Diabetes, Is Our Education Failing?

Before you get upset, please read carefully. A Type 1 acquaintance has really gotten me more than a little upset. He maintains that diabetes, is diabetes, is diabetes. He says basically that there is only one type and that if you are on insulin, you are a Type 1. Even though I told him that I have type 2 diabetes and am on insulin, he said I must have been misdiagnosed as I was Type 1. Nothing I could say was going to change his mind.

Then a few days later he contacted me and asked if I would go with him and see how his doctor determines that people are Type 1. I politely declined as I trust my endocrinologist and other doctors and know nothing about this doctor other than what this person says about seeing only type 1 diabetes patients. When I ask him when he was diagnosed, he said he was 48 years of age. Oh really? And he is sure he is Type 1?

Then I asked him to explain Type 2. He said these were people that might have Type 1, but basically do not have Type 2 or even diabetes because when they loose the weight and use exercise and nutrition (diet) they do not have any symptoms of diabetes. This can be correct, but if they truly have diabetes, they will definitely find out if they do not take care of themselves with exercise and nutrition.

All of this has me wondering who is educated about diabetes. This simplistic definition by a person with supposedly Type 1 has me wondering (but not about diabetes, Type 2). Then today Scott Strumello has an excellent post about the diabetes diseases (yes, plural) that fits very well into this topic. Please take time to read it.

I just know that Scott has the correct read on diabetes. I don't know enough to state positively that Type 1 has many variants, but there logically seems that there are some variations in Type 1. Type 2 definitely has many variants. Find any point on a bell curve and you can state with some certainty that there will likely be several thousand(s) Type 2 fitting the conditions.

This helps explain why what works for you, may not work for me. This does not explain why there are so many variables, just that there are many variables. Now it seems that there are several causes of insulin resistance including over weight, a hormone secreted by the liver and possibly individual body chemistry. This also adds to the knowledge of variations in Type 2.