I'm sure it's genes in my case. I was diagnosed in 1995 with Type 2 even though I was not, am not and never have been overweight. My only symptom was a raging thirst for about three days. I was diagnosed with a sugar level of 22 and the hospital wanted me to go onto insulin straight away but I wasn't keen and was on various tablets for eight years before finally going onto Lantus for a few years and now Lantus and Novorapid and as I split the Lantus into twice a day that's five injections a day.
Why I believe it's to do with genes is the fact that my father had Type 2 and was on insulin and he wasn't overweight, my twin sister had it several years after me and she was even thinner than I was and was seven and a half stone but is now a slightly higher weight and on tablets. I was about eight stone at diagnosis and it was only when I had been on insulin for a while that my weight crept up to nine stone, what I was at nine month's pregnant. A year or so ago at the age of 43 my eldest son was told he had Type 2 diabetes and he is the only one who is overweight but controls it with tablets and exercise. Four people in the family with diabetes - genes or not?
Since the 1990s my sister and I have been invited every two or three years to the Twin Research Unit at St. Thomas's Hospital in London and take part in many tests and it's surprising what is affected by your genes. Whether you are likely to have affairs, problems with your eyesight, wrinkles, how finger lengths can show if you are gay or sporty and many other very interesting things that have been learnt from all the studies they have done. If any twins want thorough tests and examinations that they would have to pay privately for they can have all those sort of things done on an all expenses day out to London!