Diabetes Mellitus

How much do you really know about Diabetes? Did you know that there are four types, how to lessen your chances of getting diabetes, new treatments being developed for people who require insulin, or perhaps warning signs and ways to prevent you from being one of the 90% with diabetes type 2?

What is Diabetes Mellitus? Diabetes Mellitus, often just called diabetes, is a chronic disease developed in the pancreas usually due to a deficiency of insulin.

There are four types of diabetes, type 1, type 2, Gestational diabetes, and other specific types. Diabetes Mellitus type one is most commonly found in people whose pancreas cannot produce the hormone insulin. Insulin helps get rid of extra glucose contained in the blood of the arteries. Many people with this type of diabetes must take insulin injections several times a day.

Type two diabetes is found in about 90% of the world's population containing people over 45. In type two diabetes the pancreas produces very little insulin, which causes people to have abnormal blood glucose (sugar) levels.

Gestational diabetes occurs only during pregnancy and usually disappears when the pregnancy is over. This occurs in 2 to 5 pregnancies and is most commonly found among African Americans, Hispanic/Latino Americans, and American Indians. Although all symptoms return to normal after giving birth more than one half of all women who developed gestational diabetes develop type two diabetes within fifteen years of the pregnancy.

Other types of diabetes usually occur in 1 to 2 percent of all diagnosed cases of diabetes as a results from specific genetic syndromes, surgery, drugs, malnutrition, infections, and other illnesses.

What are the causes and effects of Diabetes Mellitus? In type one diabetes cases, the pancreas cannot produce insulin, in which that allows glucose to build up clogging the arteries which can lead to blindness, heart attacks, kidney failure, stroke, nerve damage, amputations or death if not treated properly.

Type two diabetes is not as serious as type one, but should be taken just as cautiously. Undergoing a large amount of stress, having hormonal changes, periods of growth, illness or infections and fatigue could cause a sudden increase or decrease in their blood glucose level. Having an excessive amount of glucose in your blood stream resulting from diabetes type two, cause cells to become starved for energy this could later result to blindness, kidney failure, nerve damage or heart conditions.

Having high blood sugar levels cause people to become unaware of their surroundings and may also cause headaches, to have blurry vision, being of constant thirst, or having to go to the bathroom often. When people of diabetes type two go below the normal blood glucose level they tend to feel shaky, tied, hungry, nervous, or feelings of confusion start to occur.

Gestational Diabetes does not cause birth defects, but may cause the baby to develop a condition called macrosomia (large body). If the mother develops Gestational Diabetes during the pregnancy and if her blood contains too much glucose, in which the fetus feeds, the pancreas of the fetus produces more insulin storing the extra glucose as fat. In some cases of Gestational Diabetes the baby may become too large to fit through the vagina canal and therefore the need for a cesarean operation becomes necessary. Developing this condition Macrosomia increases the risk of the baby having hypoglycemia (low blood glucose) immediately after delivery.

Who is at a higher risk? As the risk factors keep changing, children and teens particularly Hispanics, blacks and American Indians, and also people over forty-five years of age are at a higher risk. Children and teens being over weight, obese or those with poor eating habits are at a much greater risk than those of a well balanced nutritional diet and physical fitness. Genetics too, play a factor in the chances of developing diabetes. Often Gestational Diabetes occurs in women who have a previous family history of diabetes and sometimes reappears several years later as a case of diabetes.

Diabetics undergoing heart surgery to unblock clogged arteries have a higher death rate than non-diabetics and also diabetic patients are more likely to have restenosis or re-blockage of the arteries six months after the operation.

What are some symptoms and warning signs? With insulin-dependent patients (type 1) the symptoms are likely to involve nausea, vomiting, constant mild or severe stomach pains, rapid hard breathing, fruity odor of breath, or drowsiness.

Patients resulting from type two diabetes might be overweight or obese, excessively thirsty, may urinate frequently and or bed-wets even when toilet trained, they may have unexplained weight loss, extreme hunger, visionary changes, tingling or numbness in hands or feet, tiredness, very dry skin, slowly healing sores, more infections than usual, or having dark, velvety, thick lesions called acanthosis nigricans in the following areas: the front or back of the body, neck, armpits, or where ever the skin folds.

Treatments for diabetes type one patients require a strict healthy diet, physical activities, home blood glucose testings six or more times a day, and multiple daily insulin injections. While diabetes type two patients include diet control, exercise, home blood glucose testing and in some cases they may require insulin or oral medications. About 40% of diabetes type two patients ever need insulin injections.

In the United States today direct medical costs for people with diabetes is $44 billion dollars a year and