What Is Diabetes?

Diabetes is an endocrine hormone disorder.

How Does Diabetes Occur?

Diabetes occurs when the body’s blood sugar consistently remains above normal levels.

When a person is diabetic their pancreas, a gland behind the stomach, does not produce enough of the hormone insulin, or the body can't use insulin properly.

Insulin helps carry sugar from the bloodstream into the cells.

What Is Insulin?

Insulin is a hormone made by the pancreas that allows your body to use sugar (glucose) from carbohydrates in the food that you eat for energy or to store glucose for future use.

Insulin helps keeps your blood sugar level from getting too high (hyperglycemia) or too low (hypoglycemia).

When a person has diabetes the body is not able to properly process food for use as energy.

Diabetes Affects More Than 25 Million People In The United States

There Are Two Types Of Diabetes

Type 1 Diabetes:
Occurs if the insulin-producing cells (also known as beta cells) of the pancreas are destroyed by the immune system.

People with type 1 diabetes produce no insulin. An individual with type 1 Diabetes must use insulin injections to control their blood sugar levels. Type 1 diabetes most commonly starts in people under the age of 20, but may occur at any age.

It is most for people under the twenty years of age to be stricken with Type 1 Diabetes. However, an individual may develop Type 1 Diabetes at any age.

Type 2 Diabetes:
Occurs if the pancreas does not produce enough insulin for the body to work correctly or the body is not able to identify insulin and use insulin properly.

When there isn’t enough insulin or the insulin is not used as it should be, glucose can’t get into the body’s cells to be used as energy. This glucose then builds up in the blood.

When the body does not receive enough insulin, glucose is unable to get into the body’s cells. If there is not enough glucose in the cells then the cell are unable to store energy. When there isn’t enough insulin or the insulin is not used as it should be, glucose is not able to enter the body’s cells to be used as energy.

Type 1 Diabetes and Type 2 Diabetes are both serious Endocrine diseases and need to be monitored closely.

An Endocrinologist is the type of medical specialist that monitors people with diabetes. 

How Do You Know If You Have Diabetes?

If your doctor suspects you may have diabetes he may refer you from an Endocrinologist or provide you with Diabetes testing. 

Types Diabetes Testing

• An oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) - this test can take up to three hours and involves drinking a beverage that contains glucose. Your blood glucose levels checked every 30 to 60 minutes.
• A1C Test- is a blood test that shows the average blood sugar levels for the past two to three months. 
• A Fasting Glucose Test- test your blood sugar levels in the morning. This test should be administered before any food has been eaten. 
• ZnT8Ab Test- this is a blood test that can help determine if a person has type 1 diabetes instead of type 2 diabetes. 

What Are The Treatments for Diabetes?

Your diabetes treatment will depend on what type of diabetes you have. 

The good news is for some people with diabetes 2 diet and exercise may be enough to keep the diabetes under control. However, some people with diabetes 2 may need medication. 

If you have type 1 diabetes then your pancreas (photo of pancreas) no longer makes insulin. You will need to inject a form of insulin or use a continuous pump. 

 

Resources: http://www.cdc.gov/media/presskits/aahd/diabetes.pdf

http://www.webmd.com/diabetes/understanding-diabetes-basics?page=2

http://www.cdc.gov/diabetes/index.htm
http://ndep.nih.gov/

http://www.niddk.nih.gov/
http:// www.diabetes.org.

 

You can also find everyday shortcuts to living with a chronic illness on the HypoGalBlog.