Two days ago, Hubby was diagnosed with diabetes. We weren't really surprised. After all, remember, he's the one making all those cakes, donuts, pies....but it looks like things are going to be changing in our household now. Diabetes is very common. Most of our family, his side and mine, has diabetes. His mom and dad both have it. His sister has it. His nephew has it. On my side of the family, my great~grandmother had it. She had both legs amputated as a result. My grandfather had it and my mom, aunt, brother and 20~year old nephew has it. That's not even counting all the cousins. So, at least Hubby is not alone as he begins his struggle in learning to live with diabetes. After finding out Hubby was diagnosed, I hit the internet hard and researched all night. I read whatever I could find in order to learn more about it. I already knew quite a bit because of other family members with it, but I wanted to learn more and thought I'd share what I learned. (I guess here is where I add the disclaimer that, of course, I'm not a doctor, this is just research I've found on the internet and by now my family and friends are laughing at me ....at the very thought of me being a doctor..lol) It appears that 29 million people are estimated as being diagnosed with having diabetes. 7 million people have it and don't even realize it and 79 million people have what is known as "pre~diabetes". Pre~diabetes occurs when some but not all of the criteria for diabetes has been met. With pre~diabetes, the blood levels are high but just not quite high enough to be diagnosed with diabetes. The way our body works: In a "healthy" person, the digestive tract normally breaks down food into glucose, which is a form of sugar and after it's absorbed by the body, it is then released into the blood. The hormone insulin, which is produced by the pancreas, stimulates cells to absorb glucose from the bloodstream and then use it for energy. But diabetes is the disease that occurs when the body can't control blood glucose levels the way it should. Type 1 Diabetes: Type 1 is often referred to as "Juvenile Diabetes". It usually appears in children and young adults and is caused when the immune system mistakenly attacks insulin-producing cells in the pancreas. Normally, our body's immune system fights off those little pesky nuisances, such as bacteria or viruses, but in Type 1, our body's immune system will attack various cells in our bodies. Which is why our bodies then have a deficiency of the insulin hormone. Doctors believe that some factors such as genetics and exposure to certain types of viruses may contribute to Type 1 diabetes. Symptoms that may occur with Type 1 include:
My nephew has Type 1 and has struggled severely with it. He's been in the hospital 4 times, I believe, within a year or so. His last hospital stay, his sugar level was over 1800, leaving him in an unresponsive state. Some refer to this as a diabetic coma. Type 2 Diabetes: Type 2 occurs when tissues in the body gradually become resistant or does not respond to the effect of insulin, a hormone that is released through the pancreas. The pancreas then responds by making more of the hormone. But eventually it can't keep up, and blood sugar levels will start to climb. Type 2 is also the most common form of diabetes but also the most preventable. The risk factor for Type 2 also increases with age. Some of the risk factors for Type 2 may also include:
Hubby has all of those risk factors mentioned above. Symptoms that may occur with Type 2 include:
Hubby had all those symptoms as well, except the weight loss, which would have been his "symptom of choice" if he could have picked one! Eye complications: Diabetes can also cause eye problems and may lead to blindness. People with diabetes do have a higher risk of blindness than people without diabetes. But most people who have diabetes have nothing more than minor eye disorders. Hubby just recently went to his eye doctor because of problems with his left eye and discovered that he has "unexplained nerve damage" in that eye. This was discovered about 2 weeks prior to him finding out that he was a diabetic and now I can't help but wonder if diabetes may be the cause. If you suspect you may have diabetes: Your doctor can run a simple blood test that measures blood sugar levels or a test called a hemoglobin A1c. The A1C test gives you an overall picture of your average blood glucose (blood sugar) control for the past 2 to 3 months. The results also can give you a good idea of how well your diabetes treatment plan is working after being diagnosed. I also found this description of the A1C test on the internet while researching and thought it was a perfect way to describe it. It's like a baseball player's season batting average, it tells you about a person's overall success. Neither a single day's blood test results nor a single game's batting record gives the same big picture. I know all of this is very boring but once diabetes strikes, you have to be armed and prepared. As a result from my "all night researching" I've learned that with the right treatment plan and making the recommended lifestyle changes that your doctor suggests, many people with diabetes can delay and even prevent the onset of any further complications. It's not the end of the world. We just have to learn how to live with it. Thanks for stopping by and letting me vent all this newly acquired info that's raging around in my head now. Even with all this info, I still worry about Hubby :( Anyways, be good and be pretty and as always... ✻ღϠ₡ღ✻ God Bless ✻ღϠ₡ღ✻ |
HI! My name is Lori and I am a self~ proclaimed agoraphobic and rarely leave my home. My blog is a place for me to come and embrace my Edith Bunker tendencies and to share a few of the things I love. Stories, recipes and crafts, all with a little humor thrown in along the way! ღღ
Archives
June 2023
Categories |