is Diabetes basically as bad as HIV?

[CasaNorba]

earlier this week at my job we had this guy that lived around the neighborhood for such time now, who is diabetic accompanied us for part of the shift.

he claim that he's had diabetes for quite a while and tried to explain to us that having diabetes is almost the same as having HIV. he said that because diabetics are unable to produce enough insulin or glucose to keep fuel up their immune system. therefore diabetics are as vulnerable to virus and other diseases as much as those who have HIV.

this makes perfect sense but is it really true? and if it is does that mean that diabetes could become as bad as AIDS if you neglect it?

i just want to know because diabetes runs in my family and i already have two uncles that have it. so i'm gonna keep my guard up as of now. though so far i have never shown any signs of risk

[timetowaste]

No. It isn't, not really. Diabetes is an autoimmune disease in which the immune system kills off beta cells in the pancreas that produce insulin, leading to increased blood glucose levels. But chronic hyperglycemia can affect the immune system, making one more vulnerable to infections. This is typically the reason that diabetics who neglect to manage their disease have to have extremities amputated. Diabetes does have severe effects if neglected, but with AIDS the decline is really unavoidable. Diabetics who don't manage their disease are at risk for blindness, renal failure, heart disease, neuropathy, to name a few and obviously the risk of death.

[timetowaste]

The autoimmune part really only relevant to DM type 1. Type 2 works by different mechanisms. Depends on which he has.

[CrimsonMaple23]

Diabetes and HIV have same idea of susceptibility to infections and needs to be taking care of seriously because yes, both immune systems are affected (just like cancer). If both are neglected, diabetes will slowly kill you and turn down your systems one by one just like having AIDS which also kills you slowly.
But the other thoughts are, the nature of both HIV and diabetes, its etiology, causes, mngt., prognosis, etc. are completely different.

[Argus14]

I wouldn't say it's as bad. Monitoring tools help a lot plus you can't transmit diabetes through sex. Definitely not a fun thing to live with though.

[maiez]

No, its not even close to HIV. You just need to treat it properly.

[TylerDamon01]

No, No No. You are comparing two different health problems. The type, cause, and prognosis of both of these diseases are very different. HIV is a viral infection; which may progress to AIDS. Whereas; diabetes is a disorder; where the body fails to produce enough insulin. Yes, both diseases do hamper your immune system. But there is nothing to compare here.

[emzy-89]

Oh my gosh, there isn't enough time or space to write everything that is wrong with this comparison; any condition has the potential to be bad if you don't manage it, however, diabetes is nowhere near as bad as HIV, and they're in no way the same.

[Iron_Man]

Its not good but its not like HIV