Diabetes is a chronic (long-lasting) disease that
affects how your body turns food into energy.
The hormone insulin moves sugar from the blood into your cells to be stored or used for energy. With diabetes,
your body either doesn’t make enough insulin or can’t effectively use the insulin it does make.
There isn’t a cure yet for diabetes, but losing weight,
eating healthy food, and being active can help.
Other things you can do to help:
- Take medicine as prescribed.
- Get diabetes self-management education and support.
- Make and keep health care appointments.
Types of Diabetes
There are a few different types of diabetes,
but let's talk about the 3 most common types of diabetes.
- Type 1 Diabetes
- Type 2 Diabetes
- Gestational Diabetes
Type 1 Diabetes
Type 1 diabetes is known to be caused by an autoimmune reaction (the body attacks itself by mistake).
This reaction prevents your body from making insulin.
Approximately 5-10% of people with diabetes have type 1. Symptoms of type 1 diabetes often develop quickly.
It’s usually diagnosed in children, teens, and young adults. If you have type 1 diabetes, you’ll need to take insulin every day to survive.
Currently, no one knows how to prevent type 1 diabetes.
Symptoms of type 1 diabetes include:
- extreme hunger
- increased thirst
- unintentional weight loss
- frequent urination
- blurry vision
- tiredness
It may also result in mood changes.
Type 2 Diabetes
With type 2 diabetes, the body is not able to use insulin well, and it's not able to keep blood sugar at normal levels.
About 90-95% of people with diabetes have type 2.
It takes a couple of years for it to develop and is usually diagnosed in adults (but more and more in children, teens, and young adults).
You may not notice any symptoms, so it’s important to get your blood sugar tested if you’re at risk.
Type 2 diabetes can be prevented or delayed with healthy lifestyle changes, such as:
- Losing weight.
- Eating healthy food.
- Being active.
Symptoms of type 2 diabetes can include:
- increased hunger
- increased thirst
- increased urination
- blurry vision
- tiredness
- sores that are slow to heal
It may also cause recurring infections. This is because high glucose levels make it harder for the body to heal.
Gestational Diabetes
Gestational diabetes develops in pregnant women who have never had diabetes.
If you have gestational diabetes, your baby could be at higher risk for health problems.
Gestational diabetes usually goes away after your baby is born. However,
it increases your risk for type 2 diabetes later in life.
Your baby is more likely to have obesity as a child or teen and develop type 2 diabetes later in life.
In rare cases, a person with gestational diabetes will also experience increased thirst or urination.
What is Prediabetes?
Prediabetes is a term used when your blood sugar level is higher than normal,
but not high enough for a diagnosis of type 2 diabetes.
It occurs when the cells in your body don’t respond to insulin the way they should.
This can lead to type 2 diabetes down the road.
Experts suggest that 1 out of 3 Americans have prediabetes,
and over 80% of people with prediabetes don’t even know.
Symptoms of diabetes:
These are some of the general and common symptoms of diabetes;
- increased hunger
- increased thirst
- weight loss
- frequent urination
- blurry vision
- extreme fatigue
- sores that don’t heal
- a decreased sex drive
- erectile dysfunction (ED)
- poor muscle strength
- vaginal dryness
- urinary tract infections
- yeast infections
- dry, itchy skin
Bottom line
Diabetes symptoms can be so mild that they’re hard to spot at first.
Learn which signs should prompt a trip to the doctor.
What causes diabetes?
For Type 1 diabetes, doctors don't know what causes it.
For reasons unknown, the immune system attacks the insulin-producing cells
found in the pancreas and destroyed them.
Type 2 diabetes stems from a combination of genetics and lifestyle factors.
Having overweight or obese increases your risk, too. Carrying extra weight, especially in your belly,
makes your cells more resistant to the effects of insulin on your blood sugar.
This condition(Type 2) mostly runs in the family. Family members share genes that make them more likely to get type 2 diabetes.
Gestational diabetes occurs as the result of hormonal changes during pregnancy.
The placenta produces hormones that make a pregnant person’s cells less sensitive to the effects of insulin.
This can cause high blood sugar during pregnancy.
People who are overweight when they get pregnant or who gain too much weight during pregnancy are more likely to get gestational diabetes.
Diabetes risk factors
- are overweight
- are age 45 or older
- have a parent or sibling with the condition
- aren’t physically active
- have had gestational diabetes
- have prediabetes
- have high blood pressure, high cholesterol, or high triglycerides
Adults who have African American, Hispanic or Latino American, or Asian American ancestry are more likely to be diagnosed with type 2 diabetes than white adults,
according to 2016 research. They’re also more likely to experience decreased quality of care and increased barriers to self-management.
Treatment of diabetes
Insulin is the main treatment for type 1 diabetes.
It replaces the hormone your body isn’t able to produce.
Various types of insulin are commonly used by people with type 1 diabetes.
They differ in how quickly they start to work and how long their effects last:
- Rapid-acting insulin: starts to work within 15 minutes and its effects last for 2 to 4 hours
- Short-acting insulin: starts to work within 30 minutes and lasts 3 to 6 hours
- Intermediate-acting insulin: starts to work within 2 to 4 hours and lasts 12 to 18 hours
- Long-acting insulin: starts to work 2 hours after injection and lasts up to 24 hours
- Ultra-long-acting insulin: starts to work 6 hours after injection and lasts 36 hours or more
- Premixed insulin: starts working within 5 to 60 minutes and lasts 10 to 16 hours
Diet and exercise can help some people manage Type 2 diabetes.
You'll need to take medication if lifestyle changes aren’t enough to lower your blood sugar.
Research has found that about 15% to 30% of women who develop gestational diabetes will need insulin to lower their blood sugar. Insulin is safe for the developing baby.
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