| About Diabetes Type 1 Type 1 Diabetes (also known as insulin-dependent or juvenile) is much less common than Type 2 Diabetes and typically affects younger individuals. Type 1 Diabetes usually begins before age 30 although there are exceptions. Type 1 Diabetes is associated with deficiency (or lack) of insulin. It is not known why, but the pancreatic islet cells quit producing insulin in the quantities needed to maintain a normal blood glucose level. Without sufficient insulin, the blood glucose rises to levels which can cause some of the common symptoms of hyperglycemia. These individuals seek medical help when these symptoms arise, but they often will experience weight loss developing over several days associated with the onset of their diabetes. The onset of these first symptoms may be fairly abrupt or more gradual. Type 1 Diabetes usually develops due to an autoimmune disorder. This is when the body's immune system behaves inappropriately and starts seeing one of it's own tissues as foreign. In the case of Type 1 Diabetes, the islet cells of the pancreas that produce insulin are seen as the "enemy" by mistake. The body then creates antibodies to fight the "foreign" tissue and destroys the islet cells ability to produce insulin. The lack of sufficient insulin thereby results in diabetes. It is unknown why this autoimmune diabetes develops. Most often it is a genetic tendency. Sometimes it follows a viral infection such as mumps, rubella, cytomegalovirus, measles, influenza, encephalitis, polio or Epstein-Barr virus. Certain people are more genetically prone to this happening although why this occurs is not know. Thus, two people may be infected with the same virus and only one of them who is genetically prone will go on to develop diabetes. Other less common ( very rare) causes of Type 1 Diabetes include injury to the pancreas from toxins, trauma, or after the surgical removal of the majority (or all) of the pancreas. Type 1 Diabetes tends to have less tendency to have other family members affected with diabetes than Type 2. In the first large family study of diabetes, less than 4% of parents and 6% of siblings of a person with diabetes also had diabetes. In studies with identical twins less than 50% of the siblings of a person with diabetes also had diabetes versus almost 100% of siblings of people with Type 2 Diabetes. Children of Type 1 diabetic fathers are more likely to develop Type 1 autoimmune diabetes than children of Type 1 diabetic mothers. Type 1 Diabetes must be treated with insulin shots. This involves injecting insulin under the skin -- in the fat -- for it to get absorbed into the blood stream where it can then access all the cells of the body which require it. Insulin cannot be taken as a pill because the juices in the stomach would destroy the insulin before it could work. Remember, insulin is a hormone, and like all other hormones, insulin is a protein and therefore it has a very important 3-dimentional structure which is destroyed by the acid in the stomach. Even if it did make it through the stomach, the digestive enzymes secreted by the digestive part of the pancreas would digest the insulin protein molecule. Scientists are looking for new ways to give insulin. But today, shots are the most widely used method. Some new insulin pumps are being developed and tested. Type 2 Type 2 Diabetes is more common than Type 1 Diabetes. Whereas Type 1 Diabetes was characterized by the onset in young persons (average age at diagnosis = 14), Type 2 Diabetes usually develops in middle age or later. This tendency to develop later in life has given rise to the term "adult onset diabetes". The typical Type 2 Diabetes patient is overweight although there are exceptions. In contrast to Type 1 Diabetes, symptoms often have a more gradual onset. Type 2 Diabetes is associated with insulin resistance rather than the lack of insulin like seen in Type 1 Diabetes. This often is obtained as a hereditary tendency from one's parents. Insulin levels in these patients are usually normal or higher than average but the body's cells are rather sluggish to respond to it. This lack of insulin activity results in higher than normal blood glucose levels.
Type 2 Diabetes is the most common type of diabetes. This disease exists in all populations, but prevalence varies greatly, i.e., 1% in Japan, and greater than 40% in the Pima Indians of Arizona. In whites the figure is somewhere between 1-2 percent of the entire population. The high incidence of Type 2 Diabetes in certain groups such as the Pima Indians appears to be a relatively recent development that followed a change in the type of food intake (from relatively little food to plenty of food). With this came the development of obesity within their culture which results in diabetes developing in those that are genetically predisposed. This "urbanization phenomenon" has been most carefully studied in nonwhite populations, but is probably ethnically and racially nonspecific. In other words, obesity tends to promote diabetes in those genetically predisposed regardless of where you live and what your racial background is.
Type 2 diabetes tends to be fairly hereditary in contrast to Type 1 diabetes. Approximately 38% of siblings and one third of children of people with type 2 diabetes will develop diabetes or abnormal glucose metabolism at some point. The degree of obesity also seems to be a factor with a larger percentage of diabetes developing in those who are more obese. Studies with identical twins showed that 90-100% of the time when diabetes developed in one it would also develop in the other compared with 50% in Type 1 Diabetes. Development of Type 2 diabetes seems to be multi-factorial...that is, there are a number of issues to blame. Genetic predisposition seems to be the strongest factor. Obesity and high caloric intake seem to be another. Twenty percent of people with this Type 2 Diabetes have antibodies to their islet cells which are detectable in their blood resulting in the expected low levels of insulin, suggesting the possibility of incomplete islet cell destruction. These patients often tend to respond early to oral drugs to lower blood sugar but may need insulin at some point. Gestational Gestational diabetes is a type of diabetes that starts during pregnancy. If you have diabetes, your body isn't able to use the sugar (glucose) in your blood as well as it should, so the level of sugar in your blood becomes higher than normal. Gestational diabetes affects about 4% of all pregnant women. It usually begins in the fifth or sixth month of pregnancy (between the 24th and 28th weeks). Most often, gestational diabetes goes away after the baby is born. High sugar levels in your blood can be unhealthy for both you and your baby. If the diabetes isn't treated, your baby may be more likely to have problems at birth. For example, your baby may have a low blood sugar level or jaundice, or your baby may weigh much more than is normal. Gestational diabetes can also affect your health. For instance, if your baby is very large, you may have a more difficult delivery or need a cesarean section. You will need to follow a diet suggested by your doctor, exercise regularly and have blood tests to check your blood sugar level. You may also need to take medicine to control your blood sugar level. Your doctor may ask you to change some of the foods you eat. You may be asked to see a registered dietitian to help you plan your meals. You should avoid eating foods that contain a lot of simple sugar, such as cake, cookies, candy or ice cream. Instead, eat foods that contain natural sugars, like fruits. If you get hungry between meals, eat foods that are healthy for you, such as raisins, carrot sticks, or a piece of fruit. Complex sugars, which are found in foods like pasta, breads, rice, potatoes and fruit, are good for both you and your baby. It's also important to eat well-balanced meals. You may need to eat less at each meal, depending on how much weight you gain during your pregnancy. Your doctor or dietitian will talk to you about this. Your doctor will suggest that you exercise regularly at a level that is safe for you and the baby. Exercise will help keep your blood sugar level normal, and it can also make you feel better. Walking is usually the easiest type of exercise when you are pregnant, but swimming or other exercises you enjoy work just as well. Ask your doctor to recommend some activities that would be safe for you. If you're not used to exercising, begin by exercising for 5 or 10 minutes every day. As you get stronger, you can increase your exercise time to 30 minutes or more per session. The longer you exercise and the more often you exercise, the better the control of your blood sugar will be. You do need to be careful about how you exercise. Don't exercise too hard or get too hot while you are exercising. Ask your doctor what would be safe for you. Depending on your age, your pulse shouldn't go higher than 140 to 160 beats per minute during exercise. If you become dizzy, or have back pain or other pain while exercising, stop exercising immediately, and call your doctor. If you have uterine contractions (labor pains, like stomach cramps) or vaginal bleeding, or your water breaks, call your doctor right away. Your doctor will ask you to have regular blood tests to check your blood sugar level. These tests will let your doctor know if your diet and exercise are keeping your blood sugar level normal. A normal blood sugar level is less than 105 mg per dL when you haven't eaten for a number of hours before the test (fasting) and less than 120 mg per dL 2 hours after a meal. If your blood sugar level is regularly higher than these levels, your doctor may ask you to begin taking a medicine called insulin to help lower it. You may be asked to see a specialist if you have to start taking insulin. You may not need to have blood tests to check your blood sugar while you're in the hospital after your baby is born. However, it may be several weeks after your baby's birth before your gestational diabetes goes away. To make sure it has gone away, your doctor will ask you to have a special blood test one or two months after you have your baby. Even if the gestational diabetes goes away after the baby's birth, it makes you have a higher risk for diabetes in your next pregnancy and later in life. That is why it is important that you continue to exercise, watch your weight and eat a healthy diet. If you do these things, you may not get diabetes when you're older The information on Type 1 and Type 2 is taken from EndocrineWeb.com
The information for Gestational is taken from familydoctor.org | 
