An Introduction to Diabetes

There are many types of the disease diabetes mellitus. They are type 1, type 2, maturity-onset diabetes in the young, and latent autoimmune diabetes of adulthood. One thing all of these types of diabetes has in common is they describe an inability to self-regulate blood glucose levels. Here are more facts about diabetes you need to know.

Diabetes is an emerging epidemic in the US according to the US Centers for Disease Control. About 10 percent of the people suffering from diabetes are US residents. And, almost the same number of people have prediabetes. This is an impaired glucose tolerance. It is considered to be a forerunner to type 2 Diabetes. The worst part of this is that most of these people have no idea they have this medical condition.

There are more that physical costs to diabetes. There is also a huge monetary expense. This disease costs billions of dollars in medical expenses and lost productivity. And, that is not the only addition expense. The costs of the complications of chronic diabetes are almost as much as the disease itself.

If your blood glucose levels are not controlled, it can do major damage to your body. High blood glucose can cause damage in almost every bodily system. Just a few of the complications are heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, retinopathy, kidney disease, and nerve damage. Preventing these complications is the major reason for educating yourself about your condition.

There are medical breakthroughs in diabetes all the time. There are advances in glucose monitoring. There are even new oral medications and insulin forms being developed that can improve the quality of life for diabetics. Unfortunately, a cure has not yet been discovered. Because there is not cure, keeping track of blood glucose levels and how they are affected by outside sources is essential.

Getting on top of diabetes as soon as possible is essential to keeping the complications from occurring. And, self monitoring is the best way to do this. Knowing about the disease will help you know how to fight it. And, the more knowledge you have the more ammunition you have. More ammunition means you have a better chance of staying as healthy as possible. You need to be the leader of your medical team. Do not depend on anyone else to keep updated on new breakthroughs or any other type of information. Taking control may be the key to controlling your condition. It is all up to you.

SOURCE

Ford-Martin, Paula with Ian Blumer, M.D. "The Everything Diabetes Book". 2004. F&W Publications, Inc. Avon, Ma, USA.