Diabetes Mellitus, one of the most common endocrine disorders, is a disorder that results in high sugar levels in the blood stream.  In a normal, healthy situation, the body very tightly regulates the level of sugar in the blood, and will clear the sugar from the blood stream if it gets too high.  The hormone responsible for ‘clearing’ sugar from the blood is made in the pancreas and is called insulin.  There are multiple types of diabetes, including:

1. Type 1 Diabetes which is due to an inability of the pancreas to make insulin and must always be treated with insulin injections, and
2. Type 2 Diabetes which is due to an inability of the body to respond to insulin.  Insulin levels are usually very high in people with Type 2 Diabetes, but the insulin just doesn’t work very well.

Type 2 diabetes accounts for 80-90% of cases of diabetes in the United States and may be treated with weight loss, exercise, multiple oral medications, and insulin and non-insulin injections.