There are those who have heard of the term "diabetes mellitus," but might not be familiar with it. Diabetes Mellitus is a condition in which the body has elevated blood sugar levels, usually because the pancreas does not produce enough insulin.
There are several different types of diabetes mellitus which affect different groups. For instance, prediabetes is the pre-cursor to the full-blown condition. In this scenario, the glucose levels are higher than normal, but have not quite reached dangerous levels. For these people, it is often possible to curtail diabetes.
Gestational diabetes affects pregnant women, even if they have no history of the disease. The condition may continue to develop into type 2 diabetes or the symptoms may pass soon after delivery. If the symptoms disappear and the woman becomes pregnant again, the chances are quite high that she will contract the symptoms once again.
Type 1 diabetes, once referred to as juvenile diabetes, only affects a small portion of diabetics. These individuals have few insulin producing cells in their pancreas.
On the other end of the spectrum, type 2 diabetes, also known as adult-onset diabetes, is a result of someone having insulin resistance. This means insulin is not being processed correctly. There are several other forms of this disease, some of which can be derived from genetic defects, certain illnesses, or even high doses of certain steroids.
Regardless of the types, the symptoms are generally the same with varying degrees of severity. Excessive thirst and urination are common and as is a tendency to lose weight unexpectedly.
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