Diabetes is an extremely common chronic disease that has a massive impact on many people across the globe. The World Health Organisation estimates that 422 million people worldwide currently live with the condition and numbers have risen steadily over recent decades. This article covers the things you need to know about diabetes such as how your GP will diagnose and treat the condition.
What is diabetes?
Diabetes is a condition where there are high levels of sugar or glucose in the blood. It can be classed into two types: type 1 and type 2. They are both very different conditions but share common symptoms, which can include extreme thirst, increased fatigue, frequent urination, unexplained weight loss, and blurred vision.
Type 1
Type one diabetes is an auto-immune disease, which means that your body is producing antibodies that attack your cells. In this case, they attack the cells which produce insulin. When this happens, your pancreas stops producing insulin, which often leads to the development of high blood sugar levels.
Type 2
Type 2 diabetes is when your body is resistant to the insulin it is producing. The cause of type 2 diabetes is not fully understood, but it has been linked to being overweight, obese and low activity levels.
How is diabetes diagnosed?
The most common way to diagnose diabetes is through blood tests that measure glucose levels. Glucose can be measured in urine, but it isn't always reliable as it may not reflect the levels in the blood properly. It is also unreliable over time as the body produces more antibodies that attack your body cells if your sugars are too high, so it takes longer before glucose levels return to normal. Fasting blood tests are better for this reason, which means you won't have eaten anything after midnight on the day of measurement.
How will your GP treat diabetes?
Monitoring your blood sugar levels is the key when it comes to treating diabetes. Type 1 diabetes is treated using daily insulin injections. This is because the body isn't producing any insulin of its own at all, so your blood sugar levels will be beyond what you can control by diet and exercise alone.
Type 2 diabetes can be treated in much the same way as type 1 but injections are normally given in combination with diet and exercise advice.
For more information about diabetes, contact your GP today. They'll answer your questions.
