“Do type 2 diabetics take insulin shots?”

Some do.

Type 2 Diabetics do take insulin shots. However, it is not the first thing prescribed to newly diagnosed patients. It can be prevented with diet and exercise as well as medications taken by mouth. If you take your treatment seriously, you can reverse the diagnosis and avoid taking insulin shots.

Yes, depending on your lab tests which must be discussed with your personal and primary care doctor.

Typically, type 2 diabetic patients do not need insulin injections if they are diagnosed early and have achieved good control with oral medications. With so many newer medications available, the need for insulin injections has decreased in the past few years. Depending on your lab results and health status, your doctor will be able to make recommendations for
medication that work the best for you.

Navdeep Kaur, MD

Yes, type 2 diabetes over the years if do not take corrective changes to their lifestyle can eventually lead to burning out of their pancreas' ability to make insulin which is known as "burned out" pancreas and that can need insulin shots. Secondly, when blood sugars are high consistently in range of 200mg/dl that can lead to faster destruction of the beta cells that make insulin in body and that person would also need to start on insulin shots to get the sugars in control and prevent from further damage to the beta cells. Starting on insulin early on in that situation would help preserve beta cells and simultaneously working on lifestyle modification would have a better chance to get sugars controlled and come off insulin sooner with that.