Diabetes: Symptoms, causes, and treatments


Diabetes, frequently alluded to by specialists as diabetes mellitus, depicts a gathering of metabolic infections in which the individual has high blood (glucose), either in light of the fact that insulin generation is lacking, or on the grounds that the body's phones don't react legitimately to insulin, or both. Patients with high glucose will regularly encounter polyuria (visit pee), they will turn out to be progressively parched (polydipsia) and hungry (polyphagia).


Quick actualities on diabetes


Here are some key focuses about diabetes. More detail and supporting data is in the principle article.

Diabetes is a long haul condition that causes high glucose levels.

In 2013 it was assessed that more than 382 million individuals all through the world had diabetes (Williams course book of endocrinology).

Sort 1 Diabetes - the body does not create insulin. Around 10% of all diabetes cases are type 1.

Sort 2 Diabetes - the body does not create enough insulin for legitimate capacity. Around 90% of all instances of diabetes worldwide are of this write.

Gestational Diabetes - this write influences females amid pregnancy.

The most widely recognized diabetes indications incorporate continuous pee, extreme thirst and yearning, weight increase, uncommon weight reduction, weakness, cuts and wounds that don't recuperate, male sexual brokenness, deadness and shivering in hands and feet.

In the event that you have Type 1 and take after an adhering to a good diet design, do satisfactory exercise, and take insulin, you can have a typical existence.

Sort 2 patients need to eat strongly, be physically dynamic, and test their blood glucose. They may likewise need to take oral prescription, or potentially insulin to control blood glucose levels.

As the danger of cardiovascular malady is significantly higher for a diabetic, it is pivotal that circulatory strain and cholesterol levels are checked frequently.

As smoking may seriously affect cardiovascular wellbeing, diabetics should quit smoking.

Hypoglycemia - low blood glucose - can badly affect the patient. Hyperglycemia - when blood glucose is too high - can likewise badly affect the patient.

TYPES OF DIABETES


1) Type 1 diabetes


The body does not produce insulin. Some people may refer to this type as insulin-dependent diabetes, juvenile diabetes, or early-onset diabetes. People usually develop type 1 diabetes before their 40th year, often in early adulthood or teenage years.

Type 1 diabetes is nowhere near as common as type 2 diabetes. Approximately 10% of all diabetes cases are type 1.

Patients with type 1 diabetes will need to take insulin injections for the rest of their life. They must also ensure proper blood-glucose levels by carrying out regular blood tests and following a special diet.

Between 2001 and 2009, the prevalence of type 1 diabetes among the under 20s in the USA rose 23%, according to SEARCH for Diabetes in Youth data issued by the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention).

2) Type 2 diabetes


The body does not deliver enough insulin for appropriate capacity, or the cells in the body don't respond to (insulin opposition).

Roughly 90% of all instances of diabetes worldwide are type 2.

Diabetes understanding estimating glucose level in blood

Estimating the glucose level in blood

A few people might have the capacity to control their sort 2 diabetes indications by getting thinner, after a sound eating regimen, doing a lot of activity, and observing their blood glucose levels. Be that as it may, type 2 diabetes is ordinarily a dynamic sickness - it steadily deteriorates - and the patient will likely wind up need to take insulin, more often than not in tablet frame.

Overweight and hefty individuals have a significantly higher danger of creating write 2 diabetes contrasted with those with a solid body weight. Individuals with a ton of instinctive fat, otherwise called focal corpulence, midsection fat, or stomach stoutness, are particularly in danger. Being overweight/fat makes the body discharge chemicals that can destabilize the body's cardiovascular and metabolic frameworks.

Being overweight, physically dormant and eating the wrong nourishments all add to our danger of creating compose 2 diabetes. Drinking only one container of (non-eat less carbs) pop every day can raise our danger of creating write 2 diabetes by 22%, analysts from Imperial College London detailed in the diary Diabetologia. The researchers trust that the effect of sugary soda pops on diabetes hazard might be an immediate one, instead of basically an impact on body weight.

The danger of creating write 2 diabetes is likewise more prominent as we get more seasoned. Specialists are not totally beyond any doubt why, but rather say that as we age we tend to put on weight and turn out to be less physically dynamic. Those with a nearby relative who had/had type 2 diabetes, individuals of Middle Eastern, African, or South Asian plummet additionally have a higher danger of building up the malady.

3) Gestational diabetes


This write influences females amid pregnancy. A few ladies have abnormal amounts of glucose in their blood, and their bodies can't create enough insulin to transport the majority of the glucose into their cells, bringing about continuously rising levels of glucose.

Finding of gestational diabetes is made amid pregnancy.

The dominant part of gestational diabetes patients can control their diabetes with exercise and eating regimen. Between 10% to 20% of them should take some sort of blood-glucose-controlling solutions. Undiscovered or uncontrolled gestational diabetes can raise the danger of complexities amid labor. The child might be greater than he/she ought to be.

Researchers from the National Institutes of Health and Harvard University found that ladies whose eating regimens before getting to be pregnant were high in Animal fat and cholesterol had a higher hazard for gestational diabetes, contrasted with their partners whose eating methodologies were low in cholesterol and creature fats.

SYMPTOMS


Frequent urination


Excessive thirst and frequent urination are classic symptoms of diabetes.

Have you been going to the bathroom to urinate more often recently? Do you notice that you spend most of the day going to the toilet? When there is too much glucose (sugar) in your blood you will urinate more often.

If your insulin is ineffective, or not there at all, your kidneys cannot filter the glucose back into the blood. The kidneys will take water from your blood in order to dilute the glucose - which in turn fills up your bladder.

Disproportionate thirst


If you are urinating more than usual, you will need to replace that lost liquid. You will be drinking more than usual. Have you been drinking more than usual lately?

Intense hunger


As the insulin in your blood is not working properly, or is not there at all, and your cells are not getting their energy, your body may react by trying to find more energy - food. You will become hungry.

Weight gain


This might be the result of the above symptom (intense hunger).

Unusual weight loss


This is more common among people with Diabetes Type 1. As your body is not making insulin it will seek out another energy source (the cells aren't getting glucose). Muscle tissue and fat will be broken down for energy. As Type 1 is of a more sudden onset and Type 2 is much more gradual, weight loss is more noticeable with Type 1.

Increased fatigue


If your insulin is not working properly, or is not there at all, glucose will not be entering your cells and providing them with energy. This will make you feel tired and listless.

Irritability


Irritability can be due to your lack of energy.

Blurred vision


This can be caused by tissue being pulled from your eye lenses. This affects your eyes' ability to focus. With proper treatment this can be treated. There are severe cases where blindness or prolonged vision problems can occur.

What is prediabetes?


The vast majority of patients with type 2 diabetes initially had prediabetes. Their blood glucose levels where higher than normal, but not high enough to merit a diabetes diagnosis. The cells in the body are becoming resistant to insulin.

Studies have indicated that even at the prediabetes stage, some damage to the circulatory system and the heart may already have occurred.

Diabetes is a metabolism disorder


Diabetes (diabetes mellitus) is classed as a metabolism disorder. Metabolism refers to the way our bodies use digested food for energy and growth. Most of what we eat is broken down into glucose. Glucose is a form of sugar in the blood - it is the principal source of fuel for our bodies.

When our food is digested, the glucose makes its way into our bloodstream. Our cells use the glucose for energy and growth. However, glucose cannot enter our cells without insulin being present - insulin makes it possible for our cells to take in the glucose.

Insulin is a hormone that is produced by the pancreas. After eating, the pancreas automatically releases an adequate quantity of insulin to move the glucose present in our blood into the cells, as soon as glucose enters the cells blood-glucose levels drop.

A person with diabetes has a condition in which the quantity of glucose in the blood is too elevated (hyperglycemia). This is because the body either does not produce enough insulin, produces no insulin, or has cells that do not respond properly to the insulin the pancreas produces. This results in too much glucose building up in the blood. This excess blood glucose eventually passes out of the body in urine. So, even though the blood has plenty of glucose, the cells are not getting it for their essential energy and growth requirements.

How to determine whether you have diabetes, prediabetes or neither


Doctors can determine whether a patient has a normal metabolism, prediabetes or diabetes in one of three different ways - there are three possible tests:

  • The A1C test
    - at least 6.5% means diabetes
    - between 5.7% and 5.99% means prediabetes
    - less than 5.7% means normal

  • The FPG (fasting plasma glucose) test
    - at least 126 mg/dl means diabetes
    - between 100 mg/dl and 125.99 mg/dl means prediabetes
    - less than 100 mg/dl means normal
    An abnormal reading following the FPG means the patient has impaired fasting glucose (IFG)

  • The OGTT (oral glucose tolerance test)
    - at least 200 mg/dl means diabetes
    - between 140 and 199.9 mg/dl means prediabetes
    - less than 140 mg/dl means normal
    An abnormal reading following the OGTT means the patient has impaired glucose tolerance (IGT)


Why is it called diabetes mellitus?


Diabetes comes from Greek, and it means a "siphon". Aretus the Cappadocian, a Greek physician during the second century A.D., named the condition diabainein. He described patients who were passing too much water (polyuria) - like a siphon. The word became "diabetes" from the English adoption of the Medieval Latin diabetes.

In 1675, Thomas Willis added mellitus to the term, although it is commonly referred to simply as diabetes. Mel in Latin means "honey"; the urine and blood of people with diabetes has excess glucose, and glucose is sweet like honey. Diabetes mellitus could literally mean "siphoning off sweet water".

In ancient China people observed that ants would be attracted to some people's urine, because it was sweet. The term "Sweet Urine Disease" was coined.

Controlling diabetes - treatment is effective and important


All types of diabetes are treatable. Diabetes type 1 lasts a lifetime, there is no known cure. Type 2 usually lasts a lifetime, however, some people have managed to get rid of their symptoms without medication, through a combination of exercise, diet and body weight control.
Special diets can help sufferers of type 2 diabetes control the condition.

Researchers from the Mayo Clinic Arizona in Scottsdale showed that gastric bypass surgery can reverse type 2 diabetes in a high proportion of patients. They added that within three to five years the disease recurs in approximately 21% of them. Yessica Ramos, MD., said "The recurrence rate was mainly influenced by a longstanding history of Type 2 diabetes before the surgery. This suggests that early surgical intervention in the obese, diabetic population will improve the durability of remission of Type 2 diabetes." (Link to article)

Patients with type 1 are treated with regular insulin injections, as well as a special diet and exercise.

Patients with Type 2 diabetes are usually treated with tablets, exercise and a special diet, but sometimes insulin injections are also required.

If diabetes is not adequately controlled the patient has a significantly higher risk of developing complications.

Complications linked to badly controlled diabetes:


Below is a list of possible complications that can be caused by badly controlled diabetes:

  • Eye complications - glaucoma, cataracts, diabetic retinopathy, and some others.

  • Foot complications - neuropathy, ulcers, and sometimes gangrene which may require that the foot be amputated

  • Skin complications - people with diabetes are more susceptible to skin infections and skin disorders

  • Heart problems - such as ischemic heart disease, when the blood supply to the heart muscle is diminished

  • Hypertension - common in people with diabetes, which can raise the risk of kidney disease, eye problems, heart attack and stroke

  • Mental health - uncontrolled diabetes raises the risk of suffering from depression, anxiety and some other mental disorders

  • Hearing loss - diabetes patients have a higher risk of developing hearing problems

  • Gum disease - there is a much higher prevalence of gum disease among diabetes patients

  • Gastroparesis - the muscles of the stomach stop working properly

  • Ketoacidosis - a combination of ketosis and acidosis; accumulation of ketone bodies and acidity in the blood.

  • Neuropathy - diabetic neuropathy is a type of nerve damage which can lead to several different problems.

  • HHNS (Hyperosmolar Hyperglycemic Nonketotic Syndrome) - blood glucose levels shoot up too high, and there are no ketones present in the blood or urine. It is an emergency condition.

  • Nephropathy - uncontrolled blood pressure can lead to kidney disease

  • PAD (peripheral arterial disease) - symptoms may include pain in the leg, tingling and sometimes problems walking properly

  • Stroke - if blood pressure, cholesterol levels, and blood glucose levels are not controlled, the risk of stroke increases significantly

  • Erectile dysfunction - male impotence.

  • Infections - people with badly controlled diabetes are much more susceptible to infections

  • Healing of wounds - cuts and lesions take much longer to heal. READ MORE HERE

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