Let's look at the most common types of diabetes.

Jan is 13 years old and saying he's feeling a little more tired recently. He feels thirsty most of the time and he's losing weight. This is a typical description of the symptoms of the beginning of Type 1 diabetes where the pancreas is not producing enough insulin or has stopped producing insulin at all.

Let's look at Bill. He is 44 years old and a little overweight. He feels pretty healthy, but a routine blood test showed elevated blood sugar levels. The doctors then looked at the average blood sugar levels over the past three months and diagnosed pre-diabetes. Pre-diabetes is the stage before diabetes mellitus*, in which not all of the symptoms are present, but blood sugar levels are abnormally high. If not treated Bill could eventually develop diabetes.

Joe is 53 years old, overweight and has been gaining weight constantly. He is hungry most of the time. His skin is itching and he's noticing that he has to go to the bathroom often. His blood sugar is high and the glucose tolerance test** shows his body is not able to process the sugar properly. He is diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes.

Rachel is 34 and is pregnant. Anytime during pregnancy, but most commonly in its second half, the body can develop so-called gestational diabetes. This needs to be monitored so that neither the baby nor the mother suffers any harm.

*Diabetes Mellitus, more commonly known as diabetes is a condition where the pancreas does not produce enough insulin causing high levels of glucose in the bloodstream¹

**A blood test used to measure your body’s ability to absorb glucose and maintain a normal blood glucose level²

1) https://www.yourhormones.info/endocrine-conditions/diabetes-mellitus/

2) https://www.healthline.com/health/glucose-tolerance-test