Facts on the Difference

Diabetes is a chronic, debilitating disease affecting every organ system. There are two major types of diabetes: type 1 (juvenile onset) and type 2.

Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease in which a person's pancreas stops producing insulin, a hormone that enables people to get energy from food. Type 1 diabetes usually strikes in childhood, adolescence, or young adulthood, but lasts a lifetime. People with type 1 diabetes must take multiple injections of insulin daily or continually infuse insulin through a pump just to survive.

Type 2 diabetes is a metabolic disorder in which a person's body still produces insulin but is unable to use it effectively. Type 2 is usually diagnosed in adulthood and does not always require insulin injections. However, increased obesity has led to a recent rise in cases of type 2 diabetes in young adults.

Symptoms to both types can be very similar.

Excessive thirst

Frequent urination

Rapid weight loss

Fatigue and weakness

Irritability, confusion

If you feel like these could be symptoms of more than what you think they may be, PLEASE seek medical attention ASAP. The longer you let symptoms go without medical attention the more likely damage is being done in the case of type 2 it can be irreversible, in type I, (like in my case) another day and I would have been dead. My parents were told I had a virus, with symptoms lasting almost a month, and got increasingly worse with each passing day. The weakness took over, I could hardly hold myself up to get to the bathroom, in which it became increasingly clear that something wasn't right. I just had no control, and no energy to care, and one thing I do remember, it hurt!! If your children exhibit any of these symptoms, please seek medical attention sooner rather than later.

Thanks .... and hope this helps some understand how critical this can be.

Talk later

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