Do we need to change the name of T1 or T2?

http://diabetesdad.org/2012/09/17/diabetes-t1-or-t2-need-a-new-name/

T1 works for me. Just don't call it "juvenile" diabetes because only half of diagnosed cases occur under age of 18.

I like Type X. Dibs

Tom,

I agree with your blog post - people are not careful about identifying which type
in commercials, books , etc. I about blew a gasket when PBS ran a program this weekend
by Dr. Mark Hyman called "The Blood Sugar Solution.", where he talks over and over about "curing diabetes" with his diet. Type 1 ain't going to be cured by his magical diet. He wasn't careful, nor was the book or ads about qualifying which type of diabetes he was talking about. I am sure his diet can help with type 1 or 2, but it sure ain't gonna get a type 1 off of insulin and it is downright dangerous to suggest so.

I really wish people would be careful with qualigfying what they are talking about. I am sure some fool is going to try his diet, cut off their insulin, and end up in DKA....

T1/T2 works fine. Those are the correct names, when spelled out, and the shorthand is clear. D insipidus must be spelled out so does not usually come into T1/2 discussions as it is quite a different disease. I think that we are finally seeing 1 and 2 used properly in at least some commercials and in most education materials. Why confuse the issue further now? T1D = type one diabetes; CHF = congestive heart failure; CAD = coronary artery disease. And the list goes on and on (see disease acronyms-- wikipedia). This is not worth talking about....though I did.

I'm fine with T1/T2 it's what we have and I cannot think of better terms. If we could go back to the beginning I would think it best to give these two different diseases different names. But you can't unscramble an egg and to try to do so would create more confusion than it would solve.

These two diseases are so different yet so alike. I can't see how you could separate them completely. The word diabetes is a description of the results not of the cause.

Sounds like I'm arguing with myself. I'm so confused. BS is Ok I just checked it and it's 115. :-)

Gary S

I suppose "autoimmune diabetes" vs. "metabolic syndrome diabetes" would also distinguish the two but you can't beat T1/T2 for simplicity!

The name for T1DM has changed at least a couple of times - besides being called "juvenile" diabetes it has also been called Insulin-Dependent Diabetes (IDDM). I think the terms T1 and T2 are better as not only are adults diagnosed with T1, as pointed out above, but many T2s progress to insulin-dependence. So neither of those older terms were accurate enough.

I wish we could stop calling so many different diseases "diabetes" there are too many different diseases.

Imagine if we did that with cardiac patients.
I have type 2 heart disease or I have type 1 adult onset heart disease.

We should come up with new names for it. Like

Type 1 ( pancreatic insufficiency )

type 2 ( insulin resistance )

Gestational diabetes ( gestational insulin insufficiency )

typ2 geriatric ( geriatric insulin insufficiency)

Diabetes insipidus can just be insipidus.

I mean I don't care what the terms are, it is just annoying that most people confuse the different types. It has been how many years they types have been clear? and how often do they get it wrong in news reports ??