• Apytele@sh.itjust.works
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    12
    ·
    edit-2
    16 hours ago

    Also most of those newer treatments treat either type 2 (diet / metabolism related) or are an adjunct therapy for a type 1 (genetic) who has also developed insulin resistance over time. With or without insulin resistance a type 1 isn’t making any insulin in their pancreas at ALL and is going to need to take manufactured insulin, whether by a syringe or with an artificial pancreas that needs to be filled with an insulin cartridge. For them a metabolism altering medication isn’t going to make their pancreas start producing insulin again, it’s just going to help their cells respond better to the insulin they still have to inject.

    People have gotten so used to conceptualizing diabetes as a “fat people” disease that they completely ignore the type 1 genetic diabetics who are actually the main users of insulin. Oh and most children with diabetes have type 1 (since it’s genetic) vs type 2 which can be managed with the fancier newer drugs is the “fat people” / diet related type, and most people don’t get that until they’re at least middle aged and have been eating garbage for decades. When people talk about insulin they act like they’re talking about adults who made a choice when most of your exclusively insulin dependent diabetics are gonna be type 1s who got it from genetics and have had it since childhood.

    We should absolutely be caring about people regardless of these moralistic fat shaming arguments but the kind of people saying it’s not a big deal that a month of insulin costs $500 are also usually the same people crying “think of the children!” and the raw hypocrisy of that just drives me fucking bonkers.

    • zeppo@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      3
      ·
      3 hours ago

      Yes. Thank you. I have T1, and with T2 being ~20 times as common, I don’t think the difference will ever be understood by the public. I wish it would get a different name, though that wouldn’t lower the price of insulin, right.

      • kreskin@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        2
        ·
        edit-2
        2 hours ago

        same here. If type 1’s dont take insulin they die, period. Symptom onset is fast and its not a pleasant or fast death. All the type1s rationing insulin are cooking their organs and in some stage of the process of dying, and they feel it happening. The only option is to not eat any food at all and hope you can make the process of dying stretch out a bit. But as soon as you eat, the food turns to glucose (sugar) in the blood, your body cant use that sugar without insulin and it acidifies in your blood and cooks you.