What is Diabetes?
There are two kinds of diabetes and they're simply called Type 1 and Type 2. With Type 1 diabetes, your main problem is your body's inability to produce insulin - the all-important hormone that converts blood sugar into energy. Without insulin, glucose will only continuously build up in your system. Type 1 is also called insulin-dependent or juvenile diabetes. There is no known cure for this type.
With Type 2 diabetes, your body is able to produce insulin but only in inadequate amounts. And if it is inadequate, your body is unable to make use of it completely and effectively.
There are other instances in life, like pregnancy for instance, that could cause you to suffer from diabetes.
Symptoms of Diabetes
If you suspect yourself of suffering from Type 1 diabetes, here are several symptoms to further confirm your suspicions.
Hunger. You're eating enough or even more than what you need, but you still end up feeling hungry. This is because the glucose coming from the food you eat isn't being converted to energy. As such, your system will still feel starved even if you've eaten enough for an army.
Thirst and Urination. High glucose levels in your blood reduces fluid volume, which consequently make you feel thirstier more often. And of course, increased thirst will generally lead to increased frequency in urination.
Weight Loss. Going back to the unsuccessful conversion of blood sugar into energy, muscle tissues and fats won't be able to bulk up. The longer they're deprived of energy, the more they'll shrink in size. It's not surprising for diabetics suffering from insulin deficiency to suddenly experience rapid and excessive weight loss.
Fatigue. Naturally, lack of energy distributed to your system will end up causing you to experience fatigue.
Blurry Vision. In spite of its common occurrence, blurry vision is one of the least known symptoms of diabetes. Decreasing fluid levels in your blood will eventually affect fluid levels in the rest of your body, such as your eyes. Diabetes could cause you to have poorer focus because of reduced fluid levels.
Causes of Diabetes
And now, we get to the most important question: how do we get diabetes? Unfortunately, while we do know what happens inside our body to make us suffer from diabetes, no scientist has yet discovered what causes the specified sequence of events to occur. Nobody knows why an individual's immune system would suddenly destroy cells responsible for producing hormones and therefore leading to the increase of glucose content in his blood.
Scientists, however, have certain theories about possible causes of Type 1 diabetes. For one, genetics have been pinpointed to potentially cause diabetes. Family history as well as exposure to certain bacteria and viruses have also been cited as possible contributing factors.
Consulting Your Doctor about Diabetes
Even without determining the cause, the list of symptoms provided will still enable you to determine whether you are suffering from Type 1 diabetes of not. If your suspicions have been confirmed, the next step for validation is to consult your doctor. The type of test or procedure you'll be subjected to will depend on your doctor. In most cases, however, blood tests would be enough to verify your condition.
If not treated properly and instantly, Type 1 diabetes can lead to various complications from short-term ones like extremely high or low blood sugar content and diabetic ketoacidosis to long-term ones like having neuropathy, nephropathy, osteoporosis as well as other serious problems with your heart, eyes, foot, skin and mouth.
Treatments for Diabetes
The critical fact you have to understand about treating diabetes is that it's a commitment which would last a lifetime for you and your loved ones. Emotional support is just as vital for you to cope with your condition.
The components making up treatment plans for diabetes will be determined by your doctor and your preferences. It will commonly include dietary restrictions, exercise requirements, lifestyle changes, and use of medications and possibly therapies as well.
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