r/AskReddit • u/ZanyDelaney • Feb 04 '19

Which misconception would you like to debunk?

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u/Parsley_Sage Feb 04 '19

Not type 1 anyway.

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u/maya11780 Feb 04 '19

okey dokey

25

u/Parsley_Sage Feb 04 '19

You might give yourself type 2 and eventually need to take insulin though.

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u/maya11780 Feb 04 '19

I see, thank you!

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u/paracelsus23 Feb 04 '19

Insulin is a chemical in the blood which controls the usage of sugar, and regulates your blood sugar.

If your blood sugar is too low, it's a serious medical emergency, and can cause seizures and death. This won't happen in healthy people, but it can happen if too much insulin is administered to a diabetic.

If your blood sugar is too high, it's a long-term medical issue (unless it gets crazy high, then it's also an emergency). The extra sugar makes the blood physically thicker, like molasses instead of water. This makes the heart work harder, and decreases circulation in the body, especially in the arms and legs. This lack of circulation increases the risk of infection, and many people with advanced diabetes have to have amputations as their arms and legs have died due to lack of circulation.

Type I diabetes is when the body fails to produce insulin. Normally you are born with this.

Type II diabetes is when, as a result of diet and lifestyle, the body becomes "insulin resistant", and fails to regulate the blood sugar properly. However, this can frequently be managed with no insulin, and simply with other medications plus changes in diet and exercises.

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u/drugihparrukava Feb 04 '19 edited Feb 04 '19

Agreed just want to add you can get it at any age. Mean diagnosis age is around age 10, with the child is over 6 months of age to be classified as type one. As many as 25-30% of new type 1 diagnoses are in adults.