Is diabetes reversible?
407240
It depends. Mostly on a lot of stuff we only dimily understand. But yes, sometimes, sort of.\n\nIn the case of type 2, the situation is more or less as follows. \n\nThe characteristic problem in type 2 is that most o fhte body's cells have decided, more or less, to stop responding to insulin in its glucose uptake function control role. Why this should be is now somewhat understood (ie, we think we see the mechanisms inside the cell, but not much more), but we don't know why there is so much variation from one patient to another. Some type 2s have only a slightly elevated glucose levels. Some rather more and some are completely out of control. \n\nPart of the reason for the variation appears to be due to the amount of abdominal fat present (around the organs there). This fat, but not it seems thunder thighs, or double chins, or love handles, is very active. It produces a variety (that we've found so far) of signalling chemicals --  to everyone's surprise, and also seems to be characteristically inflammed (ie, the immunological reaction). Losing even a small amount of that fat seems to reduce the severity of the inflammation and often of type 2, especially in less severe patients. Not always of course. And exercise generally helps muscle cells absorb glucose with or without insulin. And reducing the amount of glucose that has to be handled is good too. \n\nSo, if you're a borderline type 2 diabetic, you might be able to go back to something like normal blood glucose control if you exercise, lose enough weight to reduce the amount of fat in and around your abdominal organs, and keep your food intake reasonable. Lots of carbohydrate (sugary soda included) will break down into glucose and be absorbed into the blood, fat in the diet will end up stored in various places around the body, including the abdomen, and so on. \n\nIf your situation is not very severe, and you diet and exercise proeprly, you might be able to get back to normal. But, the underlying condition remains. You may not be able to stay normal no matter what you do, and if you gain weight or stop exercising or stop eating right, it is likely to come back. \n\nWhy all of thsi works the way it does is quite obscure. It's clear there is a strong genetic component to type 2, but it's not enough, for not every one with the genetic background gets type 2. And people with no genetic history in their family do get type 2. Much research is under way attempting to make sense of this, but it's a hard problem.
508900
Please contact the American Diabetes Foundation-THey can probably help you if not treated diabetes leads to all types of things besides death-blindness,kidney failure,neuropathy,amputation,heart attack-This is not something to ignore and there are no quick fixes-it takes discipline.meds,diet and exercise. You will not be able to get life insurance on an uncontrolled diabetic
605060
It is excreted. The problem is that in a healthy body a significant amount of glucose id broken down by insulin. When a person has diabetes, no insulin (or an disfunctional type of insulin) is produced, and the glucose is not being broken down.
40086
There is no "cure" for diabetes yet; however, there has been promising research on a cure for Type 1 diabetes.\n\nThe treatment of diabetes is highly individualized, depending on the type of diabetes, whether the patient has other active medical problems or  complications of diabetes, and the age and general health at time of diagnosis. A health care provider will set goals for lifestyle changes, blood sugar control, and treatment.
454321
Diabetes (diabetes mellitus) happens when the body can't use glucose for energy because it doesn’t have any or enough insulin. Insulin controls how much glucose (which is the energy source we get from food) can pass from the blood into body’s cells.\n\nAlert!\nIf a person who is known to have diabetes becomes confused, obviously unwell, drowsy or unconscious, that person needs urgent help. She may have very low levels of blood glucose (hypoglycaemia – 'hi-po-gly-see-mia') or ketoacidosis ('ket-o-acid-o-sis'). See the topic 'Diabetes – managing diabetes in childhood' for more information about what to do for hypoglycaemia and ketoacidosis.\n\n\nWhat is diabetes?\nThere are two main types of diabetes mellitus.\n\nDiabetes mellitus type 1 (sometimes called ‘juvenile onset diabetes’ or ‘insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM)) usually starts in childhood or early adult life, most commonly before teenage years. It is due to damage to b-cells in the pancreas, so that they do not make the hormone insulin.\nDiabetes mellitus type 2 (also called ‘mature onset diabetes’ or non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus) usually starts later in life, usually when the person is over 40 years old. However, it is occurring more often now in much younger people, especially people who are very overweight. Although people with type 2 diabetes usually make some insulin, it is not enough, or it does not work well.\nThere is also gestational diabetes which happens during pregnancy, and diabetes insipidus, a quite different sort of problem.\n\nThis topic focuses only on type 1 diabetes mellitus.\n\nWith type 1 diabetes, young people have no insulin, so they need:\n\nto get insulin by injection at least once, and often several times each day \nto be careful about what they eat, how much they exercise, drinking alcohol and using tobacco and drugs \nto be in control of their diabetes \nto understand that people with diabetes are able to do pretty much everything that other people are able to do. \n\nUnderstanding diabetes\nOur topic on the Parenting and Child Health section of this site called 'Diabetes in childhood' contains a lot of information about the causes of diabetes and its effects and complications.\n\nThere is a lot of research going on world wide to find a cure for diabetes, including seeking ways of transplanting insulin-making tissue – but there is no cure for diabetes yet.\n\n\nManaging diabetes\nEvery person who has type 1 diabetes should have their own diabetes management plan and a team of workers they can seek information and help from.\n\nSomeone with type 1 diabetes will need to regularly monitor their:\n\nblood glucose level \ndiet \ninsulin \nexercise.\nAt the moment, insulin will need to be injected every day for the rest of their life. The topic 'Diabetes - managing diabetes in childhood' goes into detail about diet, insulin, monitoring blood glucose, exercise and most of the questions that are usually asked. \n\n\nTaking control\nIf you have had diabetes for a while, you and your parents may be very used to managing your diabetes. If it has only recently been diagnosed, they may be very anxious and want to help more than you feel is needed (parents are like that!)\n\nAs you get older, your diabetes management team and your parents will help you to take control of managing your diabetes – you might start to see health workers by yourself, and gradually take over managing your own record-keeping.\n\nAll doctors, dietitians and others who work with people with diabetes know that people are not perfect. If you do 'go out of control' it is best to 'own up' and work out some plans for next time, rather than pretending that every thing is OK.\n\nSome things that you will probably have to manage more strictly than other young people include: \n\nmeal times (missing meals can lead to problems) \nsleep-ins (you may have to wake up early to eat, or have your
327004
A chronic disease is defined as  A disease with one or more of the following characteristics: permanence, leaves residual disability, caused by non-reversible pathological alternation, requires special training of the patient for rehabilitation, or may require a long period of supervision, observation, or care.\n\nIn this case, yes, diabetes meets all of these criteria, and is considered a chronic disease.
715081
Yes. I think diabetes has a cure, but the drug companies make so much money on insulin and testing supplies that if the cure was let out they would all go bankrupt.
518327
I'm sorry to have to tell you that, at this time, there is no proven cure for diabetes.\nThere are a lot of claims for "cures", but, so far, none have stood up to rigorous testing.\n\nSome forms of diabetes (type 1) will require treatment with insulin, other forms (type 2) may respond to changes in diet and exercise, or may need oral medication..  but be aware that you are only treating the effects, you are not curing the disease, and it will need constant care and monitoring.  \n\nIf you suspect you are diabetic, then consult a reputable doctor as early as possible.
81474
all are very treatable.the diabetes and ptsd may be the limiting factors.but even these ,if properly treated can give you a somewhat normalife span. but the diabetes will probably do you in a little earlier.\nbut what the hell you're still alive.the time you have left is gravy.i know several who didn't come back alive.
1119101
And this is a question about diabetes how?
1060796
It can be a side effect of diabetes.
128397
Yes. Even if you are at a high risk for diabetes (due to your genetics), you can lower your chances by eating healthy, exercising regularly, and monitoring your lab work (cholesterol, triglycerides, blood glucose, etc.). Work with your doctor / healthcare team to come up with a prevention plan. \n\nBe aware though that diabetes is a highly heriditary condition. While these things can / will lower your risks for development of the disease, you may still get diabetes. None of these are guranteed to stop the onset of diabetes. \n\nGood luck and best wishes...
388235
are you talking about low blood sugar( hypoglycemia)? Believe it or not this low BS is a factor in people who will become diabetic.the body's ability to regulate production and storage are already out of sync. \nOr about persons with diabetes who have gone from medications or insulin to diet and lifestyle change to control BS? No one is ever cured of this condition,it can be managed but not controlled and the real fight is to decrease the onset of all the problems that come with-out-of control BS.
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Diabetes is itself a derangement of the endocrine system. In type 1, a major endocrine system has completely failed. There is no insulin as a result of damage to the beta cells in charge of producing it. \n\nType 2 is more complicated. It is characteristically an inability of many body cells (about 2/3) to use insulin even if it's present. Some type 2s go on to have more insulin than normal in an attempt to get blood glucose levels down, or to beta cell death / exhaustion and reduced or no insulin. In any case, this is also a derangement of the endocrine system, also involving insulin.\n\nInsulin is tremendously important and is so important that it has been conserved across large evolutionary distance and time. The nematode worm, c elegans, uses insulin in much the same way and for the same purposes, that we do. So do fish. Beef insulin is exactly the same hormone as human insulin, except that it differs in two amino acids, and pork insulin is even closer, only one different amino acid. \n\nAs such, it's a great signal to rely on for controlling many things. If there's biochemical energy available, then protein synthesis will be possible, energetically. So cells use insulin levels to control amino acid uptake from blood stores. And similarly for electrolyte balances across cell membranes. And similarly for mobilization (or storage) of excess calories in the form of fats; if there's glucose in the blood, insulin levels will be high and so fats in the diet should be stored against future need. If there's little glucose in the blood, insulin will be low, and so energy in stores (ie, fat cells) should be used -- fats get dumped in the blood (as blood lipids), taken to the liver and turned into fuel for the rest of the body. (This is called ketosis, and it's the basis of the Atkins diet, though such diets are not 'normal' and, especially for diabetics, should be used with great caution. Diabetic ketoacidosis is a serious medical emergency and can be triggered by dietary derangements.) And so on and so on. \n\nInsulin is the direct cause of, or the indirect cause of, a great many things throughout the body. Consequences of its presence or absence are many, important, serious and cannot be too far wrong lest the damage be severe enough to cause damage or death.
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No, I don't have it.  However, my grandmother does and she doesn't keep it controlled as well as she should so she has some complications.  My mother is a type II diabetic (non-insulin dependent.  Many people live healthy normal lives with diabetes as long as they watch what they eat and keep their blood sugars in a controlled range (they must check their blood glucose with the fingerstick blood test often!)!\nGood luck!
329001
Diabetes is not a genetic condition, so no.  However, a predisposition to diabetes can be genetic, so it's likely the clone will also get diabetes.\n\nCloning replicates DNA, nothing more.
53043
There is no cure for diabetes, but it can be controlled through diet, lifestyle, and medications.