Diabetes,Cause, Symptoms, and Effects

In my first Hub article, The First Step to Understanding Diabetes is Education, I wanted to help people understand the body processes that are related to diabetes. As a well informed diabetic or a family member of a diabetic there are other important factors that need to be understood in order to get a clear picture of what you and your loved ones are dealing with.

When I was diagnosed with type two diabetes in 2004 it was a frightening time for me. I had a friend who had severe diabetes and I knew what the condition had done to her life. What was it going to do to my life? At that point I knew I had to learn every thing I could about the condition in order to deal with it. I thought I knew a lot when in fact I knew very little.

There are two types of diabetes. Type 1 Diabetes is an autoimmune disease and affects a very small percentage of the population, often called juvenile diabetes, with this form of the disease the pancreas does not produce the insulin our body needs to function. Although the medical community does not have definitive answers when it comes to a cause, type 1 is thought to be influenced by the following factors, genetics, malnutrition, and a possible virus infection that attacks the pancreas. Type 2 Diabetes is often called adult-onset diabetes because it often develops in middle age. It occurs when the body produces enough insulin but cannot utilize it effectively. The factors that influence the onset of this type of diabetes are often, poor diet, obesity, a sedentary lifestyle, high blood pressure, high triglycerides, and high cholesterol.

When I was diagnosed my risk factors were very high. I was 30 pounds over weight, I did not exercise on a regular basis, and I was being treated for high blood pressure, high triglycerides, and high cholesterol. The fact is, our American lifestyle is the culprit in the diabetes epidemic that is occurring in the United States.

Diabetes symptoms often mimic other health issues that are unrelated to the disease and are easily ignored. Sometimes there are no symptoms at all until the disease has taken control of our body’s. In my case I believe I had diabetes for about a year before being diagnosed. I never had the two classic symptoms many people attribute to diabetes which are thirst and frequent urination. What I did have was a general sense of unwell. I was exhausted all the time, with general overall body aches that would come and go. I often felt mentally unfocused and lightheaded and on occasion my heart would feel like it was racing. My partner and I attributed this to menopause and so I ignored the symptoms until one day my diabetic friend said,” Let’s test your blood sugar.” My glucose reading was 195. In a person without diabetes a fasting test (first thing in the morning) should be less than 100. A glucose reading, two hours after a meal should ideally be less than 140, although a diagnosis of diabetes is often not made until your after meal glucose levels reach 200 or more.Any reading, however, that is above 140 starts to do damage to the body.It was at this point I realized I needed to see my doctor. After blood tests which put me just over the threshold of Pre-diabetes my doctor said, “You have diabetes.”

His diagnosis was frightening to me. I knew all too well the serious nature of this devastating condition because I had watched my friend battle her illness for years. Since diabetes is all about excess glucose circulating in your blood stream with no place to go, common sense tells you that every organ in our body is affected and damaged by the disease. Some of the most serious effects associated with diabetes include: heart disease, kidney failure, blindness, amputation of the limbs, due to the inability of the body to heal properly, nerve damage, digestive disorders, and sexual dysfunction in both men and women. To say the least this list should convince everyone to take this condition seriously. Diabetes can be a silent killer if ignored and by the time serious symptoms present themselves much of the damage has been done and can be irreversible. Keep an eye out for more of my articles on, Living Well with Diabetes, as I strive to offer hope, comfort, and a helping hand to anyone who needs it.