When your doctor tells you that you have diabetes, it means that your body needs help regulating the amount of sugar called glucose in your blood. Your pancreas, a small organ located behind your stomach, has either stopped making insulin or your body does not respond to the insulin as well as it should.
Insulin is the hormone or chemical substance produced in your body that helps your cells use glucose as fuel to make energy. You need energy for all your daily activities - like going to school, playing sports or practicing an instrument. Insulin regulates the amount of glucose in your blood.
If you lack insulin or if your body does not respond to insulin, glucose builds up in your bloodstream and cannot get into your cells. When there is a lack of glucose in your cells, you feel hungry and tired and you may also lose weight.
When glucose reaches high levels in your blood, if passes out of your body through your urine and causes you to go to the bathroom often. Glucose in the urine is a sign of diabetes. If there is a lot of glucose in your urine, water is taken away from your body and you become thirsty. You may drink a lot of water and fluids but still feel thirsty.
The medical term for sugar diabetes is Diabetes Mellitus.
There are two different types of Diabetes Mellitus: