Diabetes

[hatch154]

hey will diabetes disqulify me for bud/s? i'm border line. i really wanna become a seal. any responces will be appreciated

[NMBR5ML]

I don't know a thing about BUD/S (USAF), but diabetes (and the obesity that normally causes it at a young age) will disqualify you from any military service. Not saying you're fat, just an observation. My advice would be to improve your health first, that's the most important thing in the long run...(my $0.02, take it for what it's worth)

[ElmoDiablo]

Hatch, you probably already know this, but I wanted to clear something up for NMB. There's two kinds of Diabetes, type 1 and type 2. Type 1 is the kind that normally becomes apparent in children and is more easily treated with insulin, thus it is known as "Insulin Dependent" Diabetes. It is the result of a genetic problem and has nothing to do with wieght. Type 2 Diabetes manifests itself usually in middle age and does not respond to insulin, hence its known as "non-insulin dependent diabetes." Type 2 is generally the result of obesity. You eat so much for so long you "wear out" your insulin receptors. Even with type 2 there is a strong genetic link but if you keep the risk factors down (dont get fat, and keep exercising) you chances of getting it are GREATLY reduced.
Now back to the topic. If this guy is young enough to want to be a SEAL, I seriously doubt he has type 2 diabetes. Therefore its got nothing to do with obesity. However Hatch, if your dependent on Insulin, what happens if you get out somewhere diving and your insulin bottle gets smashed. Even if your not dependent, what happens when your on an operation, have to crank it up a notch, burn a lot calories on 5 mile swim one day and you go in to diabetic shock?

ElmoDiablo

[forpath]

ElmoDiablo,

I don't mean to split hairs, but there are a couple of things in your reply that are not 100% accurate, although for the most part, you are correct. I respond only to clarify, as there might be people out there that are interested, including the gentleman that original posted the topic.

Type I Diabetes Mellitus (DM) is more common in children and adolescents and requires the use of insulin by definition, although there is a subset of patients that do not require insulin for a limited period of time. It does have a genetic component, but it is more thought of as a multi-factorial condition, with autoimmune, genetic and environment factors all playing not-completely-understood roles in the process. Autoimmunity means that your body makes antibodies against component(s) of your own body, just as it would for a foreign infection. These antibodies, relating to DM, can be targeted against the cells that secrete insulin from the pancreas (beta cells), enzymes or against insulin itself, to name a few possibilities.
Type II DM does occur more often in overweight/obese adults, but there is at least one form of Type II DM that can manifest itself in adolescence (so-called Mature-Onset Diabetes of the Young). Type II also has a stronger familial association than does Type I DM. While people with Type II DM are encouraged to lose weight and exercise as first-line therapy against the complications of DM first, Type II DM does respond to insulin. It is simply that diet, exercise and oral hypoglycemic agents are used before insulin therapy is implemented. The physiology is more complex in Type II, but it results from both impaired insulin secretion and, as you stated, resistance to available insulin at receptor sites.

Now, I'm not in the military, but from a medical standpoint, I would have to say that it would be difficult to do something as demanding as special operations if you need to use insulin. It would seem unlikely that in a tight situation or in a time of extreme physical stress, one would have the luxury of a couple of minutes to administer insulin should the need arise. There are serious athletes with DM that do it, but I would have to think that the SEALs might not allow it. Not to mention the fact that mental status changes, among other things, occur in times of impaired insulin dosing and that you could very possibly become a serious liability should you become severely hyperglycemic.

I hope this helps, but remember, I'm not an authority. You would have to ask a Navy doctor. If you can find one that works with SEALs, he/she would be the best to ask, as they would know what is and is not accepted.

[E19]

The following comes from the Americam Diabetes Association.

"There are two main kinds of diabetes. You have insulin-dependent diabetes. It is also called Type I diabetes. It used to be called juvenile diabetes (even though adults get it too).

You did not catch diabetes from someone else. Instead, insulin-dependent diabetes is caused by damage to the pancreas. The pancreas is an organ near your stomach. The pancreas contains cells called beta cells. Beta cells have a vital job: they make insulin, a hormone that helps cells take in the glucose they need.

Sometimes, the beta cells get wiped out and cannot produce insulin anymore. Without insulin, glucose stays in the blood instead of going into cells.

Many things might have killed your beta cells, but in most people with insulin-dependent diabetes, the immune system makes a mistake. Cells that should protect you from germs instead attack your beta cells. The beta cells die. Without beta cells, you make no insulin. Glucose builds up in your blood, and you get diabetes

Type 2 diabetes is the most common form of diabetes. When you eat, your body turns your food into glucose (sugar) to use as fuel. In healthy people, a hormone called insulin helps the glucose get into the cells.

But in people with type 2 diabetes, something goes wrong. Sometimes, a person does not make enough insulin. Sometimes,cells ignore the insulin."


Elmo,
Insulin injection is one method used in the treatment of Type 2 Diabetes.




[This message has been edited by E19 (edited 04-04-2001).]

[hatch154]

Even if your not dependent, what happens when your on an operation, have to crank it up a notch, burn a lot calories on 5 mile swim one day and you go in to diabetic shock?

ElmoDiablo[/B][/QUOTE]
i wanted to clear something up for you so that u could help me. i am a type 2 diabetic from all the post replies that is what i gather. my family has a history of borderline diabetes but not full diabetes. i was wondering since i'm not insulin dependent would i still be allowed in buds even though i am border line.
Hatch

[forpath]

Hatch,

Are your physicians calling you glucose-intolerant? If they are, it means that you can protect yourself from developing Type II DM if you diet and exercise, thereby increasing your body's ability to both secrete and respond to secreted insulin. This applies if you are overweight, which you've never said if you are or not. Glucose intolerance simply means exactly what you said: you are still secreting insulin, but your blood sugar levels are not within the normal range and they are not in the diabetic range, either. How have the physicians come to this conclusion? Have they done a random blood sugar test, a fasting blood sugar test and/or an oral glucose tolerance test? How old are you? How old were your family members when this condition was discovered in them? Have they ever mentioned MODY to you? MODY is Mature Onset Diabetes of the Young and as far as I know, it behaves just like Type II DM, but it affects younger people as opposed to closer-to-middle-age people.

[hatch154]

Originally posted by forpath:
Hatch,

Are your physicians calling you glucose-intolerant? If they are, it means that you can protect yourself from developing Type II DM if you diet and exercise, thereby increasing your body's ability to both secrete and respond to secreted insulin. This applies if you are overweight, which you've never said if you are or not. Glucose intolerance simply means exactly what you said: you are still secreting insulin, but your blood sugar levels are not within the normal range and they are not in the diabetic range, either. How have the physicians come to this conclusion? Have they done a random blood sugar test, a fasting blood sugar test and/or an oral glucose tolerance test? How old are you? How old were your family members when this condition was discovered in them? Have they ever mentioned MODY to you? MODY is Mature Onset Diabetes of the Young and as far as I know, it behaves just like Type II DM, but it affects younger people as opposed to closer-to-middle-age people.

i had a diabetic test when i was 12 and it came out negitive. i my physicians are calling my hypoglycemic. most of my mom has had it most of her life. i hadn't had it until 1997 when i devloped it. i am 14 now. my family has a history of having a high metabolism. i have one too. i'm thin. thanx for your help
Hatch