Diabetes insipidus

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Definition

When you hear the term "diabetes insipidus," you may assume it's related to what's commonly known as "sugar" diabetes, or diabetes mellitus. While the disorders share a name and have some common signs, in fact diabetes mellitus (type 1 and type 2) and diabetes insipidus are unrelated.

Diabetes insipidus (DI) is a disorder characterized by intense thirst and by the excretion of large amounts of urine (polyuria). In most cases, it's the result of your body not properly producing, storing or releasing a key hormone, but diabetes insipidus can also occur when your kidneys are unable to properly respond to that hormone. Rarely, diabetes insipidus can occur during pregnancy (gestational diabetes insipidus).

Effective treatments are available to relieve your thirst and normalize your urine output.

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Symptoms