Diabetes

What is diabetes?

Diabetes is a chronic disease that occurs when the way your body turns food into energy malfunctions. When you eat food, your body breaks it into simple sugars, called glucose, and puts it into your bloodstream where it interacts with a hormone called insulin, which is produced by your pancreas. Insulin triggers your cells to consume this glucose, which it uses for energy.

When you have diabetes, this system breaks down. With Type 1 diabetes, your pancreas either doesn’t produce enough insulin or produces no insulin at all. In Type 2 diabetes, the insulin your pancreas makes doesn’t work as well as it should and your body can’t use it effectively.

Without your cells consuming glucose, the glucose levels in your blood increase, which eventually causes damage to your heart, eyes, and kidneys. Also, without the energy from the sugar, your cells begin to starve. This creates other problems, including neuropathy, fatigue, frequent infections, and slow healing.

What causes diabetes?

Type 1 diabetes results from an autoimmune reaction where your body attacks itself by mistake, seeing the insulin as an outside threat. Over time, this causes your pancreas to cease insulin production. The condition develops between childhood and young adulthood and there’s no cure. As far as is currently understood, Type 1 diabetes can’t be prevented.

Type 2 diabetes occurs when your body doesn’t effectively use the insulin your pancreas creates and struggles to maintain your blood sugar level. This type of diabetes is most often diagnosed in adults, especially those who are overweight and live a sedentary lifestyle. With regular exercise and a healthy diet, you can often manage Type 2 diabetes without medication, and in some cases even reverse the condition.

How is diabetes treated?

if you have Type 1 diabetes, it’s treated with daily insulin injections. Dr. Bland may also prescribe other medications to minimize the effect of the disease on your other body systems.

With Type 2 diabetes, your treatment starts with reaching and maintaining a healthy weight, improving your diet, and engaging in a regular exercise routine. By monitoring your blood sugar every day, you can see how these changes impact your sugar levels. If these changes aren’t enough, you may need medication to improve the quality of your insulin or make your body more receptive to the insulin that’s available.

If you’re at risk for diabetes, call the specialists at Bland Clinic, P.A. today or go online to book your appointment.