There isn't much of a difference between injecting insulin (being diabetic) or getting your body to produce it. The main difference lies in having no automated

There isn't much of a difference between injecting insulin (being diabetic) or getting your body to produce it. The main difference lies in having no automated mechanism for regulating blood sugar levels. Due to this - you have to calculate the correct amount of insulin you need for your meals and measure your blood sugar regularly to make sure it stays within balance. If your blood sugar levels tend to be higher than normal (i.e. you aren't injecting enough insulin), that isn't good. It is OK in the near term - but can be devastating in the long term due to health complications (i.e. blindness / nerve damage / etc..). If your blood sugars are fall too low - you can have severe consequences in the near term (i.e. die or have a seizure within 1 hour of injecting insulin). In other words - you need to always keep your blood sugar in check in order to survive and to be in good health. Some people find this extremely hard to do - some people like me embrace it.