Diabetes Guidelines – Types Of Diabetes?

Welcome to diabetes guidelines.

Diabetes guidelines has been put together because there is a lot of information out there on the subject of diabetes, and the aim of diabetes guidelines is to bring all of the relevant information together in to one place so that it can all be accessed more easily.
This page will go into some of the most frequently asked questions about diabetes, explaining briefly what each type is.  On the right hand side of the page there is a list of other pages which all contain more detailed information on specific types and effects of diabetes, and diabetes guidelines to coping with the condition, so if you need more depth on a specific subject, you should head on over there after reading through this page.

What is diabetes?

 

The term “diabetes” means any of several metabolic disorders indicated by an excessive discharge of urine and persistent thirst.
So what is diabetes?  Well that is not an easy question to answer, because there are several types of very different diabetes including diabetes mellitus which includes type 1 diabetes, and type 2 diabetes.  There is also diabetes insipidus and gestational diabetes, the relatively newly discovered type 3, brittle diabetes, double diabetes, glucagonoma, diabetes MODY and diabetes LADA.  The diabetes guidelines for most types are similar, however there are some differences.

What types of diabetes are there

A brief explanation of these types of diabetes guidelines will be listed below.

An overview of Diabetes Mellitus

The pancreas is an organ in the body which produces a hormone called insulin which allows glucose in the blood to be absorbed into the cells of the body.  Diabetes mellitus is a condition where the pancreas is not producing enough insulin to allow this to happen, or the cells stop responding to the insulin being produced.
There are 2 main types of this condition:

Type 1 diabetes

With this type of diabetes the pancreas produces very little or no insulin at all.  This is also known as insulin-dependant diabetes. The diabetes guidelines for type 1 people are to take a daily dose of insulin through the use of a needle.  Type 1 can sometimes be referred to as juvenile diabetes because it begins most commonly during childhood or adolescence.

Brittle diabetes

This type of diabetes falls under type 1 diabetes.  People with this condition have  a more serious form of type 1 where their blood sugar levels change drastically from too low to too high.  When there is not enough glucose in the blood the patient suffers from hypoglycemia, and when there is too much glucose in the blood the patient suffers from hyperglycemia.  Several differing types of insulin may need to be injected each day to keep these blood sugar levels within a safe range.

Type 2 diabetes

This is the most common type of diabetes and is a milder form of diabetes, as it can usually be controlled with diet and/or oral medications as opposed to insulin injections and therefore is also known as insulin dependant diabetes.  However sometimes these methods may not be working, in which case the diabetes guidelines require that the patient has to take a dose of insulin via injection on a daily basis.
It usually develops later in life over several years and most often occurs in people who are overweight or do not exercise enough.

An explanation of Diabetes MODY

Maturity Onset Diabetes of the Young has a genetic link so it is more likely to be inherited than any other type of diabetes, and can be passed from one generation to the next.  Although it shares symptoms comparable to type 2 diabetes, it is not linked to obesity or the over weight, and usually develops in a patient before 25 years old.  It does not always require insulin to manage.

 

An explanation of Diabetes LADA

Latent Autoimmune Diabetes of Adulthood is a condition where the patient may not have some of the symptoms of type 2 including obesity and/or their age, and have difficulty with results using oral medications.  Its indications are more in line with type 1 diabetes, although at an early stage it may not require insulin.  However the progression to requiring insulin would be faster than that of a type 2 patient.  The diabetes guidelines for LADA observe both symptoms for type 1 and type 2 diabetes.

Double diabetes or diabetes type 3

People who have type 1 diabetes who also show signs of insulin resistance which is a major symptom of type 2 diabetes can be described as having type 3 diabetes which is sometimes known as double diabetes.  This resistance to insulin may have developed over some time.  Diabetes guidelines recommend taking insulin-sensitizing drugs, as these may be required to treat people with this condition.
A problem with this type of diabetes can be memory loss.  Insulin is used in the brain to help form the production of memories, so if a patient has a resistance to insulin, then loss of memory is more likely to happen.

Gestational diabetes

This is a condition which may develop in a woman during pregnancy, but usually disappears once the baby has been born.  The diabetes guidelines for treatment for these women is usually through diet, although sometimes they may require insulin injections.  Women who have had gestational diabetes are at a higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes later on.  Children delivered by a woman with gestational diabetes may be born prematurely, have severe jaundice or have hypoglycemia.

Diabetes Insipidus in brief

There are several types of diabetes insipidus, the most common being called central diabetes insipidus.  This is caused by a deficiency of arginine vasopressin or AVP, which is a hormone also known as antidiuretic hormone or ADH.  The second is caused by an insensitivity of the kidneys to antidiuretic hormone and is called nephrogenic diabetes insipidus.
Excretion of large amounts of undiluted urine, coupled with excessive thirst are symptoms of diabetes insipidus.

A short word on Glucagonoma

This is a very rare condition which occurs when the alpha cells or islet cells of the pancreas go into overdrive which leads to excessive amounts of the hormone glucagon in the blood.  This is a tumour that is usually cancerous and spreads.
Symptoms of this condition are excessive thirst and frequent urination as well as diarrhoea.  An increased appetite, a skin rash, unintended weight loss, and inflammation of the mouth and tongue are also signs.

 

This page contains just the very base information on explaining what the different types of diabetes are and the diabetes guidelines.  If you require more in depth information on each type of diabetes please visit the pages listed on the right hand side of this page.  A couple of articles that may be of interest are What Is Type 1 Diabetes, and What Is Type 2 Diabetes.  Hopefully diabetes guidelines has the information that you need.

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