What is diabetes
Diabetes mellitus (or simply diabetes) is a disease characterized by high glucose level in blood
(hyperglycemia) resulting from low insulin production or abnormal resistance to insulin's effects.
Glucose (sugar) is a usual source of energy for the body which is taken from foods like bread,
milk, potatoes, fruit and pasta, and converted to energy by hormone insulin. Insulin is produced by
the pancreas to provide blood sugar balance, but if you experience diabetes, your insulin-making cells
do not work properly, and glucose is collected in your blood instead of being used for energy.
Diabetes signs & complications
Diabetes itself is a dangerous disease, so it can also result in a variety of complications which
can be sometimes the symptoms of the disease as well.
Signs of diabetes:
- Frequent urination
- Increased appetite
- Dehydration (lack of water) and abnormal thirst
- Abnormal weight loss despite of even increased appetite (only type 1 diabetes)
Diabetes complications:
- Heart disease. Blood sugar excess builds up in blood-vessels and results in cardiovascular diseases
- Eye disease. Blurred vision occures as a result of glucose absorbtion due to prolonged high sugar level in blood
- Erectile dysfunction
- Kidney disease
- Nausea, vomiting
- Abdominal pain
- Confusion, mania and other psyhological conditions caused by nerve damage
There are three types of diabetes mellitus that differ by symptoms, disease causes and treatments.
There are Type 1 diabetes, Type 2 diabetes and gestational diabetes. The Type 1 and Type 2 cases are
chronical,but the gestational kind of the disease usually occurs during pregnancy. Those three kinds
of the disease are different because of its causes and ways of treatment; however, the main feature is
that pancreas become unable to produce the proper insulin quantity. Let's look closer at every type of
diabetes.
Type 1 diabetes
Type 1 diabetes is also called the insulin-dependent diabetes (IDDM). The insulin-making cells do not
produce insulin or produce too low quantity to reach the proper blood sugar level. Type 1 diabetes is
not preventable;children and adults under 30 are in the risk group, and that is why it is traditionally
called "juvenile diabetes". Approximately 10 per cent of people with diabetes have type 1.
The causes of type 1 diabetes still remain unknown. However, it is not caused by eating too much
sugar. Type 1 diabetes can be triggered by some infections, stress, and environmental exposure and is
at least partly inherited. Though a part of people with type 1 diabetes carry mutated gene, the
majority of them seems to require an environmental trigger.
Although type 1 diabetes is a chronical disease, you can live a long and healthy life by keeping
your blood sugar levels in the target range set by your doctor. The only real treatment for type 1
diabetes is an insulin therapy. Taking insulin as required you can keep your blood sugar at the right
level and feel as if you haven't had any problems with pancreas. Eating healthy meals and exercising as
prescribed by your doctor can lower insulin doses taken daily and prevent development of cardiovascular
diseases.
Type 2 diabetes
Type 2 diabetes is also called non-insulin-dependent diabetes (NIDDM). Type 2 diabetes is usually
diagnosed in adults and is known as obesity-related or lifestyle-related diabetes. The insulin-making
cells become unable to produce insulin enough to provide blood sugar balance, or the defective
responsiveness of the body tissues to insulin result in sugar building in blood.
The most common causes of type 2 diabetes include:
- Obesity (when fat is concentrated around the waist). Obesity is found in 55 per cent of type
2 diabetic patients. Last time type 2 diabetes has become more common for children with the increased
prevalence of childhood obesity.
- Aging. About 20 per cent of elderly americans have type 2 diabetes.
- Heredity. Diabetes of any type is more common for those with relatives who have had diabetes.
The early stage of type 2 diabetes, when the reduced insulin sensitivity can be easily
treated, is called pre-diabetes. Pre-diabetes can be treated by making changes in the diet
and increasing the level of physical activity. According to US Diabetes Prevention Program
study, just 30 minutes a day of moderate physical activity, coupled with a 5-10% reduction
in body weight, produced a 58 per cent reduction in diabetes. At this stage diabetes can be
also treated by a variety of anti-diabetic medications and other measures without taking insulin
replacements. Oral anti-diabetic medications are usually used in various combinations to improve
insulin production and weaken insulin resistance. One of the most effective medications at this
time is Glucophage (metformin).
Metformin is
more effective for overweight patients when combined with a healthy diet. If the insulin secretion
become worst in spite of taking medications, insulin injections can become essential.
Gestational diabetes
The insulin level disorders during pregnancy are called gestational diabetes. It occurs in 2-5 per
cent of all pregnancies and may disappear after delivery or become type 2 diabetes in future. It is
fully treatable if the pregnant woman has a careful medical supervision. But about 20-50 per cent of
women can experience the type 2 later in life due to possible weakness of insulin-making cells.
Gestational diabetes increases the risk of the high baby born weight, congenital cardiac and CNS
anomalies.
Diabetes & male erectile dysfunction
Due to prolonged high blood sugar level blood vessels and nerves in penis can become
damaged. This can result in erectile dysfunction (ED), when a man cannot maintain or keep
erection long enough to have sex. ED can vary from certain disorders to complete impotence
and can be caused by diabetes, depression, anxiety disorders, side effects of some
medications used to treat high blood pressure, antidepessants, anti-diabetic drugs and many
others. ED is always treatable and if you experience ED you should not hesitate to talk to
your health consultant about this problem. Talking about ED means you're a step closer to getting help.
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