When Diabetes Is Not Diabetes

Mention the word diabetes and the vast majority of people will assume that you are talking about either type 1 diabetes, which affects about 10% of diabetes sufferers, or type 2 diabetes, which is the most commonly seen form of the disease and is currently growing alarmingly. But did you know that there is a third type of diabetes which has no connection whatsoever with either type 1 or type 2 diabetes, apart from sharing the name diabetes.

There are four types of diabetes insipidus:

Neurogenic Diabetes Insipidus

Gestagenic Diabetes Insipidus

Gestagenic diabetes insipidus (also known as gestational diabetes insipidus) occurs during pregnancy and is often the result of destruction of vasopressin within the placenta.

Nephrogenic Diabetes Insipidus

Nephrogenic diabetes insipidus occurs when, in spite of the normal production of vasopressin, the kidneys still fail to properly concentrate urine. This form of diabetes insipidus can be inherited and can also be the result of kidney disease and taking certain types of drug.

Dipsogenic Diabetes Insipidus

There is also a second type of primary polydipsia known as psychogenic polydipsia which, as its name would suggest, has a variety of psychosomatic causes.

Despite the fact that there is some similarity in the symptoms of diabetes and diabetes insipidus it seems strange, and more than a little confusing, that the medical profession should have decided to give these two quite different conditions the same name.