Did You Know There Are 11 Different Types of Diabetes?
Whenever most people hear about diabetes, they assume there are just two forms of the disease. Type 1 is the kind you get as a child, while Type 2 develops over time. But there are actually eleven variations of diabetes.
Type 1 diabetes is a severe form of the disease that’s rooted in an autoimmune background. The body actually kills off the cells within the pancreas. In an autoimmune disease, the body’s immune system can often mistake healthy, necessary cells as a foreign invader and attacks them. When this happens in the pancreas, the body can’t make insulin. Anyone can have this form of diabetes.
Type 2 diabetes is what can develop when your cells are insulin resistant. In this type of diabetes, the body struggles to use the glucose properly. This can lead to high levels of glucose in the blood stream and damage to the organs. This form of diabetes can be reversed through diet and exercise.
LADA or Latent Autoimmune Diabetes of Adulthood is another form of diabetes. This form means that there will be higher than normal levels of autoantibodies in the pancreas.
People who have this type of diabetes usually have some kind of autoimmune disease. Doctors suspect this form of diabetes when the patient’s age and weight don’t fall into the same parameters as what’s considered to be normal Type 2 symptoms.
MODY means Maturity Onset Diabetes of the Young is a form of diabetes that has a stronger genetic component. This is due to one gene and if the parent has MODY, then the child has a high probability of getting it as well. It can be found in young people who have a healthy weight and can strike before the age of 25.
Double diabetes is when a person has a mixture of both type 1 and type 2 diabetes. When someone has type 1, it’s not related to being overweight. But someone with type 1 can develop type 2 diabetes if they become obese. This leads to insulin resistance and complicates the ability to use insulin.
Type 3 diabetes is caused by insulin resistance – but rather than dealing with the pancreas, this type is due to how insulin is affected in the brain. Studies have shown that this type of diabetes can lead to Alzheimer’s.
Steroid-induced diabetes is caused by steroid use when the person taking them already has a genetic propensity or other factors that give them a high risk level. Long term use of steroids – 3 months or longer – can cause diabetes.
Brittle diabetes is Type 1 diabetes that’s very difficult to control. This can be due to problems absorbing nutrients, trouble absorbing insulin, hormonal issues, medications that don’t work well together or problems with food leaving the stomach. Stress and depression can be factors of this type of diabetes.
Secondary diabetes is diabetes that occurs as a result of having a medical condition. Some of these other conditions that can cause secondary diabetes include polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), pancreatic cancer, Cushing’s or other autoimmune diseases.
Diabetes insipidus isn’t as common as the other types of diabetes. This rare form of diabetes has nothing to do with high levels of blood sugar or insulin resistance. One of the hallmarks of this form is the frequent urination but this frequency is due to vasopressin.
Diabetes insipidus is when you have to urinate more than usual and complications erupt from this, which are the result of a particular antidiuretic hormone known as vasopressin, which is a hormone that’s found in the brain. When there’s not enough production of vasopressin, it’s harder for the body to hold onto water. This form of diabetes causes the kidneys to work harder than they should.
Juvenile diabetes is diabetes that young people have. It can be found in children and in young adults. It is a metabolic disease and has a hereditary component as well as an autoimmune component.
