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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