A diagnosis of diabetes can bring on many new challenges. Depending on what type of diabetes you have, you may need medication or insulin. You may need to make dietary and other lifestyle changes.

There are two main types of diabetes. In both type 1 and type 2, glucose can't move out of the blood and into the cells, where it needs to go. Glucose levels in the blood can become too high. In people without diabetes, the pancreas releases insulin into the blood to help move the glucose out.

People with type 1 diabetes are unable to produce insulin. Type 1 requires daily insulin injections. People with type 2 diabetes can still produce insulin, but their cells don't respond to it as well as they should.

Diabetes is approached from many angles. There are different types of insulin and methods of insulin delivery for type 1. Sometimes, type 2 diabetics require insulin if oral medications provide inadequate control of blood glucose levels. Several classifications of medications are available for type 2.