- With Mayo Clinic diabetes educators
Nancy Klobassa Davidson, R.N., and Peggy Moreland, R.N.
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Nancy Klobassa Davidson, R.N., and Peggy Moreland, R.N.
Nancy Klobassa Davidson and Peggy Moreland
Nancy Klobassa Davidson, R.N., B.S.N, C.D.E
Nancy Klobassa Davidson is a registered nurse who has worked in diabetes education for 17 years. She is a certified diabetes educator (C.D.E.) and is currently in graduate school working on a Master of Science in nursing (M.S.N.) and health care education.Nancy works with adults who have type 1, type 2 and other forms of diabetes. Nancy is coordinator of the Diabetes Unit's intensive insulin therapy program within the Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes, Metabolism, & Nutrition at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. Nancy has worked extensively with insulin pump therapy and continuous interstitial glucose sensing.
Peggy Moreland, R.N., M.S.N.
Peggy Moreland is a certified diabetes educator (C.D.E.) in the Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes, Metabolism, & Nutrition at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn.Peggy graduated with a Master of Science in Nursing and Health Care Education from the University of Phoenix and is a member of the American Association of Diabetes Educators and the American Diabetes Association. A certified diabetes educator (C.D.E.), Peggy enjoys working with patients to set and achieve diabetes self-management goals.
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Living with diabetes blog
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March 16, 2013
Types of diabetes: What are the differences?
By Nancy Klobassa Davidson, R.N., and Peggy Moreland, R.N.
I've noticed, recently, that more people are asking about the difference between type 1 diabetes and type 2 diabetes. Some others comment that they have type 1.5 diabetes, and so on. So, what are the different types of diabetes? Let's take a look!
Type 1 diabetes
Type 1 diabetes was formerly called "juvenile diabetes" or "insulin-dependent diabetes," because 70 percent of diagnoses occur before a person reaches the age of 30. However, it can be diagnosed at any age. Only 5 percent to 10 percent of those diagnosed with diabetes have this type. With type 1 diabetes, the pancreas produces little to no insulin.
The onset of type 1 diabetes is usually sudden (acute) and clear-cut, when a person goes to their health care provider or the emergency room with symptoms of high blood sugar. Sometimes, a person with new-onset type 1 diabetes needs to be treated in an intensive care unit. Symptoms include increased urination, thirst or dry mouth, hunger, weight loss despite normal or increased eating, blurred vision, frequent or continuous infections and tingling or pain in the hands, feet or both.
If you have type 1 diabetes, you'll always need to take insulin, either through injections or through an insulin pump. Insulin, nutrition and activity (exercise) need to be kept in balance.
It's also key that you test your blood sugar level, generally four times a day or more, to avoid extremely high or low blood sugar.
Type 2 diabetes
This type of diabetes was previously called "adult onset diabetes." But according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, type 2 diabetes has been reported among U.S. children and adolescents with increasing frequency over the past 20 years. Ninety percent of those with diabetes have type 2 diabetes. And approximately 80 percent of people with type 2 diabetes are overweight. With type 2 diabetes, your body either resists the effects of insulin or doesn't produce enough insulin to maintain a normal blood sugar level.
Symptoms of type 2 diabetes, which are generally the same as symptoms of type 1, may come on gradually or not be noticed at all.
A healthy diet and exercise may not be enough to lower your blood sugar level to a satisfactory range. Oral or injectable medication may be needed to control your blood sugar level.
Talk with your health care provider to learn whether you need to monitor your blood sugar and, if so, what schedule you should use. Testing your blood sugar and keeping a record on a regular basis is an important tool to help you learn the relationship between food and your blood sugar level.
Gestational diabetes
This type of diabetes, which causes high blood sugar, develops during pregnancy (gestation) and is caused by increased production of hormones that make the body less able to use insulin as well as it should. Most gestational diabetes goes away after birth but it does put you at higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes later. Healthy eating and being active may decrease the risk of developing subsequent type 2 diabetes.
Surgically induced diabetes
When surgery is performed on the pancreas for any reason, there's a risk that its ability to produce insulin will change. This condition may be temporary or permanent. If you have this type of surgery, frequent testing of blood sugar is needed to monitor whether or when medications or insulin injections may be necessary.
Chemically induced diabetes
Some types of medication can cause your blood sugar level to be higher than normal. Steroids, specifically cortisone or prednisone, are the most common cause of such high blood sugar. Treatment may include prescription oral diabetes medication or insulin.
Latent autoimmune diabetes in adults (LADA) or type 1.5 diabetes
Scientists have identified several other diabetes subtypes beyond types 1 and 2. LADA is a more slowly progressing variation of type 1 diabetes and is often misdiagnosed as type 2. It's most common in those age 35 and older.
Ultimately, regardless of the type of diabetes you have, the best way for you to care for yourself is to eat healthfully, test your blood sugar as recommended by your health care provider, schedule routine follow-up care with your health care team, take your oral medication, insulin or both, and wear a medical alert bracelet or other identifier if you take insulin. Blood pressure control and cholesterol management is also important.
Even if you don't have diabetes, healthy eating and exercise is good for you and may even prevent or delay the onset of type 2 diabetes.
Have a great week!
Peggy
10 comments posted
May 21, 2013 12:40 p.m.
Help, please. I have been Type 2 for three years, have lost weight, exercise regularly and am pretty good with my diet. It seemed like everything was going okay as long as we added a new medicine every now and again to handle morning highs, late evening spikes or what have you. Not long ago my A1c was 5.5 but my daily readings were all over the place. This last round of blood work saw my A1c jump to 6.4 and my numbers are still way off. We're trying insulin. I had my first round of "normal" numbers in months last night and this morning. Why did the move to insulin happen so fast? Are we overreacting? It seems like the right thing to do but at the same time it doesn't make sense.
- Mary
May 21, 2013 12:39 p.m.
Help, please. I have been Type 2 for three years, have lost weight, exercise regularly and am pretty good with my diet. It seemed like everything was going okay as long as we added a new medicine every now and again to handle morning highs, late evening spikes or what have you. Not long ago my A1c was 5.5 but my daily readings were all over the place. This last round of blood work saw my A1c jump to 6.4 and my numbers are still way off. We're trying insulin. I had my first round of "normal" numbers in months last night and this morning. Why did the move to insulin happen so fast? Are we overreacting? It seems like the right thing to do but at the same time it doesn't make sense.
- Mary
May 21, 2013 11:13 a.m.
Help, please. I have been Type 2 for three years, have lost weight, exercise regularly and am pretty good with my diet. It seemed like everything was going okay as long as we added a new medicine every now and again to handle morning highs, late evening spikes or what have you. Not long ago my A1c was 5.5 but my daily readings were all over the place. This last round of blood work saw my A1c jump to 6.4 and my numbers are still way off. We're trying insulin. I had my first round of "normal" numbers in months last night and this morning. Why did the move to insulin happen so fast? Are we overreacting? It seems like the right thing to do but at the same time it doesn't make sense.
- Mary
April 26, 2013 7:42 p.m.
I am 65 and have been noticing my fasting glucose rising the last few years. My doctor told me he would let me know when to go on medicine, but i knew enough to educate myself. I went off of wheat and lost 8 pounds, but that did not help my fasting blood sugar. I bought a monitor, and I saw that any grains or starches sent my blood sugar to 200, and it came down slowly. I steer clear of any sugar. The only way to keep my blood sugar in the 120 range an hour after I eat is to eat only protein and green veggies. I now weigh about 120 and have exercised daily for years. My A1c is 5.2% because I am a very disciplined eater, but my fasting is still between 105-120. I take 1000 metformin at dinner. That does not seem to bring it down any. If I ate anything I wanted no telling how high it would be all day. Do I need to figure out what type of pre diabetes I have? How important is it to get my fasting numbers in the 80's? What more can i do? Will i get worse as I age? My mother had dementia and then was diagnosed with full on diabetes. She was put on insulin. I think she went undiagnosed because she was very disciplined until her dementia took over.
- Penny
April 17, 2013 8:10 a.m.
There is a big focus on diet no matter what type of diabetes you have, it is part of the balancing act (medication/insulin, diet, and activity). I don't know what type of diabetes you have but you sound like someone that is insulin deficient and people with type 1 or insulin deficient type 2 do have more variable blood glucoses and need to do pattern management. Discuss this with your provider or diabetes educator.
- Nancy and Peggy
April 10, 2013 10:39 p.m.
In most of the diabetes forums I have visited there is an apparent obsession with diet. But with my particular kind of type 2 diabetes, I had drastically lost weight - about 40 pounds - before I was diagnosed four years ago. I did not have 40 pounds to lose however and doctors told me regaining my weight was paramount.It took me more than a year to regain the weight and now although my blood sugar is still a little high - in the 100 to 140 range normally - however there is seemingly little, if any, correlation with what I eat. My blood sugar rises and falls regularly regardless of what I eat or even if I eat on any given day. Is this some weird variation of the disease? In talking with other diabetes victims it is like I am from Mars and everyone else is from Venus.
- ramsey
March 27, 2013 10:39 p.m.
My A1C has been 6.8 - 7.3 up and down for the last couple of years. I exercise every day and watch my diet. For 20 years my sugar has slowly been going up. Will high sugar affect some areas if not on meds?
- nancy
March 26, 2013 11:48 p.m.
Can you please let me know how we can clinically differentiate a case of Type 1 from Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus?Is it then mandatory then to estimate fasting Insulin levels in blood in order to clinch the diagnosis?
- Saurabh
March 26, 2013 5:55 p.m.
A1c less than 7.0
- Bill
March 26, 2013 4:48 p.m.
What is the safe range for type 2 diabetes.
- Donnie
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