“What happens to a diabetic without insulin?”

Your blood glucose (sugar) will increase, and you can get a condition known as diabetic Ketoacidosis, where the body begin to breakdown fat cells for energy instead of glucose resulting in buildup of glucose in the blood. Now, within 24 – 48 hours you can be in diabetic Ketoacidosis (DKA), you can die. Thank you.

Insulin is a necessary hormone for life. Pts with type 1 Diabetes need to have insulin injections in order to survive since they no longer produce it. Muscle wasting due to inability to get the sugar out of the blood vessels and into the cells where it's needed for energy, acidification of the blood (DKA), can lead to death. Insulin is an anabolic hormone and without it, the body deteriorates (catabolism). In type 2 Diabetics, insulin therapy may be necessary when the oral medications are no longer able to control the sugars (bring them down in the 100s). This occurs after years of overstimulation of the pancreas by the oral agents (that stimulate the pancreas to secrete more insulin), until it poops out and can no longer produce adequate insulin. Insulin injections may also be needed as adjunct to newer medications that work to reduce blood sugars by other mechanisms.

Hello. Without proper care and medication diabetes may cause nerve damage, blindness, kidney damage and heart disease among many other complications.