Diabetes mellitus is a group of diseases that affect how glucose (blood sugar) is used by the body. Glucose is an important way for the cells that make up muscles and tissues to get energy. It’s also the main source of energy for the brain.
Different types of diabetic conditions have different main causes. But having any kind of diabetic condition can cause your blood sugar to be too high. If the blood has too much sugar, it can cause serious health problems.
Type 1 diabetes and type 2 diabetes are both long-term types of diabetic conditions. Prediabetes and diabetes during pregnancy are two types of diabetes that might be curable. When blood sugar levels are higher than usual, this is called prediabetes. But the blood sugar levels are not high enough to be called diabetes. And prediabetes can turn into diabetic condition if nothing is done to stop it. Gestational diabetes happens when a woman is expecting. But it might stop once the baby is born.
Symptoms
How you feel when you have a diabetic condition depends on how high your blood sugar is. Some people may not have any symptoms, especially if they have prediabetes, gestational diabetes, or type 2 diabetes. Symptoms of type 1 diabetes tend to come on quickly and be worse.
Some of the signs and symptoms of both type 1 and type 2 diabetes are:
- Feeling thirstier than normal.
- Peeing a lot.
- Getting thinner without even trying.
- Ketones show up in the urine. Ketones are made when your body breaks down muscle and fat because there isn’t enough insulin.
- Feeling weak and tired.
- Feeling angry or having other changes in mood.
- Being unable to see clearly.
- Having wounds that heal slowly.
- Getting a lot of infections, such as in the gums, face, or vaginal area.
Diabetes type 1 can start at any age. But it often begins in childhood or adolescence. Anyone can get type 2 diabetes, which is the most common type. People older than 40 are more likely to have type 2 diabetes. But the number of children with type 2 diabetes is growing.
When To Visit A Doctor
If you suspect that you or your child may have a diabetic condition. If you think you might have diabetes, you should talk to a doctor. The sooner the problem is found, the sooner treatment can start.
If you already know you have a diabetic condition. Once you know you have diabetes, you will need close medical care until your blood sugar levels settle.
Causes
To understand diabetes, you need to know how the body uses glucose regularly.
How Insulin Works
Insulin is a hormone that comes from a gland behind and below the stomach (pancreas).
- The pancreas produces insulin into the bloodstream.
- The insulin circulates, letting sugar enter the cells.
- Insulin reduces how much sugar is in the blood.
- As the amount of sugar in the blood drops, the pancreas makes less insulin.
How Glucose Works
The cells that make up muscles and other tissues get energy from glucose, which is a sugar.
- Food and the liver are the two main places where glucose comes from.
- Sugar gets into the bloodstream, where insulin helps it get into cells.
- The liver stores glucose and makes it.
When glucose levels are low, like when you haven’t eaten in a while, the liver breaks down glycogen into glucose. This keeps your blood sugar level in the normal range.
The exact cause of most types of diabetic conditions is unknown. Sugar builds up in the bloodstream in all situations. The pancreas isn’t making enough insulin, so this happens. Both type 1 and type 2 diabetes can be caused by both genes and the surroundings. It’s not clear what those things could be.
Possible Dangers
Different types of diabetic conditions have different risk factors. All types can be affected by family background. Geography and the environment can make the chance of getting type 1 diabetes higher.
People with type 1 diabetes may have their family members tested to see if they have diabetic condition immune system cells (autoantibodies). If you have these autoantibodies, your chance of getting type 1 diabetes is higher. But not everyone who has autoantibodies develops diabetic condition.
Your race or culture may also make you more likely to get type 2 diabetic condition. Some people, like Black, Hispanic, American Indian, and Asian Americans, are at a higher risk, but no one knows why.
People who are overweight or fat are more likely to have prediabetes, type 2 diabetes, and gestational diabetes.
Complications
Diabetes slowly leads to long-term problems. The risk of problems goes up the longer you have diabetic condition and the less well you control your blood sugar. In the long run, problems from diabetic condition can make it hard to live or even kill you. Prediabetes can, in fact, lead to type 2 diabetes. Some things that could go wrong are:
Cardiovascular disease is damage to the heart and blood vessels. Diabetes majorly increases the risk of many heart problems. Some of these are coronary artery disease with chest pain (angina), a heart attack, a stroke, and atherosclerosis, which is when the arteries get narrower. If you have diabetic condition, you’re more likely to have heart disease or stroke.
Diabetes-related nerve damage is called diabetic neuropathy. Too much sugar can damage the walls of the tiny blood vessels (capillaries) that feed the nerves, especially in the legs. This can cause tingling, numbness, burning or pain that usually starts at the tips of the toes or fingers and gradually spreads upward.
Damage to the muscles that control digestion can cause sickness, vomiting, diarrhea, or the inability to go to the bathroom. It could cause sexual problems in men.
Diabetes can hurt the kidneys (diabetic nephropathy). Millions of tiny groups of blood vessels (glomeruli) in the kidneys remove waste from the blood. Diabetes can damage this delicate screening system.
Diabetes can hurt the eyes (diabetic retinopathy). Eye blood vessels can be hurt by diabetic condition. This could make someone go blind.
- Foot harm. Damage to the nerves in the feet or bad blood flow to the feet can make many foot problems more likely.
- Skin and mouth problems. Diabetes may make you more likely to get skin problems, like bacterial and fungal infections.
- Hearing problems. Hearing problems are more likely in people with diabetic condition.
- Alzheimer’s disease. Type 2 diabetes may raise the chance of dementia, such as Alzheimer’s disease.
- Diabetes can lead to depression. Depression symptoms are common in people with type 1 and type 2 diabetes.
Problems With Gestational Diabetes
Most women who have gestational diabetes deliver healthy kids. But if you don’t treat your blood sugar or keep it under control, it can cause problems for you and your baby.
Gestational diabetic condition can cause problems for your baby, such as:
- Excess growth. Extra glucose can cross the placenta. The baby’s pancreas makes more insulin when it gets more glucose. This can cause your baby to grow too big. It can lead to a tough birth and sometimes the need for a C-section.
- Low blood glucose. Sometimes babies of mothers with gestational diabetes develop low blood sugar (hypoglycemia) shortly after birth. This is because their own insulin production is high.
- Diabetes type 2 in later life. Babies of moms who have gestational diabetes have a higher chance of getting obesity and type 2 diabetes later in life.
- Death. Untreated gestational diabetes can lead to a baby’s death either before or soon after birth.
Complications in the mother also can be caused by maternal diabetic condition, including:
- Preeclampsia. Symptoms of this disease include high blood pressure, too much protein in the pee, and swelling in the legs and feet.
- Gestational diabetes. If you had gestational diabetic condition during one pregnancy, you are more likely to get it again during your next pregnancy.
Prevention
Type 1 diabetes can’t be avoided. But the good living choices that help treat prediabetes, type 2 diabetes and gestational diabetic condition can also help avoid them:
- Eat healthy foods. Choose foods that are higher in fiber and have less fat and calories. Focus on fruits, veggies, and grains that are whole. Eat a range of foods, so you don’t get bored.
- Do more active things. Try to get about 30 minutes of moderate aerobic activity on most days of the week. Or aim to get at least 150 minutes of moderate aerobic activity a week. For example, go for a long walk every day. If you can’t fit in a long workout, break it up into smaller sessions throughout the day.
- Lose the extra weight. If you’re overweight, losing even 7% of your body weight can lower your risk of diabetes. For example, if you weigh 200 pounds (90.7 kilograms), losing 14 pounds (6.4 kilograms) can lower your risk of getting diabetic condition.
But you shouldn’t try to lose weight while you’re pregnant. Talk to your doctor about how much weight you can safely gain during your pregnancy.
To keep your weight in a healthy range, work on long-term changes to your eating and exercise habits. Think about the good things that will happen if you lose weight, like a better heart, more energy, and a higher sense of self-worth.
Drugs are sometimes an option. Metformin and other diabetic condition pills taken by mouth may lower the chance of getting type 2 diabetic condition. But healthy lifestyle choices are important. If you have prediabetes, your blood sugar should be checked at least once a year to make sure you haven’t turned into a type 2 diabetic.