November is American Diabetes Month
Diabetes (Diabetes mellitus) is when the body has too much sugar in the blood. There are 3 types of Diabetes mellitus. Type 1, Type 2, and Gestational diabetes. Type 1 is when the body does not produce enough insulin to remove sugar from the blood. Type 2 is when the body produces too much insulin and the body becomes resistant to it. Gestational occurs during pregnancy. No matter which type of diabetes a person may have, the most important goal is keeping blood sugar within a normal range.
Common symptoms of diabetes include excessive thirst, and/or hunger, and frequent urination. Being hungry or thirsty no matter how much you eat or drink in combination with more frequent urination deserves some examination and testing to see if the cause is high blood sugar. When blood sugar goes controlled for too long it can lead to serious consequences.
When blood sugar becomes too high it has various effects on the body. Blood vessels are especially affected by the high levels of sugar circulating in the blood, causing them to narrow. The narrowing of the vessels leads to high blood pressure that then causes damage to the blood vessels. In addition to hypertension that can cause cardiovascular disease, the damage also extends to small blood vessels of the eyes, kidneys and nervous system. Damaging the arteries that lead to these tissues can have a variety of effects such as vision problems or blindness, kidney disease, or peripheral neuropathy. Most of the before mentioned conditions occur after blood sugar has been elevated for a long period of time.
Pre-diabetes is a term you may hear and refers to blood sugar dysregulation. This means that the the blood sugar control of the body is impaired but not enough to be diabetic. Furthermore, if this condition is not treated it can eventually lead to developing diabetes. During the pre-diabetic stage, with the proper treatments of exercise, nutrition and medications it is often possible to get the dysfunction under control and reverse the condition.
Treatments differ from Type 1 to Type 2 diabetes. Type 1 diabetes requires insulin to take the sugar out of the blood. With Type 2 diabetes, using a substance that helps to sensitize insulin receptors is more common. Both types have to watch their intake of carbohydrates and sugar. Exercise is very beneficial for all types of diabetes for multiple reasons. It can help the body to better regulate sugar levels, but also benefits the cardiovascular system. Have diabetes increases risk of cardiovascular disease and regular exercise can help reduce that risk.
Testing and monitoring of diabetes includes blood tests and urine tests. Blood can be monitored with a glucose meter requiring a finger stick, blood draws for glucose and hemoglobin A1C levels, or by using a continuous glucose meter with attachable sensor. Urine tests can show presence of excess sugar from the blood coming out in the urine. Regular monitoring of sugars is very important to make sure levels are staying within a reasonable level and medication or insulin levels are calculated correctly.
A common problem with especially those using insulin is hypoglycemia. This can be very dangerous. Hypoglycemia is when the blood sugar goes too low. This is commonly from taking too much insulin, or not calculating food intake correctly. When too much sugar is removed from the blood it can lead to many symptoms. These symptoms range from fatigue, shaking, sweating, dizziness, irritability, irregular heart beat, to confusion, seizures and loss of consciousness. In these situations it is imperative to increase the blood sugar quickly by using sugary drinks like juice or soda or by giving them candy. These very refined sugars are quickly released into the blood stream and quickly alleviate the symptoms.
On the opposite side, without enough insulin the body is unable to store glucose as fuel. This causes the body to start to break down fat for fuel instead of using sugar. The breakdown of the fats produces a substance called ketones. High levels of kenos in the body can lead to a condition called ketoacidosis. The sugar in the blood remains high and creates damaging effects on the tissues. The high level of ketones in the blood can cause the body to be too acidic. Symptoms include excessive thirst, frequent urination, nausea and vomiting, abdominal pain, fruity-scented or acetone breath, confusion, weakness, and shortness of breath. Ketoacidosis can develop into a life threatening situation very quickly and may require emergency attention.
If you have diabetes, please monitor your blood sugar and make the appropriate lifestyle changes and properly use your medication. If you think you may have diabetes, please see your doctor right away for the appropriate testing. For more information, please see Diabetes.org