What’s the Difference Between Type 1 and Type 2 Diabetes?

The amount of insulin that is produced and distributed to pharmacies across North America each year is beyond anything you can imagine, and that should give an idea just how many people are managing diabetes in both the USA and Canada. It really is one of the most prevalent diseases and for many people taking that injection every day has very much become a staple part of their lives, even though they wish it wasn’t. That leads to the question is Type 2 diabetes curable? For some it is possible to reverse prediabetes. But once diabetes onsets then you will likely have to use a medication like Farxiga.  

To answer the question is Type 2 diabetes curable more definitively though, it’s not so much that you are cured of the disease as it is that you do what is required to bring down blood sugar levels long term and have fewer Type 2 diabetes symptoms as a result. The biggest takeaway you should have once you learn what is required is that it’s certainly not going to be easy and using blood sugar lowering drugs and diabetes treatment medications like Farxiga are only going to deal with the problem on the surface.  

So, if there’s any ‘cure’ for Type 2 diabetes it’s going to exclusively be in diet and lifestyle changes plus getting yourself down to a much healthier body weight. Not to be overly critical and certainly never one to body shame, but the vast majority of adults that have Type 2 will be ones that have a BMI (body mass index) number that is too high for them based on the frame of their body and other factors. That’s not the same way with people with Type 1 diabetes, and that leads to a discussion of what’s the difference between Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes.  

Type 1 and 2 are certainly not the same and explaining how that’s so along with good diabetes treatment medication is going to be the focus of this entry here at Canada Pharmacy.  

Resistance vs Insufficient Production  

Both types of diabetes are related to not having insulin function properly, but one of them is about the body developing a resistance to insulin so that is doesn’t work as well while the other one is because there’s just not insulin being produced. With Type 1 diabetes the body’s immune system has attacked cells in the pancreas to the point that the body can’t produce insulin well enough anymore. Type 2 diabetes is different in the way that the body becomes resistant to the insulin being produced. That’s the biggest part of what’s the difference between Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes.  

Another major distinction between the two is that people who have Type 1 diabetes quickly become aware that something is not right with their health. Not so for people developing Type 2 diabetes because they tend to have prediabetic symptoms for a long time before they start feeling unwell or become fully aware they need medical attention. For this reason, Type 2 diabetes can be regarded as much more of the hidden threat compared to Type 1 diabetes, and as mentioned it’s the much more common of the two here in North America. Is Type 2 diabetes curable? Unfortunately, it’s not. Even if it were the SAD (Standard American Diet) and poor lifestyle choices that create Type 2 Diabetes would make it unlikely for a lot of people even if it were.  

Insulin Needs  

Type 1 diabetics are the more unfortunate of the primary types, and that’s because for the most part they’ve developed diabetes because of their genetics. Type 1 diabetes tends to run in families, while developing Type 2 diabetes can usually be attributed to the individual for the most part. Type 1 diabetics will almost always need to take insulin, and their only primary diet concern will be to limit carbohydrate intake.  

Type 2 diabetics may not necessarily need to use insulin. And while the answer to is Type 2 diabetes curable is no, there is one thing that Type 2 diabetics who need insulin but dislike needles can take solace in. There is inhalable insulin called Afrezza that has been available to consumers for a few years now and it’s been just what is needed for people who have anxiety or downright paranoia about using needles.  

Another reality for people with Type 2 diabetes is they may also eventually develop high blood pressure, or hypertension as it is often called. The last thing we’ll say here around regarding if Type 2 diabetes is curable is that it’s often more a complicated diagnosis than with Type 1 diabetes because of all the additional risks assumed if the condition is not managed properly.