulated by eating food can act as the bolus.
 
At the end of the day, it doesn't really matter if it's type 1, type 2 or something in between. It's the treatment that counts and is different for every individual.
 
Heidi,

I know that Type 2's have an insulin resistance. My friend Simon is T2 and is on tablets (Metformin) for years. 2 years ago he had to start taking insulin because his resistance was getting greater and his pancreas couldn't produce enough insulin for him. I know he has 50 units in the evening with his food.
 
Hiya

Type 2 is type 2 and type 1 is type 1. So many GP's get the info wrong and tell older people that now they are on insulin they are type 1. This is wrong.

There can be misdiagnosis of course from the beginning. This MODY thing is complicated. There is a baby in the USA who was adopted into a family who already had a type 1 child. The baby was also type 1 and on insulin. However genetic tests were done and the baby is MODY and on tablets now and no insulin so it neither 1 nor 2.

A type 2 has some insulin production but the insulin is confused and doesn't know what to do in a very simplistic way to explain it although we all know no diabetes whatever number is easy.
 
As explained to me by DSN

Type 2 is always type 2, but it is degenerative i.e it will only get worse not better. In the begining some insulin is produced, but it is either very little or the body has difficulty using. As things progress you produce less and less insulin till it stops alttgether. then you need injections, but some people still have problems dealing with the insulin so still need tablets.

Hope that helps, I'm not sure how accurate that is thoe.
 
Adrienne said:
There is a baby in the USA who was adopted into a family who already had a type 1 child. The baby was also type 1 and on insulin. However genetic tests were done and the baby is MODY and on tablets now and no insulin so it neither 1 nor 2.
Click to expand...

Possibly neonatal diabetes rather than MODY if they were diagnosed as a baby. Not saying you are wrong.

NDM is a monogenic form of diabetes that occurs in the first 6 months of life. It is a rare condition occurring in only one in 100,000 to 500,000 live births. Infants with NDM do not produce enough insulin, leading to an increase in blood glucose. NDM can be mistaken for the much more common type 1 diabetes, but type 1 diabetes usually occurs later than the first 6 months of life. In about half of those with NDM, the condition is lifelong and is called permanent neonatal diabetes mellitus (PNDM). In the rest of those with NDM, the condition is transient and disappears during infancy but can reappear later in life; this type of NDM is called transient neonatal diabetes mellitus (TNDM). Specific genes that can cause NDM have been identified.

http://diabetes.niddk.nih.gov/dm/pubs/mody/

🙂
 
Caroline Wilson said:
As explained to me by DSN

Type 2 is always type 2, but it is degenerative i.e it will only get worse not better. In the begining some insulin is produced, but it is either very little or the body has difficulty using. As things progress you produce less and less insulin till it stops alttgether. then you need injections, but some people still have problems dealing with the insulin so still need tablets.

Hope that helps, I'm not sure how accurate that is thoe.
Click to expand...

That sounds a pretty good explanation. I am reading Bloodsugar 101 at the moment and there is a section called "must you deteriorate?" . I haven't got that far yet so I'm not sure what the answer is, but I get the feeling it's going to say that with tight control you don't have to deteriorate. i'll let you know when I've read that far though 😉
 
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