Diabetes: Symptoms, Causes, and Treatment
Things to Know about the ‘Silent Killer'
Diabetes can cause serious health complications such as heart disease, blindness, kidney failure, and lower-limb amputations.
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Most of the food we eat is converted into glucose or sugar for our body to use for energy.
The pancreas, an organ near the stomach, produces a hormone called insulin to help glucose enter the cells of our body.
The pancreas, an organ near the stomach, produces a hormone called insulin to help glucose enter the cells of our body.
When you have diabetes, your body doesn't make enough insulin or can't use its own insulin as well as it should.
This causes sugars to build up in the blood.
Diabetic eye disease
These are diseases such as Cataracts and Glaucoma. These particular eye illnesses can eventually lead to complete blindness for an individual.
Health Problems Related to this Chronic Disease
These are major health problems that you will notice, are directly related to your disease. These are severe health conditions that include but not limited to...
- Heart disease or stroke.
- High blood pressure.
- Kidney disease.
- Nervous system damage (Neuropathy).
- Disability as a result of nerve damage (Amputations).
- Gum disease.
- Sexual dysfunction (Impotence).
- Overweight and obesity.
- Pregnancy complications and the list goes on and on...
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What Are The Symptoms Of Diabetes?
People who think they may have diabetes should visit a doctor to get a diagnosis.
They may have SOME or NONE of the following symptoms:
- Frequent urination
- Excessive thirst
- Unexplained weight loss
- Extreme hunger
- Sudden vision changes
- Tingling or numbness in the hands or feet
- Feeling very tired most of the time.
- Very dry skin
- Sores that take time to heal
- More infections than usual.
Type 1 Diabetes
Type 1 Diabetes, known as insulin-dependent diabetes is a form of diabetes that is usually diagnosed in early childhood or in young adults.
However, this chronic disease can still occur at any age. When you or a loved one is diagnosed with type one diabetes, it means that your body can no longer produce the insulin hormone that is necessary for blood glucose regulation on its own.
What are your experiences with type 1 diabetes?
Suppose you are a type 1 diabetic, you have to now administer a dose of insulin several times a day in order for you to survive.This process allows you to keep your blood glucose under control. Without this daily insulin treatment, you can not utilize the glucose or sugar that you take in from the foods (carbohydrates) you eat.
Insulin is responsible for the breakdown of the blood glucose in your bloodstream so that it can be used by your body in the form of energy fuel.
An individual develops type 1 diabetes because their body's defense system completely destroys the beta cells of their pancreas. These cells are responsible for insulin production in the body. Experts believe that this condition may be due to an autoimmune disorder.
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This disease has been identified or recognized as an autoimmune disease. This means that your immune system, instead of providing a defense for the beta cells, attacks and destroys them.
Once these beta cells are destroyed, they are gone; thus, your insulin production capability is gone as well.
Insulin is the key that unlocks the doors to the cells of the muscles in our bodies so that they could open and accept the glucose from our bloodstreams and use it as energy fuel. If our cells do not unlock, then our blood glucose will rise to very unsafe levels.
Diabetes complications which can be fatal.
1.Monitoring Blood Glucose:
Monitoring our blood glucose, Those of us that have been diagnosed with type 1 diabetes have to constantly monitor our blood glucose levels because type one diabetes effects on the kidney can be extreme.
Therefore by monitoring our blood glucose, we ensure that it is maintained at the required level at all times. Failure is not an option because we put ourselves in considerable danger if we don't.
2.Skipping or delaying your meals
Skipping or delaying your meals for any reason can lead to serious complications like insulin resistance. This my friend, can be fatal.
So you have to maintain your scheduled meals to avoid them and at the same time control your blood glucose. Sticking to your plan will be beneficial to your overall health.
As a type 1 diabetes individual, your diabetic diet plays a very important role in the treatment or management of your illness.
The timing of your meals is also very important, especially if you are using combination insulin and oral medications as part of your diabetic treatment.
Not because you are a type 1 diabetic means...that you can not enjoy the foods that non-diabetics enjoy. On the contrary, you can still enjoy the foods that you like; however, the difference in your case is, that you have to monitor the number of calories you intake at all times.
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Extra knowledgeThis is due to the fact that some foods will cause an elevation in your blood glucose. Some more than others. This is due to the glycemic index of all foods.
Nausea, vomiting, or stomach aches can support some of these symptoms in the abrupt onset of insulin-dependent diabetes, now called type 1 diabetes.
What Causes Type 1 Diabetes
The causes of type 1 diabetes appear to be very different from those of type 2 diabetes, although the exact mechanisms for the development of both diseases are unknown.
The onset of type 1 diabetes is suspected to follow exposure to an "environmental trigger," such as an unidentified virus, which stimulates an immune attack against the beta cells of the pancreas (which produce insulin) in some genetically predisposed people.
What Causes Type 2 Diabetes
Type 2 diabetes was previously called non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM) or adult-onset diabetes.
Type 2 diabetes can account for about 90% to 95% of all diagnosed diabetes cases. Risk factors for type 2 diabetes include older age, obesity, a family history of diabetes, a history of gestational diabetes, impaired glucose tolerance, physical inactivity, and race/ethnicity.
African Americans, Hispanics / Latinos, American Indians, and some Asians and Pacific Islanders are at particularly high risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
What Is The Treatment For Diabetes?
Diabetes awareness, treatment, and prevention strategies advance daily.
Treatment aims to keep blood glucose close to normal levels at all times. Training in self-management is essential for the treatment of diabetes.
Treatment Of Type 1 Diabetes
- The lack of insulin production by the pancreas makes type 1 diabetes particularly difficult to control.
- Treatment requires a strict regimen that usually includes a carefully calculated diet, planned physical activity, home blood glucose testing several times a day, and multiple daily insulin injections.
Treatment Of Type 2 Diabetes
- Treatment usually includes monitoring of diet, exercise, home blood glucose tests, and in some cases, oral medication and/or insulin.
- About 40% of people with type 2 diabetes require insulin injections.
Can Diabetes Be Prevented
- Several studies have shown that regular physical activity can significantly reduce the risk of developing Type 2 diabetes.
- It also appears to be associated with obesity.
- Researchers are making strides in identifying the exact genetics and "triggers" that predispose some people to develop type 1 diabetes, but prevention, as well as a cure, continues elusive.
What Is Gestational Diabetes?
Gestational diabetes is a type of diabetes, or high blood sugar, that only pregnant women have.
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- In fact, the word gestational means pregnant. If a woman has high blood sugar when she is pregnant but she has never had high blood sugar before, she has gestational diabetes.
- Nearly 135,000 pregnant women contract the condition each year, making it one of the top pregnancy-related health problems.
Hypoglycemia
- You should be aware of the signs of hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) such as feeling weak or dizzy, sweating more, noticing sudden changes in your heartbeat, or feeling hungry.
- If you experience these symptoms, stop exercising and check your blood glucose.
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