Leave for a bit and look what happens...

[merithyn]

Thanks for the welcome back, guys. Believe it or not, I've actually missed you. 

Yes, even you.

[garbon]

Yes, even you.

I had something in my eye.

[DGuller]

Oh no! I'm so sorry to hear that. That really blows man. Do you have diabetes? I thought that was genetic or something.

That's Type II, the fixable kind.

I'm pretty sure that's not right.  Type I is the type to which you're genetically predisposed.  Type I diabetes runs in one of the branches of my extended family.

[Neil]

Oh no! I'm so sorry to hear that. That really blows man. Do you have diabetes? I thought that was genetic or something.

That's Type II, the fixable kind.

I'm pretty sure that's not right.  Type I is the type to which you're genetically predisposed.  Type I diabetes runs in one of the branches of my extended family.

The cause is in dispute.  Either way, genetic factors alone do not cause Type I diabetes.  They did a study with identical twins where one twin had Type I diabetes.  The other only had Type I about half the time.

[merithyn]

I'm pretty sure that's not right.  Type I is the type to which you're genetically predisposed.  Type I diabetes runs in one of the branches of my extended family.

According to the American Diabetics Association, there is a genetic componant to both, but a much stronger one in Type II. Part of that is learning bad habits - which contributes to getting Type II but not Type I - and part of that is simple genetics.

http://www.diabetes.org/genetics.jsp

[DGuller]

The cause is in dispute.  Either way, genetic factors alone do not cause Type I diabetes.  They did a study with identical twins where one twin had Type I diabetes.  The other only had Type I about half the time.

Hence "predisposed".

[merithyn]

The cause is in dispute.  Either way, genetic factors alone do not cause Type I diabetes.  They did a study with identical twins where one twin had Type I diabetes.  The other only had Type I about half the time.

Right. Doctors think that Type I diabetes is similar to Autism in that there's a genetic pre-disposition for it, but there must be a trigger for it to kick in. No one knows the trigger - though Jeremy's doctors think it's a virus, as I said earlier - but there is no way to prevent it as yet. Type II, on the other hand, the trigger is typically poor health, which can be controlled with exercise and diet prior to actually getting the disease.

[Neil]

The cause is in dispute.  Either way, genetic factors alone do not cause Type I diabetes.  They did a study with identical twins where one twin had Type I diabetes.  The other only had Type I about half the time.

Hence "predisposed".

Indeed.

Your family is also predisposed to Slavitude. 

[Caliga]

Now you must train him to pronounce it properly, Meri.

"die-uh-BEET-is".

[Korea]

It may be the optimist in me but I very much doubt it is going to be a life sentence for the kid. I'm convinced that my own illness (also autoimmune and chronic) will be neutered within at most 10 years. We'll just have to cope until then - and it gets surprisingly easy.

Jeremy has said the same thing, and I hope that you're both right. It would be a godsend for the cure to come that quickly.

So, how is the rest of your life going?  Are you still working as a dispatcher? I miss your dispatching stories. How are the other kids?

[saskganesh]

The cause is in dispute.  Either way, genetic factors alone do not cause Type I diabetes.  They did a study with identical twins where one twin had Type I diabetes.  The other only had Type I about half the time.

Type II, on the other hand, the trigger is typically poor health, which can be controlled with exercise and diet prior to actually getting the disease.

high fructose corn syrup and bad carbs, also predictors for obesity.

cut out the soft drinks, junk food and play some sports.

[PDH]

Now you must train him to pronounce it properly, Meri.

"die-uh-BEET-is".

"I got the problem with The Sugar" as I heard it in Western PA...

[Richard Hakluyt]

"The sugar" is what the old folk called it in NE England when I was a kid.

[merithyn]

high fructose corn syrup and bad carbs, also predictors for obesity.

cut out the soft drinks, junk food and play some sports.

He's got Type I.

Though he's had to cut out the soft drinks and junk food now that he has it, they're not what caused his diabetes.

[merithyn]

Now you must train him to pronounce it properly, Meri.

"die-uh-BEET-is".

The kids have been making fun of Wilfurd Brimley forever for that commercial! They've been calling it that for years as a joke.