can you get rid of diabetes?

[saturnstroll]

I am overweight and have gotten diabetes. If I lose weight, will diabetes go away? Or will I have diabetes forever???

[JDRF-Team-LRS]

Hello SaturnStroll,
NOne of us here is a physician, but we're pretty experienced and knowledgeable about this disease.

Many overweight folks who develop diabetes have Type 2, but you haven't mentioned whether you have Type 2 or Type 1.  Do you know which type you have?

Folks with Type 2 who return to a healthy weight can often stop taking meds and can control their diabetes with exercise and a sensible diet.  Technically, however, I don't think they are cured because if they drop their good self-care, their symptoms (and potential risks for other nasty complications) will all return).

Folks with Type 1 diabetes who may be overweight, can often lower their dosage of insulin, but will not be able to stop taking insulin.  Folks with Type 1 (also called Juvenile Diabetes even tho' many of us are adults now!) lose the ability to produce insulin and thus, even with weight loss, we must continue to take insulin.

Do you have a team to help you?  Weight loss is tough.  The frightening diagnosis of diabetes can get folks started, and yet it often takes a good strong will AND a helpful team of family, certified diabetes educator, diabetogist/endocrinologist to help a newly diagnosed diabetic develop good new habits to replace the comfy ones that must be tossed aside.

Please check in again and share a bit more about the "type" you are.  That way we can point you to some additional good resources.

[TonyAlmeida]

The stark reality is - once you have Diabetes (either Type 1 or Type 2) you have it for life.  Unlike illnesses like Cancer, which can go into indefinite remission, Diabetes doesn't go away.  There are no cures or fixes - just ways to "manage" it.

Diabetes is not a disease that comes and goes away in time - it is the "end result" of something that has happened to your body that A) destroyed the cells in your pancreas that produce insulin, or B) caused your cells to become insulin resistant, or C) a combination of both A and B.

As stated above - if you are Type 2 Diabetic (most overweight Diabetics are) - you take insulin sensitizer pills that make your cells receptive to insulin.  With the proper carefully controlled diet - you can control your sugar levels and reduce the number of pills you have to take.  Type 2 Diabetics usually have a functioning pancreas.

If you are Type 1 - your pancreas no longer will produce insulin and you need to inject insulin in order to control sugar levels even if you properly diet.  With Type 1 - there is no feasible way around giving yourself insulin shots. "Insulin pills" do not exist, neither does an "insulin patch" - although there is research into these insulin delivery methods.

[ajandlauren]

I'm afraid I might be getting diabetes, if I do can I get rid of them?