Diabetes Mellitus is also simply known as diabetes. It is the disease characterized by a malfunctioning metabolism and a high blood sugar level.
The result can be low levels of insulin or abnormal insulin resistance. This mixed with inadequate levels of insulin secretion results in diabetes.
Symptoms of diabetes mellitus include increased urine production, excessive thirst, extreme fatigue, and excessive thirst and weight loss. These symptoms though may not be present in those people with only mildly elevated sugar levels.
Diabetes mellitus includes type 1, type 2 and gestational diabetes, which occur only during pregnancy. Each type has a different cause and different severity of symptoms.
But all forms of diabetes are dangerous if not treated. With proper management though, people with diabetes can live a long, healthy, normal life.
The main cause of type 1 diabetes mellitus is the loss of insulin producing cells in the pancreas. This ultimately leads to an insulin deficiency.
Type 1 diabetes mellitus is typically found in children and young adults. It is also termed juvenile diabetes. The common treatment for type 1 diabetes mellitus is daily insulin injections to replace the insulin the body is not producing properly, along with careful blood glucose monitoring.
Without careful monitoring and treatment, complications from diabetes could include loss of limps such as arms, legs and feet, blindness and diabetic comas, which can be fatal.
It is extremely important that if you suspect you or your child to have symptoms of diabetes, that you visit your doctor to be tested. If the tests are positive it is not the end of the world. With careful monitoring and care, type 1 diabetics can live long healthy lives.
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Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Diabetes Mellitus
Thursday, May 8, 2008
Diabetes
Diabetes is a growing problem in this country. With our population at an all time high in weight gain and a low in health care, the problem is only growing.
Diabetes is a disease of the metabolism. Our metabolism is what the way our bodies use digested food for energy and growth.
Most food that is processed through our bodies is broken down by digestive juices into a sugar called glucose. Glucose is the fuel our bodies run on.
When we eat, and our food is processed, the pancreas is supposed to produce the right amount of glucose from our blood automatically and release the right amount of insulin into our blood.
In people with diabetes, little to no insulin is produced or the body's cells don't respond correctly to the insulin that is produced. Therefore the glucose builds up and overflows into the urine and passes out of the body.
This is how the body loses its main source of fuel even though the bloodstream contains good amounts of the natural glucose.
There are three types of diabetes, type 1, type 2 and gestational diabetes. People who have type 1 are known as insulin-dependent.
This is an autoimmune disease where the body's natural system is fighting against another part of the body. In the case of type 1 diabetes, the system attacks the insulin producing cells and destroys them.
Therefore the pancreas can produce little to no insulin. These people are in need of daily injections of insulin to live. Five to ten percent of diabetes cases are type 1 in the US.
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