What Is Type 3 Diabetes?

Q: What is Type 3 diabetes and how serious is it?

Pat

A: Type 3 is a fairly new term. It generally means a type of diabetes that is mixture of Type 1 and Type 2 (the old term was Type 1.5).

Patients who have Type 1 diabetes no longer make insulin. This type of diabetes generally is considered an auto immune disease where the body destroys its own cells in the pancreas that make insulin.

Type 2 diabetes occurs when the body becomes unable to process insulin properly and becomes resistant to it's own insulin. Over 95% of the people who have diabetes, have Type 2 diabetes.

Type 3 patients are often adults or children who have Type 1 diabetes, gain weight, and develop the signs of insulin resistance, which can also include high blood pressure and abnormal cholesterol.

A report from the Children's Hospital in Pittsburgh stated about 25% of children who were diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes also had symptoms of insulin resistance. Tests can be done to determine if a patient falls more in line with autoimmune distruction or insulin resistance. Sometimes patients fall in the middle. Medications are looked at carefully to decide which would work the best. Most physicians will use the medications that will lower the glucose readings first.

Regardless of the Type of diabetes, glucose levels need to be controlled. All abnormal glucose readings can damage a body: Type 1, Type 2 and Type 3.

Please take care, Ginny