? about diabetes

[royalfan5]

So when I was visiting my Grandparents the other day, my Grandpa lectured me on getting checked for diabetes because he has it fairly badly and my other granpda had the full on needle injection everyday diabetes that cost him both legs and a kidney. Anyway I was wondering what the warning signs to look for were, or if I should be really paranoid right. Right now I am in very good shape and eat well, and haven't been sick outside of booze induced and minor colds for about 5 or 6 years. Should I get it checked out anyway?

[Mjcpr]

First thing you need to do know is in hillbilly land, it's called "sugar dia-beat-us".

We'll go from there.

[IronSooner]

Yes. It's genetic as you know. Blood sugar behavior I guess would be a sign of some type though most people don't exactly check it regularly. Obesity and bad eating habits tend to precipitate it so avoiding those helps. It's a good idea to know what your blood sugar is roughly anyway and to keep that in mind.

[fadada1]

type I diabetes is genetic. type II is lifestyle.

find out which he had.

[yermom]

generally that may be true, but it's more than that

[Scott D]

easiest way would be to make sure that it's part of your annual physical/checkup. It doesn't really take much more time if you go that route.

[fadada1]

generally that may be true, but it's more than that
yeah, yeah... i know. stop stealing my thunder:D

[royalfan5]

type I diabetes is genetic. type II is lifestyle.

find out which he had.
I think both are type I. However, none of my aunts and uncles on my Dad's side have had issues with it yet. However, my mom side everybody but my Aunt has had issues with it. Up til recently I was more concerned about my family tendancy to have medical catastrophies at young ages, anuresyms, two types of cancer, sudden heart attacks, etc.

[OUstudent4life]

things to watch for:

excessive thirst
excessive urination
large changes in weight
fever

those are some of the major signs, though they may or may not be there. getting a fasting blood glucose test is a good way to find out...

best thing for it (type I OR type II) - exercise, and a healthy diet.

I could get into this plenty if you want me to...it's related to my research :D.

[OUstudent4life]

Oh, and you can go here:

http://www.diabetes.org/risk-test.jsp

...and if anyone makes a donation, I'd appreciate it. They're my funding source :D. In all seriousness, there's good info there.

example:

diabetes is the leading cause of blindness and kidney disease in the US, and a leading cause of heart disease...total cost to the taxpayers (direct and indirect costs) - $132 billion/year.