diabetes mellitus is a condition that has both hereditary and environmental factors (i.e. biologic and non-biologic components). in short, the body is not able to handle glucose (sugar) in a normal fashion. insulin, which is the hormone that regulates glucose metabolism, is either non-existent in "diabetics" or the body is resistant to it's effects, and thus requires more.

Quote Originally Posted by ruah_23
Krissy it depands what type of diabetic are u?
Type 1 U need insulin injection most of the time
type 2 u don't need insulin but you have to watch ur diet.
kinda sorta true... traditionally, type 1 diabetes was known as insulin dependent diabetes mellitus (iddm) and type 2 diabetes was known as non insulin dependent diabetes (niddm). type 1 was considered hereditary, and thus also called juvenile onset diabetes mellitus. type 2 was considered later onset- i.e. people middle aged (40s and 50s), and thus termed adult onset diabetes. as pedal mentioned, the 3rd type is gestational diabets.

but through research and practical experience:

1. we've found that type 2 diabetes/niddm is on the rise, and that it's occuring in younger and younger people. i.e. teenagers are now developing type 2 diabetes

2. type 2 diabets/niddm isn't exactly non insulin dependent. through biochemical and phsyiologic research, we've found that it's more "insulin resistant"- in other words, the body of a person with type 2/niddm requires more insulin to put the same amount of sugar into organs than a person without type 2/niddm. there will be a point at which this group of people will require insulin. we didn't know this before, because those developing type 2/niddm were in their 40s and 50s, and thus by the time they were requiring insulin, they were near the end of life (20-30 years later). as i mentioned above, teenagers are developing type 2 diabetes, and thus in 20 to 30 years, they are in their late 30s, early 40s. add to that, foods today have a much higher sugar content... which, after all, is the major problem in diabetes. inundating the body over and over again with a high sugar content when the body is already resistant to the effects of insulin... and apparently the body will get to the point of not being able to produce enough insulin to handle the sugar content.

3. many women that develop gestational diabetes go on to develop adult onset diabetes.



pedal, and other diabetics on here, if you haven't already, make sure you get a yearly eye exam, as diabetics are very likely to develop eye problems (glaucoma).