What Type Of Diabetes
Do You Have?
All the types of diabetes can be confusing for the newly diagnosed and their friends and family.
Most of us have the vague idea that there are diabetics who have to have insulin injections, Type 1, and then there are those who don't, Type 2, but what about Type 1.5 or 'pre-diabetic' or LADA or MODY or Gestational diabetes?
First we need to understand a little about how our blood glucose regulatory system works.
Behind the lower part of the stomach is a fist sized organ known as the pancreas. The function of this organ is twofold. Firstly it produces digestive juices that aid in the digestion of food and secondly, and most importantly for us, it produces the hormone insulin that controls the amount of glucose that goes in and out of the cells in the body.
Cells need this glucose for energy. It is when the cells in the pancreas are damaged or destroyed, or the cells of the body itself develop resistance to the insulin produced, that the glucose regulatory system goes haywire.
Without insulin the glucose cannot enter the body's cells and large amounts build up in the blood resulting in what we term diabetes. High levels of blood glucose can cause serious damage to the organs of the body.
The way in which the insulin production is impaired, or the way in which the cells of the body become resistant, are the main deciding factors in which type of diabetes one has.
The links below will take you to the type that particularly interests you...
Type 1 Diabetes.
This is sometimes referred to as Juvenile diabetes or insulin-dependant diabetes mellitus (shortened to IDDM).
Type 2 Diabetes.
This has been called by many different names down the time. You may have
heard it referred to as adult diabetes, maturity onset diabetes, old
age diabetes, or non-insulin-dependant diabetes (shortened to NIDDM).
LADA.
Sometimes referred to as type 1.5, Slow onset type 1, LADA - latent
autoimmune diabetes in adults or Slowly Progressive Diabetes (SPIDDM).
Pre-diabetes.
This is also known as borderline diabetes, potential diabetes, sugar disregulation or chemical diabetes.
Gestational diabetes.
(Also called glucose intolerance of pregnancy) This is a complication of pregnancy and usually appears in the later half (5-6th month), when the
baby is fully formed but still growing.
MODY.
These initials stand for Mature Onset Diabetes of the Young.
It affects one to two per cent of people with diabetes and is often unrecognised.
Steroid diabetes.
This is listed here as a different type although it is sometimes classed with type 1 and at other times with type 2.
MIDD or Maternally Inherited Diabetes And Deafness.
This is a very rare form of Type 2 diabetes, accounting for only 1% of diabetics.
Neonatal Diabetes Mellitus.
There are two types, Permanent Neonatal Diabetes mellitus (PNDM) and Transient Neonatal Diabetes Mellitus (TNDM).
Type Unknown! These are the folk who do not fit into any of the other categories listed above. If they like they can think of themselves as the exceptions that prove the rule.
If you go to Table 1—Etiologic classification of diabetes mellitus. on The American Diabetes Association website, you will find a table that gives the full list of different types. However, most are rare and all broadly fit under the umbrella of Type 1 or Type 2 as far as symptoms and treatment go.