Colleen, I think we may have had a brief exchange some months ago, when I was first trying to identify other Type I Diabetics. You are right about your husband being Type II, and me Type I. All Type I's are insulin dependent, for the definition of that condition means, essentially, the inability to produce any insulin, while Type II's are by and large able to produce some insulin, but insufficient for their needs. Many Type II's are controlled either exclusively or largely by enhanced dietary regulation. Many require orally taken stimulants to enhance their insulin- production capacity, and some actually do progress to the point of requiring insulin. Type II is typically something that afflicts follks 40 years of age and above, while Type I's typically find their onset considerably younger (I was 27, and am considered a late onset juvenille diabetic -- i.e.Type I). For these and other reasons, Type I's typically have diabetes longer than Type II's, and are subject to its generally debilitating effects for a longer period. Additionally, because many diabetics are "brittle" in response to injected insulin (i.e. have severe fluctuations in blood sugars and insulin reactions that can damage brain cells and other functions), Type I is generally considered the rougher of the two conditions to have; but I've known some Type II diabetics who've had the disease for many years with devestating results. Close control of blood sugars seems the best key to optimal health for both Type I and Type II diabetics, and, despite some fundamental differences, there are many other similarities. I think the confusion between PD symptoms and diabetic symptoms, that you mention, is more common to both than I realized. Thanks, John Bachman