Three hundred seventy one million people have been diagnosed with diabetes globally. Four million people died from diabetes in 2011, and it’s estimated that four point eight million people will die this year from complications of diabetes, half of those are people under sixty years old. Researchers estimate that by the year 2030, diabetes will affect five hundred fifty two million people.1 Diabetes is in the top ten leading cause of death list at number seven. In the last twenty years, people diagnosed with Diabetes has more than tripled as the U.S.
population has aged and become more overweight.3 Although there is no cure for diabetes, there are ways to help maintain blood sugar. From insulin pumps to shots, more treatments are coming to light and are proven helpful to those with diabetes. Diabetes occurs when your blood glucose also known as your blood sugar is too high. Blood glucose is the main source of our body’s energy and comes from the food we eat.
Insulin, which is a hormone made from the pancreas, helps glucose from food get into your cells to help energize your body. With Diabetes, your body either doesn’t make enough, or any, insulin or in certain cases doesn’t use the insulin well. Because of this, the glucose stays in your blood and it doesn’t reach your blood. There are only two types of Diabetes: Type 1 and Type 2. 2 Diabetes also has an opposite effect where the blood sugar becomes too low and is then called hypoglycemia, and is common in both Type 1 and Type 2.
3 Type 1 is when your body doesn’t make any insulin. This is most common in children and young adults. Only five percent of people diagnosed with diabetes has Type 1. 2 Type 1 is caused by an autoimmune reaction which means that the body is attacking itself by mistake.
This means the beta cells the pancreas create are slowly being destroyed. Eventually, insulin deficiency is destroyed. Without the insulin to move the glucose into cells, the levels of glucose become too high. Since the body can’t use the sugar, it spills into the urine and is lost. Insulin prevents this from happening. Currently there is no way to prevent Type 1.3 Though there is much talk that Type 1 is a cause of genetics. They’ve found about 18 genetic locations that are related to Type 1.
Most people diagnosed with Type 1 do not have any family history of the disease. Even if a first degree family member has the disease, there’s only a ten percent of chance that you could inherit it. If identical twins are born, one twin only has a thirty three percent chance even if the other twin is born with it. People are more likely to inherit Type 1 from their father with Type 1 than their mother. Genetics can’t fully explain any of the types of diabetes. The percent of people suffering with diabetes is increasing world wide.
4 People with Type 1 often suffer with frequent urination, excessive thirst, extreme hunger, sudden weight loss, extreme fatigue, irritability, and blurred vision. Many of these come abruptly and are more severe than others. People with Type 1 should also be aware of the symptoms of hypoglycemia which comes upon the body quickly. These symptoms are excessive sweating, unusual trembling, unexplainable hunger, rapid heartbeat, and confusion. It’s vital to treat hypoglycemia by eating something high in sugar such as a hard candy, a popsicle, and even some type of fruit juice.3 If this isn’t treated quickly, hypoglycemia can cause death. Common medicines used to treat diabetes are taking insulin either in shots or orally. People with type 1 are able to help their disease with counting carbohydrates, fat, and proteins.
It’s also able to be taken under control by eating healthy and exercising to maintain a healthy weight.3 People with Type 2 diabetes body’s often don’t make enough or use enough insulin. This causes the body to not use the insulin properly which is known as insulin resistance. Insulin is able to attach to the lateral line on livers and muscle cells, the mechanism on these organs cause the insulin from moving the sugar into the cells where it is able to be used. During the beginning of diabetes, this small amount of insulin can normally overcome the resistance. Eventually, the pancreas stops producing insulin to overcome the resistance. This is normally an unusual rise in blood sugar in the body after a meal.
This cycle of raised sugar damages the beta cells in the body, which in turn acutely reduces the insulin production in the person’s body and causes diabetes.5 The symptoms of Type 2 is the same as Type 1: frequent urination, excessive thirst, extreme hunger, extreme fatigue, irritability, and blurred vision. Many people with Type 2 diabetes are overweight, obese, or are becoming overweight or obese.4 Type 2 diabetics should stay aware of the symptoms of hypoglycemia.
These symptoms are excessive sweating, unusual trembling, unexplainable hunger, rapid heartbeat, and confusion. Medicines used to treat Type 2 are similar to the medicine used to treat Type 1. Though the treatments are more directed towards eating healthy and losing weight. There are a number of different types of insulin. There’s a short acting insulin, which is the normal insulin most diabetics are on. This insulin just helps your body with it’s insulin creations and provides more where your body falls short.
There’s rapid acting insulin which is supposed to act quickly and be given quickly and last only for a few. Intermediate acting insulin is often taken in conjunction with the short acting insulin. This is supposed to affect the person within an hour and then have a peak that can last up to seven hours. Long acting insulin is given and lasts throughout the day.
The most common way diabetics receive their insulin is through shots and injections. Insulin can’t be taken orally because stomach enzymes will break down the insulin itself. Most people use thin needles or ‘pens’ to inject the insulin beneath the skin.6 The pens look like normal ink pens and can be bought as disposable or refillable. If a diabetic decides to go the injection route then they must be prepared to give themselves the injection as well as have several different kinds of insulin on hand to make it through the day as well as the night. Many diabetics have to check their sugar after every meal and before going to bed. These injections will likely use a mix of rapid-acting insulin and long-acting insulin that mimics the body’s normal use of insulin. More than three shots a day is known to help the blood sugar level better.
6The most common type of insulin is in shots, but one relatively new insulin distributer is called an insulin pump. An insulin pump is a device about as big as a cell phone that you wear attached to your body on the outside throughout the day. A tube connects the insulin to a catheter under your abdomen. The pump can be worn a number of ways such as in your pocket or on your waistband. There is also an option to get an insulin pump without a wire included within. In this case, you wear a case called a pod that houses the insulin on your body that includes a tiny catheter that is inserted within your skin. This can be worn on your abdomen, your lower back, or even your leg or your arm.
This program is used by a wireless device that sends the information back and forth between the pod and the device, almost as if they were having their own unique conversation. These pumps are wired to automatically produce rapid-acting insulin.6 When you eat food, the pump programs itself to count the amount of carbohydrates your eating as well as monitor the level of your sugar as you eat. As you eat, you will receive a ‘bolus dose’ of insulin to cover your meal and to maintain your blood sugar.
Researchers have found that insulin pumps are more effective at helping to maintain blood sugar than shots and injections.