Type 1 diabetes develops quickly, usually over a few weeks, and symptoms are normally very obvious. It usually appears in people under the age of 40, often in childhood. There is a severe lack of insulin in the body because most or all of the cells in the pancreas that produce it have been destroyed. It is treated by insulin injections and diet.
Type 2 diabetes is far more common. Symptoms develop slowly and are usually less severe. Some people may not notice any symptoms at all and their diabetes is only picked up in a routine medical check up. Some people may put the symptoms down to 'getting older' or 'overwork'. It develops when the body can still produce some insulin, though not enough for its needs. This type of diabetes usually appears in people over the age of 40. It is treated by diet and usually a combination of tablets and/or insulin injections.
What does insulin do? Insulin, a chemical made by a gland in the abdomen called the pancreas, controls blood sugar. It allows the body to use sugar efficiently by allowing muscles to burn it as fuel. It also helps the body to store surplus sugar as fat
In diabetes insulin no longer does it's job so the sugar level goes up. This is partly because the sugar in food that you eat is not being removed from the blood at the right rate. It is also because your body is being fooled into thinking you are starving. The liver therefore starts to make sugar from other chemicals and churn it out into the blood.