How many types are there? Are they erm dangerous? Why do they happen?
Just curious.
Re: Explain diabetes
And how much does it affect normal life?
Re: Explain diabetes
Well there are two types. Type I and Type II.
Type I is considered to have more of a genetic cause and is diagnosed at a much younger age. In this case the body can not make enough insulin hormone. Insulin's job is to take the extra glucose from the blood and store it in body cells for later use. This is dangerous because it leads to hyperglycemia meaning too much glucose (sugar) in the blood.
Type II is considered to be caused more due to poor lifestyle, those who are overwt, have a history of diabetes in their family, abdominal fat, high blood pressure etc. This is more in adults and south asians and hispanic people. In this type the body makes enough insulin but the cells become insulin resistant that means the cells don't respond to insulin and don't store the extra glucose from the blood. This also leads to hyperglycemia.
You asked if it affects normal life, well from what I have seen type I is diagnosed in sometimes very young children and they have to monitor their blood sugar very closely and also inject themselves with insulin because the body doesn't make enough. This can have a great affect on life as you can imagine. For type II i think most people are on medication instead of injections but later in the disease state i think they also inject insulin. The medication dictates when you can eat or if you should snack. The medication is insulin which means it decreases the glucose levels in the blood so if you don't eat you might get hypoglycemia, meaning low blood sugar in blood. This can lead to the person becoming unconscious because the glucose is the energy being used by the body.
Without going into too much detail yes it affects ones normal life but I think once the person finds a mediation that works for them and they know when to eat etc they can go about it pretty normally.
I hope this answers your questions a little. I was very brief so if you have more questions please do ask.
Re: Explain diabetes
There is actually also gestational diabetes which is diagnosed during pregnancy. This usually goes away once the pregnancy is over but it means the mother is at a higher risk developing type II later in life.
Re: Explain diabetes
Re: Explain diabetes
There's actually Diabetes Insipidus and Diabetes Mellitus. Diabetes Mellitus is then classified into Type 1 and Type 2. Type 1 basically means insulin dependent and type 2 means it can be controlled via diet, excercise and maybe medication. If well controlled, it can even go away. Type 1 is caused by your pancreas not producing any insulin at all. Type 2 is either there is not sufficient insulin, or your body isn't really taking the signal (insulin) up properly. Basically, in the end, there is sugar floating around in your system and it can wreak havoc on your system. (sugar is only with mellitus. insipidus is another condition)
There is a strong genetic disposition to diabetes mellitus. If there is someone in your family with diabetes chances are you might get it too. type 1 is typically diagnosed at an early age, either in childhood, then it's juvenile, or in the 20's. these days a lot more kids are diagnosed with type 2 as well because of obesity epidemic. type 2 is typically diagnosed in adults at around 40's.
There's also gestational diabetes. Pregnant women sometimes get it and it goes away once the baby is born. There is also pre-diabetes, where you start to exhibit symptoms of diabetes and if not well controlled it can escalate to full fledged disease stage.
Re: Explain diabetes
Lmao!! ^
Ugly kitty 
CDG and Khumar perfect answers, thank you! 
Re: Explain diabetes
lol google diabeetus and you'll get it :p
Re: Explain diabetes
Why google when someone can summarise it right here 
Re: Explain diabetes
doooooooo it
Re: Explain diabetes
Asking others to do it for me is more easier :D
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lol shak..way to be lazy 
Khumar…i always tend to forget the Insipidus type..i guess being a nutrition student we dont get into that one much..ive only studied Diabetes Mellitus..care to share more about one..or i guess i should google it too 
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LOL...whats with that pic!!!
Re: Explain diabetes
lol..khumar..would you like to explain it :D
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yeah insipidus doesn’t get as much coverage as mellitus…i guess it’s more of an excretory thing than metabolism, maybe that’s why? ok one thing is for sure, do not open a giant medical text book and look up diabetes M, because there is more than type 1 and 2…i didn’t know and i was like i just know two! where did these come from? but they’re not as common and more for classification purposes than anything. and i dunno what to share lol…ask and if i know it i’ll post for sure.
thing is, diabetes can be hard, but if managed the person can live a normal life with a normal life span. unmanaged diabetes can affect every single organ system of your body. it’s so wide spread now that i’m sure at this point everyone’s come across someone with diabetes, whether type 1 or 2, and how much it affects. in my family, i’ve seen relatives who’ve lost weight because of that, to those who’ve lost sensation on their feet (nerve damage) to very well managed cases with absolutely no adverse health effects (visible ones at least). it’s called a silent killer and there is a good reason for that.
Re: Explain diabetes
lol i didn’t know a lot of people didn’t know about diabeetus! hehe ok here it goes
](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YXQaMaBxwRg) ](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t0H2fH3K044&feature=related)Re: Explain diabetes
Insipidus had to do with water excretion and hormones related to that like ADH etc that's all i know about it so i guess you are right since its not metabolism related we didn't cover it.
Yep I remember my professor telling us there are other types as well..but they are not nearly as common as type I and II. Totally agree with your last paragraph, some people who manage it will with diet, exercise and medication can live a normal life BUT if it is not managed well you can get into a lot of other problems even kidney failure and heart conditions as well I believe.
I guess we are not americans and don't have medicare so haven't heard diabeetus :D
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I am not lazy 
Google doesn’t do a good summary of stuff and all the technical words so why not make a thread Shak! 
Khumar…
I like summaries
Re: Explain diabetes
Good posts above.
Diabetes itself means passing too much urine.
Both Insipidus and Mellitus cause too much urine if not treated. Two very different diseases.
Shak: some people pronounce it diabeetus, mostly in southern part of US.
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Ah didn't know that!
If Khumar and CDG get too technical with the fancy medical lingo they'll lose me :D