What is the big deal about diabetes?

i have been told i may have it, should get checked yadda yadda yadda,but like is this something serious people talk about it like it is aids or something geez. what are the symptoms and what is it? and why so scary or bad or whatever

ok..in english diabetes is the inability of cells to use sugar in the blood due to either a lack of insulin (produced by the pancreas) or the inability for a cell to transport sugar across the cell. because your cells cannot use the sugar it stays in limbo between the cells (high blood sugar)until it is filtered out through the kidneys (this causes alot of pressure and can destroy them). the high blood sugar also puts alot of pressure on the eyes that can cause blindness. another effect if left untreated is pariphial neuropathy..a big word for loss of circulation and feeling in the lower extremities (legs) this can lead to sores that cannot heal (because the cells cannot use the sugar for energy) these are things that do not happen all at once but over time. If you do not keep your sugar under control these things WILL happen...PLEASE take this disease seriously...many times the treatment is diet and exercise depending on how much insulin your pancreas does produce..if this does not work you will need to take medicine every day for the rest of your life (which is much better than the consiquences of not treating it ....amputation, blindness, kidney failure, stroke, heart attack, ect...this list continues to grow.

Diabetes is an extremely serious disease. The following is extracted from WebMD.com

What are the scope and impact of diabetes?

Diabetes is widely recognized as one of the leading causes of death and disability in the United States. In 2000, it was the sixth leading cause of death. However, diabetes is likely to be underreported as the underlying cause of death on death certificates. About 65 percent of deaths among those with diabetes are attributed to heart disease and stroke.

Diabetes is associated with long-term complications that affect almost every part of the body. The disease often leads to blindness, heart and blood vessel disease, stroke, kidney failure, amputations, and nerve damage. Uncontrolled diabetes can complicate pregnancy, and birth defects are more common in babies born to women with diabetes.

In 2002, diabetes cost the United States $132 billion. Indirect costs, including disability payments, time lost from work, and premature death, totaled $40 billion; direct medical costs for diabetes care, including hospitalizations, medical care, and treatment supplies, totaled $92 billion.

Hard to top the above answer, but I just want to say that many people have gone blind from just this disease alone. I can't imagine the nightmare after being able to see all my life.

diabetes could cause you to go blind, have a heart attack or stroke, loose your limbs, loose you eyesight loose kidney function etc.... its a big deal if you wanna live!

Go ahead and take diabetes lightly, it will show you how seroius it is, I almost died from it twice and I learned my lesson, I might be going blind and lose a toe but ya know yadda yadda yadda right? It is a chronic illness you might need insulin everyday and anyday you go without your going to die, blah blah blah.....

Here's the big deal, my dad had type 2 diabetes. Easily treated, easy to control but because he didn't take it seriously we had memorial sevices for him 01/09/06. If you have it and you have a bad diet, are inactive and do not treat it it will kill you. My father before he died was so swollen from the fluid build up because his kidneys shut down had to buy bigger clothes and shoes.He went into a diabetic coma four times and by the time he realized how serious it was it was too late. His heart weakend from the stress and gave out. He died in front of me my mom and his brother because he couldn't see what the big deal was.