why do people think that type one and type two diabetes are the same?

Question:

my son has type one [juvenille diabtes] and he is a pretty solid young boy of 14 , it annoys me when people think that just because he is bigger than your average 14 year old this is the cause of his condition...which is not true

Answers:
A lot of the confusion stems from not understanding what the types of diabetes mean: Type 1 is when the pancreas does not produce ANY insulin to control the carbohydrate utilization and requires lifetime exogenous (produced outside) insulin for survival; Type 2 is when the pancreas retains SOME insulin-producing potential and can be assisted by oral medications and appropriate dietary intake.

However, even type 2 diabetes can develop to such a degree that exogenous insulin may be required. Type 2 diabetes mellitus is characterized by insulin resistance in peripheral tissues as well as a defect in insulin secretion by beta cells.

(If this RESISTANCE AND DEFECT gets worse, then diet and oral medications may no longer be enough to control glucose. I, myself, having been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes in 1993, am now having to use Insulin glargine (Lantus) along with Glucophage and Actos oral medications to control my type 2 diabetes. And, even my family thinks I have now turned into a Type 1 diabetic, simply because I now use injections !!! My mom once even told me that sugar was not all that fattening... I told her, "Mom, it isn't the calories, it's the SUGAR that is dangerous to a diabetic." And even now, ideas have changed in the medical fields so much that some sugar is now determined to not be detrimental, but even helpful to diabetics...)

The normal stimulus for the release of insulin from the pancreas is a rise in the concentration of glucose in circulating blood, which typically occurs within a few minutes after a meal. When such a rise elicits an appropriate insulin response, so that the blood level of glucose falls again as it is taken into cells, glucose tolerance is said to be normal. The central fact in diabetes mellitus is an impairment of glucose tolerance of such a degree as to threaten or impair health.

And so on, and so on, etc. People who are closely involved in someone's treatment of diabetes (whether 1 or 2), are pretty much the only ones who are even remotely knowledgeable about it -- and even then, probably only keep up with information on the type they are dealing with, whether 1 or 2.

And science is changing all the time, which causes further confusion. Even the dietetic food chart has recenly been changed, which increases some food group allowances, and decreases others... And this is supposed to be where the "recommended daily allowances" are to be taken from for a healthy lifestyle... It's no wonder confusion reigns...

Some other terms defining diabetes mellitus:

for type 1 DM: insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (this term now declared obsolete by American Diabetes Association); growth-onset DM; juvenile-onset DM; ketosis-prone DM;

for type 2 DM: non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus; adult-onset DM; ketosis-resistant DM;

People are ignorant. A good friend of mine in high school had Type I and faced the same problem.

I'm sorry that you have to go through that but just blow them off. If they make comments, just say "Oh, it's obvious you don't understand the different types of diabetes" then walk off or change the subject.

Lack of education, Sug. All they hear is diabetes. Until the disease affects their lives somehow, they don't particularly care what kind of diabetes. Chin up, check out aol, or the net. I am sure there are other Mommies out there with the same problem. Find a chat group you are comfy with and vent when you feel frustrated.

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why do people think that type one and type two diabetes are the same?

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