Gold there is, and rubies in abundance, but lips that speak knowledge are a rare jewel. ''Proverbs 20:15''
We hear a lot of misconceptions about what diabetes is. Caused by too many sugary food maybe, so, what is diabetes? This is a lifelong health condition that can cause a variety of complications. When you have too much glucose in your body, you will not be able to process it, so you will need a way to alleviate the problem.
If you don’t have diabetes, your pancreas senses when glucose has entered your bloodstream and releases the right amount of insulin, so the glucose can get into your cells. But if you have diabetes, this system doesn’t work.
Types of diabetes
There are two main types of diabetes. Type 1 and Type 2
When you’ve got Type 1 diabetes, you can’t make any insulin at all. If you’ve got Type 2 diabetes, it’s a bit different. The insulin you make either can’t work effectively, or you can’t produce enough of it.
In both types of diabetes, because glucose can’t get into your cells, it begins to build up in your blood. And too much glucose in your blood causes a lot of different problems.
Symptoms
Most of the time, there are some specific symptoms that you need to take into account if you believe you have diabetes. These include:
High levels of sugar in your blood and urine
Nausea
Vomiting
Weakness and tiredness
Hunger
Extreme thirst
Frequent urination
Mood swings
Irritability
Skin infections
Blurry vision
Slow healing of wounds
One thing to note is that you won’t feel all of these symptoms. Most of the time, even if you see a few of them, something may be wrong. That’s why you should consider visiting the doctor as fast as possible to avoid any problems and complications.
Is diabetes dangerous?
While it can be managed, diabetes is indeed very dangerous, and it can lead to a variety of complications. You can end up with heart attacks, limb amputation, blindness, anxiety, depression, a stroke, kidney disease and so on.
Not only that, but diabetes can also affect your mental health too. In fact, 30% of all patients with diabetes tend to have depression and anxiety problems too.
Is there a way to treat and control diabetes?
Unfortunately, diabetes is something you will have for the rest of your life. However, you do need to keep it under control. In the case of Type 1 diabetes, regular insulin injections or the use of an insulin pump will be very helpful. For Type 2 diabetes you will need a controlled exercise and diet, but also some injections and tablets. The focus is on keeping your blood’s sugar levels in a normal range.
It’s always important to talk with your doctor when you encounter any of these diabetes-related symptoms. If you handle it early on, the results can be more than ok. You do need to take all of that into consideration. Don’t ignore any of the symptoms above, just go to your doctor as fast as possible!
As someone living with diabetes, when managed well life is very enjoyable :)