Type 1 is the type of diabetes that people most often get before 30 years of age. All people with type 1 diabetes need to take insulin because their bodies do not make enough of it. Insulin helps turn food into energy for the body to work.
Most people make insulin in their pancreas. If you have type 1 diabetes, your body does not make insulin. Insulin helps glucose from the foods you eat get to all parts of your body and be used for energy.Because your body no longer makes insulin, you need to take insulin in shots. Take your insulin as your doctor tells you.
If you have type 2 diabetes, your pancreas usually makes plenty of insulin. But your body cannot correctly use the insulin you make. You might get this type of diabetes if members of your family have or had diabetes. You might also get type 2 diabetes if you weigh too much or do not exercise enough.Healthy eating, exercise, and losing weight may help you lower your blood glucose (also called blood sugar) when you find out you have type 2 diabetes. If these treatments do not work, you may need one or more types of diabetes pills to lower your blood glucose. After a few more years, you may need to take insulin shots because your body is not making enough insulin.Many types of diabetes pills can help people with type 2 diabetes lower their blood glucose. Each type of pill helps lower blood glucose in a different way. The diabetes pill (or pills) you take is from one of these groups. You might know your pill (or pills) by a different name.
Sulfonylureas stimulate your pancreas to make more insulin.Biguanides decrease the amount of glucose made by your liver.Alpha-glucosidase inhibitors slow the absorption of the starches you eat.Thiazolidinediones make you more sensitive to insulin.Meglitinides stimulate your pancreas to make more insulin.D-phenylalanine derivatives help your pancreas make more insulin quickly.Combination oral medicines put together different kinds of pills.
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