What is Remission?

[Josh DUK]

Remission means that your blood sugar levels (also known as blood glucose levels) are below the diabetes range, usually without you needing to take any diabetes medication.

Remission is when your HbA1c — a measure of long-term blood glucose levels — remains below 48mmol/mol or 6.5% for at least three months, without diabetes medication.

This definition has been agreed by a team of international experts from here at Diabetes UK, the American Diabetes Association and the European Association for the Study of Diabetes.

Some people call this ‘reversing type 2 diabetes’, but we use the term remission because your blood sugar levels can rise again. If your regular blood tests show your HbA1c remaining below 48 mmol/mol or 6.5%, talk to your healthcare team to discuss diabetes remission and how this applies to you.

Type 2 diabetes remission

Type 2 diabetes remission is when your blood sugar levels return to a safe, non-diabetes level long-term, without the need for glucose-lowering medication. It stops diabetes in its tracks and boosts your chances of a healthy future. When you are in remission, you reduce the risk of diabetes...

www.diabetes.org.uk