Living with diabetes presents challenges that people without it will understand. Still, people with diabetes can lead relatively normal, healthy lives providing they adhere to proper diet, medications, and exercise.
What is diabetes?
Diabetes is the result of your body not producing enough insulin to break down the sugar in your bloodstream. The condition is largely caused by poor eating habits and lack of exercise, but is also influenced by genetics and can be hereditary. Untreated cases can result in dehydration, kidney failure, blindness, meningitis, tachycardia, muscle weakness, sexual dysfunctions, slowed healing, and even the amputation of hands or feet.
To start off, let’s go over the two types of Diabetes: Insipidus and Mellitus.
Diabetes Insipidus is the condition in which your body is incapable of producing enough insulin to do what its supposed to do. This type of diabetes is treatable. You will need medications, exercise and strict diet to maintain your health.
Diabetes Mellitus manifests in five types (including the Type I and Type II distinctions you’re probably familiar with). Each type results from insulin interruptions that confuse the system. The disruption impairs the body’s ability to function normally and usually requires insulin shots to be neutralized.
How would I find out that I have diabetes?
If you go to your doctors on a regular basis, your doctor will monitor your health. If you have family history of diabetes, let your doctor know so he/she can conduct random testing. A glucose test is necessary to find diabetes; blood lab tests are also extremely helpful.
What should I watch for?
Two of the most common symptoms are unquenchable thirst and inexplicable fatigue. Depending on the type of diabetes, symptoms can also include weakness, pain, weight loss, and weight gain.
What can I do to prevent it?
No one has control over this disease but you. If you adhere to regular checkups, the doctor can catch the disease at an early stage from which it can be managed. Your two main priorities are to eat right and exercise regularly. It’s hugely important to either maintain your healthy weight or lose the unhealthy weight that’s literally killing you.
What are the consequences of being diagnosed with diabetes?
This completely depends on how early the disease is caught and what you do about it. Untreated, it can wreak havoc on your body and kill you. Managed properly, patients can live a good, long life. One of the top recommendations doctors give diabetes patients is to consume lots of fluids. Diabetes drains your bodily organs of its natural elements, so you’re losing fluids all the time. You also need to avoid saturated fat foods and basic sugars and make sure to get tested regularly to keep your condition monitored and in check.