hereditary

[health1]

hi, my uncle had diabetes - will i also get it? what are the chances that it is hereditary and what, if anything, should i do to test for it?

[JDRF-VOL-SG]

Both type 1 and type 2 have some hereditary elements, but type 2 diabetes seems to be more commonly inherited. Many type 1 diabetics seem to have no other type 1 folks in their families. As for testing your glucose levels in case you develop it, I would probably recommend that you just be educated as to what symptoms to look out for. Some people show symptoms of hypoglycemia for a period of time before developing diabetes, so it may behoove you to be aware of what symptoms point to low blood sugar as well as high blood sugar. If the pancreas is not doing its job properly, your glucose can go either high or low.

Symptoms of low blood sugar:
fatigue, sleepiness
dizziness
unable to concentrate
hunger OR nausea and complete lack of appetite
craving for sweet foods
shaking hands or other muscle tremors
breaking out in a sudden sweat like a hot flash OR unexplained chills
yawning for no apparent reason
headache
temporary loss of memory or ability to use full vocabulary in speech
slurred speech if glucose is extremely low

Symptoms of high blood sugar:
thirst
constant hunger but the person tends to lose weight even though eating a lot
frequently need to urinate because of constant drinking of liquids
fatigue
nausea
light-headed feeling

You can see that the symptoms of both can be similar in many ways. This is because in both scenarios the body is unable to metabolize the sugars needed for the brain to work properly. I would recommend that you have yearly checkups with blood tests to check glucose levels, and to be aware of symptoms. If your glucose levels do go up enough for you to become diabetic, symptoms will show up at some point. And annual blood tests can be a good way to find out how well your pancreas is doing. I hope you stay healthy.