WHAT IS DIABETES ? CASE STUDY

Diabetes is a serious condition that causes higher than normal blood sugar levels. Diabetes occurs when your body cannot make or effectively use its own insulin, a hormone made by special cells in the pancreas called islets (eye-lets). Insulin serves as a “key” to open your cells, to allow the sugar (glucose) from the food you eat to enter. Then, your body uses that glucose for energy. But with diabetes, several major things can go wrong to cause diabetes. Type 1 and type 2 diabetes are the most common forms of the disease, but there are also other kinds, such as gestational diabetes, which occurs during pregnancy, as well as other forms.

 🔎What are the different types of diabetes? The most common types of diabetes are type 1, type 2, and gestational diabetes. 
 

🔎Type 1 diabetes:

 If you have type 1 diabetes, your body does not make insulin. Your immune system attacks and destroys the cells in your pancreas that make insulin. Type 1 diabetes is usually diagnosed in children and young adults, although it can appear at any age. People with type 1 diabetes need to take insulin every day to stay alive.

 🔎Type 2 diabetes :

 If you have type 2 diabetes, your body does not make or use insulin well. You can develop type 2 diabetes at any age, even during childhood. However, this type of diabetes occurs most often in middle-aged and older people. Type 2 is the most common type of diabetes. 

 🔎Gestational diabetes :

 Gestational diabetes develops in some women when they are pregnant. Most of the time, this type of diabetes goes away after the baby is born. However, if you’ve had gestational diabetes, you have a greater chance of developing type 2 diabetes later in life. Sometimes diabetes diagnosed during pregnancy is actually type 2 diabetes.

 🔎What health problems can people with diabetes develop?

 Over time, high blood glucose leads to problems such as: 

🧿  heart disease

🧿  stroke 

🧿  kidney disease

🧿  eye problems 

🧿  dental disease 

🧿  nerve damage 

🧿  foot problems 

🧿  Increased thirst 

 

🔎Sign and symptoms : 

🧿  Increased urination (bed-wetting may occur in children who have already been toilet trained) 

🧿  Rapid and unexplained weight loss.

🧿  Extreme hunger 

🧿  Extreme weakness or fatigue.

🧿  Unusual irritability .

🧿  Blurred vision. 

🧿  Nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain

🧿  Unpleasant breath odor 

🧿  Itchy skin

  

🔎What is the best treatment for diabetes? 

Metformin (Fortamet, Glumetza, others) is generally the first medication prescribed for type 2 diabetes. It works primarily by lowering glucose production in the liver and improving your body's sensitivity to insulin so that your body uses insulin more effectively. 

🔎What is the best way to prevent diabetes? 

🧿  Lose extra weight. Losing weight reduces the risk of diabetes. 

🧿  Be more physically active. There are many benefits to regular physical activity.

🧿  Eat healthy plant foods. Plants provide vitamins, minerals and carbohydrates in your diet. 

🧿  Eat healthy.

🧿  Skip fat diets and make healthier choices.