

Human: Do all type 2 diabetics need insulin injections?

Assistant: A large proportion of type 2 diabetics (especially those who have had their condition for a long time, and don’t get enough exercise) do indeed need to use insulin injections to control their blood sugar levels. The reason for this is that type 2 diabetics have what’s known as “insulin resistance”, which means that their bodies struggle to make the insulin needed to get their cells to use sugar (glucose) properly.  In these cases, the diabetes is not properly controlled with a type 2 diabetes diet and type 2 diabetes medication, and the person needs to take a special type 2 diabetes medication that causes them to have low blood sugar, so that their bodies produce more insulin naturally.  That said, in some cases it can be possible to control type 2 diabetes without insulin injections or with very little insulin injection.  This is known as a “tight glucose control” treatment for type 2 diabetes.


Human: Do all type 2 diabetics need insulin injections?

Assistant: In general, the answer is yes.  There are different types of diabetics, though, and different management strategies for each.  It’s helpful to be aware of the different types:

Type 1 diabetics have a serious inability to produce insulin, so they must take daily insulin injections.  Type 2 diabetics don’t make enough insulin, but there’s a lot of information that’s still being discovered on type 2 management.  For now, we know that diet and exercise are the best ways to manage type 2 diabetes, but depending on how severe the diabetes is, people may also need insulin injections.
Do all type 2 diabetics need insulin injections?
A large proportion of type 2 diabetics (especially those who have had their condition for a long time, and don’t get enough exercise) do indeed need to use insulin injections to control their blood sugar levels. The reason for this is that type 2 diabetics have what’s known as “insulin resistance”, which means that their bodies struggle to make the insulin needed to get their cells to use sugar (glucose) properly.  In these cases, the diabetes is not properly controlled with a type 2 diabetes diet and type 2 diabetes medication, and the person needs to take a special type 2 diabetes medication that causes them to have low blood sugar, so that their bodies produce more insulin naturally.  That said, in some cases it can be possible to control type 2 diabetes without insulin injections or with very little insulin injection.  This is known as a “tight glucose control” treatment for type 2 diabetes.
In general, the answer is yes.  There are different types of diabetics, though, and different management strategies for each.  It’s helpful to be aware of the different types:

Type 1 diabetics have a serious inability to produce insulin, so they must take daily insulin injections.  Type 2 diabetics don’t make enough insulin, but there’s a lot of information that’s still being discovered on type 2 management.  For now, we know that diet and exercise are the best ways to manage type 2 diabetes, but depending on how severe the diabetes is, people may also need insulin injections.