Diabetes Demystified: Everything You Need to Know
783 million. Let's visualize that. Take roughly one out of every group of 10 people on Earth. That’s how many people will have diabetes in 20 years. RIght now, the number isn’t much better. I’m sure that you all know multiple people with the condition. One of the most common conditions, yet very few truly know what it is. If I were to ask you right now how many types of diabetes there were, few of you may say 2 and few may say “there are different types?” In fact, there are 3 types of diabetes.
Type One:
If you know a kid with diabetes they likely have this type. This type of diabetes is characterized by the immune system mistakenly attacking the beta cells in the pancreas that produce insulin. Insulin is the hormone that allows the body to use glucose for energy. Without insulin, glucose accumulates in the bloodstream, causing hyperglycemia (high blood sugar). As a result of this, patients often are required to take shots of insulin everyday and they often have to constantly monitor their blood glucose levels to ensure it is under control (usually with a machine like a dexcom). The cause of type one diabetes is unknown (although it is genetically inheritable) and any curative measures are unknown.
Type Two:
This type is most common in the population, and it’s only getting worse. Type two is characterized by the body becoming resistant to insulin or the lack of insulin production from the pancreas. This effect also leads to hyperglycemia. There are various risk factors that increase the possibility of type two diabetes. The risk increases with a family history of the condition, with obesity, physical inactivity, age, and certain ethnic groups are also at higher risk. While insulin therapy and blood sugar monitoring are sometimes used, lifestyle changes and certain medications are more commonly used to treat type two diabetes
Gestational Diabetes:
During pregnancy, the body (specifically the placenta) produces various hormones. Some of the hormones lead to insulin resistance, which make it hard for the body to use insulin effectively. As time progresses in the pregnancy, the body needs more insulin to keep the blood sugar levels in check, but if the pancreas can’t keep up, glucose levels rise, which results in gestational diabetes. Risk factors include, higher age, a family or personal history with diabetes, higher weight, and being of certain ethnicities. It leads to the risk of diabetes later in the babies and mother’s life.
It’s important to look out for symptoms of diabetes because the signs aren’t always clear. For example, those with diabetes show increased thirst, frequent urination, extreme hunger, unintended weight loss, fatigue, weakness, blurred vision, mood changes.
Certain seemingly unrelated complications can arise from diabetes if left untreated. For example the main signs to look out for are neuropathy in the legs and feet (nerve damage) and retinopathy (eye damage), even potentially leading to blindness
Diabetes is often diagnosed with blood sugar tests, an A1C test (calculation of average blood sugar for the past three months). Not as commonly, however, certain antibodies can be tested to diagnose diabetes.
