Does Everyone with Diabetes Take Insulin?

If you know someone who has diabetes you may simply think that he or she has to take insulin on a daily basis. However this is not always the case, dependent on what type of diabetes the person has they may not need to take insulin. People with type one diabetes require supplemental (or extra) insulin because their bodies cannot produce enough to meet the needs of the cells in the body. Some of the people with type two diabetes have to take insulin supplements. Around one in every four type two diabetes patients have to use additional insulin to remain healthy.

People with type one diabetes experience a lack of insulin simply because most of the cells in their body that produce it have stopped working; these cells are called beta cells or islets. While people who have type two diabetes can experience insufficient amounts of insulin their cells haven't quit working. Either their cells aren't producing sufficient amounts of insulin or their bodies are simply rejecting the insulin they produce. Some two diabetes patients can survive without insulin (that's why only 1 in 4 use it) however since type two patients have a progressive (getting worse) disease over time their cells may also stop producing insulin.