A patient newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes wants to know why she was prescribed metformin and not insulin. Which statement by the healthcare provider is true?
a. "Because the beta cells have been completely destroyed, insulin will not be helpful."
b. "Initial treatment just involves correcting dehydration."
c. "A insulin injection will not be effective, but you could try taking insulin orally."
d. "Your cells are resistant to insulin. Oral meds like metformin help reduce resistance."

Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM, T2D) is a type of diabetes often in which lifestyle habits, primarily nutritional choices, lead to a resistance to the pancreatic hormone insulin that is secreted in response to elevated blood glucose levels. Patients living with type 2 diabetes still secrete insulin however, which is why the condition is also sometimes called insulin-resistant diabetes or non-insulin dependent diabetes.

Because these patients still make their own insulin, injections are not necessary as they would be with patients diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes. Instead, patients with T2D require antidiabetic medications like metformin, which aids in the maintenance of blood glucose by increasing insulin sensitivity and decreasing glucose absorption in the liver and intestines.

Therefore, the true statement the healthcare provider and say to the patient is "your cells are resistant to insulin. Oral meds like metformin help reduce resistance," option D.

Why Not Other Options:

Option A is inaccurate because if the beta cells are destroyed, the patient will require insulin injections.

Option B is inaccurate because excessive thirst is a symptom of diabetes. The initial treatment would be to attempt lifestyle changes during the prediabetic phase and then administer antidiabetic medications.

Option C is inaccurate because at current there are no oral insulin medications on the market, nor would they be effective because the patient's problem is not insulin insufficiency.