can have no additional effects as there are no spare insulin receptors.

Insulin resistance affects many of the organs in the body, including liver, muscle and adipose tissue that are important for regulation of glucose homeostasis. Insulin resistance also affects other organs such as the ovaries (polycystic ovary syndrome) and the blood vessels (contributing to heart disease, and vascular diseases such as stroke and peripheral vascular disease).

Some people with type 2 diabetes do not ever need insulin treatment but require medicines that make their cells respond better to insulin.

In many people with type 2 diabetes, the β cells work extra hard to produce more insulin to try to overcome the insulin resistance. This leads to exhaustion of the β cells and their destruction, and a reduction in the amount of insulin produced. This is why some people with type 2 diabetes require treatment with insulin. In type 2 diabetes, the timeline for insulin requirement is variable or they may not require insulin ever.

Many people with type 2 diabetes are unaware that they have diabetes and by the time they are diagnosed they may already have considerable damage to their bodies.

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