Diabetes, also known as diabetes mellitus, is a metabolic condition that patients with high blood sugar have. A healthy person’s body should produce insulin to transport blood sugar from the bloodstream into cells for storage or conversion to energy. Patients with diabetes cannot produce enough insulin. Some patients with Farmers Branch diabetes produce insulin, however, their bodies are immune to its effects, and thus blood sugar continues to accumulate. It is important to seek treatment for diabetes to prevent complications like kidney failure, and nerve damage that may be irreversible.
What are the different types of diabetes?
There are three main types of diabetes, including:
-
Type 1 diabetes
Patients with this type of diabetes develop the condition from birth. Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease that causes immune cells to attack the pancreas. Consequently, this inhibits insulin production and causes blood sugar to increase. Doctors are unsure about what causes the attack on the pancreas.
-
Type 2 diabetes
This condition occurs due to poor lifestyle choices that cause blood sugar in the body to increase. However, before receiving a type 2 diabetes diagnosis, the preceding stage patients undergo involves being pre-diabetic. This diagnosis means that your blood sugar is elevated but not enough to type 2 diabetes levels.
-
Gestational diabetes
Pregnant women produce insulin-blocking hormones from the placenta. The result of deficient insulin production is a blood sugar increase.
What are the symptoms of diabetes?
The symptoms of diabetes are associated with high blood sugar levels. Some general symptoms of diabetes regardless of type include:
- Weight loss
- Blurred vision
- Fatigue
- Increased hunger and thirst
What are the risk factors for diabetes?
Certain factors make you more vulnerable to developing this metabolic condition. However, risk factors depend on the type of diabetes. For example:
- Patients who develop type 1 diabetes have a family history of the condition, where a sibling or a parent is diabetic.
- Type 2 diabetes occurs due to sedentary living, being overweight, being above 40, and having underlying medical conditions like high blood pressure.
- Risk factors for gestational diabetes include having polycystic ovarian syndrome, being overweight, and having a positive family history of the condition.
How do physicians treat diabetes?
Treatment of diabetes varies depending on the types of conditions a patient has. For example:
- There is no cure for type 1 diabetes. Patients can manage their condition by taking insulin medications. These drugs replace the body’s natural hormones and help reduce blood sugar to manageable levels.
- Making lifestyle changes like incorporating exercise and consuming a balanced diet can help manage type 2 diabetes. However, if these conservative treatment options fail to relieve symptoms, physicians recommend certain medications like alpha-glucosidase inhibitors which slows down sugars and starch metabolism.
- Some pregnant women may need insulin shots to manage their gestational diabetes. However, adopting healthy lifestyle choices can be effective in preventing adversities during pregnancy.
It would be best to seek board-certified physician intervention for effective management of diabetes. Contact Redwood Family Health Center to schedule a consultation and discuss with a specialist your concerns and thus develop an ideal approach to wellness.
