“So I’ll wait ’til kingdom come, All the highs and lows are gone, a little bit longer and I’ll be fine, I’ll be fine”
– A Little Bit Longer, Jonas Brothers-
This song was written by Nick Jonas. He was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes in 2005. This was actually the same year I was diagnosed as well. I myself have come to terms with being a diabetic and having to take insulin almost every time I eat. The one thing about it that gets really old really quick is the statement ” You don’t look like a Diabetic!” So in this blog I am going to do a little background on Type 1 diabetes and the difference between type 1 and type 2.
To start I am going to talk about the differences. Type 1 is when your pancreas produces little to no insulin. This makes all type 1 diabetics insulin dependent. Type 2 is when your pancreas still produces normal levels of insulin, your body is just not able to absorb it. Type 2 diabetics can start on pill forms to help control their diabetes but then may needed insulin to help down the road.
As you can see there is a major difference between type 1 and type 2 diabetes. Another major difference is that Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease whereas type 2 is a multifactorial one. This means that for type one the immune system has attacked the cells in the pancreas that make the insulin. So basically, there is a war going on in the body and the immune system thinks that it is doing the right thing but made it so the body can no longer produce the right amount of insulin. With type 2., there is still the production of insulin the body just decides that it no long knows what to do with it and becomes very resistant to it, like a child who doesn’t want to wear a coat even though their parent said they would need it.
Type 2 has many causes like obesity and the disease runs in the family. Type 2 is usually diagnosed after the age of 40. Type 1 however the cause if it is unknown and is usually diagnosed in childhood, which to me makes sense seeing as I am 1 of 5 kids and there is no family history of it that I know of. I know type 2 runs on my papas’ side of the family but he is in no blood relation to me and as you can tell type 1 and type 2 are a very different thing.
There are reasons on why everyone automatically assumes that all diabetics have type 2. That is because it is more widely talked about. This could also be that 95% of diabetics are type 2 and that means that only 5% of diabetics have type 1. Knowing this information makes me understand more where the statement “you don’t look like a diabetic” comes from and it also makes me want to educate more people about the difference more.
Iliades, C., Salomon, S. H., Upham, B., & Roan, S. (n.d.). What’s the Difference Between Type 1 and Type 2 Diabetes? Retrieved from https://www.everydayhealth.com/diabetes/difference-between-type-1-type-2-diabetes/.
Medical Providers. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.jchdonline.org/index.php/all-topics/49-programs-and-services/health-education/295-what-are-the-main-differences-between-type-i-and-type-ii-diabetes.
T1D Basics. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.jdrf.org/t1d-resources/about/.