Lifestyle Changes Can Lead to Remission for Type 2 Diabetes but Not a Cure

This transcript has been edited for clarity.

Whenever I get a new patient with type 2 diabetes who is generally on metformin, one of the very first questions they ask me is, "Can I get off my medication?" Everybody, it seems, who gets diabetes wants to not have diabetes.

So, what does this really mean? What does this mean to me as a clinician? And what does this mean to my patients? The American Diabetes Association recently came out with a consensus statement that defines and interprets the definition of remission in people with type 2 diabetes. Basically, if the A1c is less than 6.5% without diabetes medications for at least 3 months, that's considered remission.

There are other considerations, such as metabolic surgery, that can lead to remission. But again, they want you to be 3 months post-surgery and at least 3 months off diabetes medication and with lifestyle. They believe remission really happens within about 6 months of the lifestyle intervention and then again being off diabetes medication for at least 3 months.

That leads me to wonder: What is remission? Remission really means temporary recovery, so it doesn't mean a cure. Now, I'm not against curing diabetes.