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November is American Diabetes Month, so this month we’ll discuss type 1 vs type 2 diabetes and the differences in their causes, symptoms, and treatment options.
With nearly 10 percent of the population being diagnosed with either type 1 or type 2 at some point in their lives, this is a topic best discussed far more often than just once per year.
In the pharmacy, we know just how important and valuable diabetes education can be, especially to patients and their loved ones. Understanding this frustrating disease and how to best manage it can ultimately become a matter of life or death because it either limits or empowers the ability to manage symptoms.
Yet, this knowledge cannot yet be considered “widespread.” The truth is that many people don’t even understand what diabetes really is, much less the differences between various types.
We’re making an effort to do our part by sharing this informative explanation and side-by-side comparison of type 1 vs type 2 diabetes.
What Is Diabetes?
Diabetes is an illness that causes the level of sugar in your blood to become too high. This almost always creates issues with your pancreas, which produces a substance called insulin to keep the amount of sugar in your body in check.
Sugar plays an important role in the human body: it gets converted to energy, which allows you to stay alert, awake, and functioning all throughout the day. Without it, you wouldn’t survive…but much like every other needed substance, too much of a good thing can be very bad – or even downright dangerous.
When your body fails to produce enough insulin, blood sugar levels rise. This may happen suddenly (often the case with type 1 diabetes) or slowly and chronically over time. Eventually, the amount of glucose in your bloodstream becomes so high that it starts to interfere with cellular function.
This can result in damage to virtually every part of your body – your skin, your eyes, your kidneys, your liver, your brain, and your heart. The longer blood sugar levels stay high, the greater the risk for harm.
What Exactly Causes Diabetes?
There’s a common misconception that diabetes occurs from eating too many sweets or ingesting too much sugar. While poor nutrition may speed the onset of the disease or even initially trigger it, it isn’t usually a direct cause.
Instead, when it comes to type 1 vs type 2 diabetes, genetics is the biggest predictor of what someone will be diagnosed with. The risk can also increase by:
- Being overweight, morbidly obese, or otherwise in poor shape
- Taking certain medications or suffering from repeated bouts of pancreatitis
There are also differences in the causes of type 1 and type 2 diabetes. We’ll talk a little more about them later on in the article.
Type 1 vs Type 2 Diabetes
The good news about diabetes is that it’s highly treatable, regardless of which diagnosis you receive. The invention of insulin in 1922 ushered in a new era for patients, saving lives and allowing people to live virtually free of the disease for the first time.
Since then, medicine has created a long list of treatments including:
- Oral medications
- Injectables
- Even implantable devices that regulate the pancreas
What Is Type 1 Diabetes?
Type 1 diabetes is the most severe and serious form of this disease. It is almost always due to genetics, and a patient’s diagnosis occurs very early in life. For this reason, it is sometimes referred to as juvenile diabetes in childhood. After a diagnosis of this form of diabetes, you will have it for life.
In type 1 diabetes, the pancreas produces little to no insulin right out of the gate, leaving the body almost or completely unable to control blood sugar. If levels become high enough, patients experience:
- Ketoacidosis
- Seizures
- Coma
- Potential death
Type 1 diabetes can also cause sudden spikes or drops in blood sugar.
How is Type 1 Diabetes Treated?
Treatment for type 1 diabetes always includes insulin. This can be given by injection with a small syringe or via an insulin pump. Which is best depends on the severity of the illness and level of insulin still produced by the pancreas.
Lifestyle changes can also help patients control type 1 diabetes. While eating sugar doesn’t cause the illness, it can make it harder to control blood sugar; cutting back on processed foods and refined sugars may help with stability. There’s also plenty of evidence to show that exercise and sleep can make treatment for effective.
If medications and lifestyle changes fail to control blood sugar, or the pancreas fails entirely as a result of the disease, there are other options. Some patients may benefit from a pancreas transplant or the transplantation of islet cells from a healthy donor.
What Is Type 2 Diabetes?
Type 2 diabetes is a little bit different in that you can be born with it or acquire it later on. In type 2 diabetes, the pancreas either doesn’t produce enough insulin or the body becomes resistant to the insulin it produces, making it less effective.
We still don’t conclusively know exactly what makes one person more predisposed to type 2 diabetes than another. However, the strongest research supports a genetic and environmental tie. Here, too, obesity, poor diet, lack of exercise, and a generally unhealthy lifestyle can increase your risk and/or worsen the illness.
Type 2 diabetes is typically less serious than type 1, but that doesn’t mean that serious side effects can’t or won’t occur. Left untreated, it can also lead to problems with nearly every organ in the body as well as exhaustion, weakness, dizziness, and slow healing or impaired immune function.
How is Type 2 Diabetes Treated?
Treatment for Type 2 diabetes depends on the severity of your disease and which symptoms you struggle with. Some patients may see a total resolution of symptoms just by losing weight, getting more exercise, and improving diet.
Others may require a more “hands on” approach including medications and/or injectable insulin. Regular monitoring is also critical to preventing the disease from spiraling out of control.
When medications are utilized, treatment generally starts with a drug like Metformin (also known as Glucophage). This drug helps to reduce blood sugar levels, but must be prescribed very carefully; it can cause side effects like hypoglycemia. If treatment with Metformin fails, doctors may opt to initiate insulin therapy instead.
Conclusion
There are differences, and similarities when it comes to type 1 diabetes vs type 2 diabetes, but if you or someone you love receives a diabetes diagnosis, take heart. By working closely with your doctors, living a healthy lifestyle, and taking any prescribed medications as per your doctor’s orders, the prognosis is very good.
We don’t have a cure for it just yet, but we’re coming closer and closer every single day.