What is Diabetes?

Diabetes is a condition that affects the way your body uses food and liquid for its energy. Diabetes is also known as a disorder of metabolism. Usually, the sugar from the food you take in is broken down and digested to what's called a simple sugar, otherwise known as glucose. The glucose then goes into your bloodstream where it waits to be distributed into your body's cells to be used as energy.

Insulin is a hormone that is produced by your pancreas, which is a large gland behind the stomach. What it does is, it helps move the glucose into your body's cells. A typically healthy pancreas regulates the amount of insulin based on the level of glucose. But, if you have diabetes, this process breaks down, and your pancreas produces little to no insulin or the cells do not respond to the insulin that is produced. Then your blood sugar levels become too high and you body looses the main source of fuel even though there are large amounts of fuel in your bloodstream.

If the high blood glucose levels are not controlled, a host of other health issues can happen. Diabetes can cause any wound to heal much more slowly and even put you at a higher risk of getting an infection. Diabetes also has an effect on your gums and make you more likely to have dental problems. Diabetes affects your nerve cells, blood vessels, eyes, and even your kidneys. Diabetes also puts you at risk for a stroke or even a heart attack. Controlling your blood glucose today can help to prevent or delay problems in the future.

• Type 1 diabetes-Accounts for about 1 of 10 people with Diabetes or roughly 5 to 10 percent.

Type 1 diabetes is also known as juvenile or insulin dependent diabetes. It develops most often in children and young adults but can appear at any age. Type 1 is an autoimmune disease. An autoimmune disease is when the body's system for fighting infection otherwise known as the immune system-turns against a part of your body. With diabetes, your immune system attacks the insulin producing beta cells in your pancreas. When that happens, your pancreas then produces little to no insulin. A person who has type 1 diabetes must take a regular amount of insulin daily to live either by injection or by insulin pump.

Science has yet to determine what causes the body's immune system to attack these beta cells, but they believe many influences could be involved. Some of which include: autoimmune, genetic, and environmental factors, possibly viruses.

Symptoms of type 1 diabetes usually develop suddenly. Symptoms may include increased thirst and urination, continuous hunger, sudden weight loss, blurry vision, and extreme fatigue. If not diagnosed and treated with insulin, a person with type 1 diabetes can lapse into what's called a diabetic ketoacidosis also called a life-threatening diabetic coma.

• Type 2 diabetes-Accounts for about 90% of people diagnosed with diabetes (most common)

Type 2 Diabetes is also known as adult on-set or noninsulin-dependent diabetes. About 80 percent of people with type 2 diabetes are generally overweight. This form of diabetes is most often associated with older age, obesity, family history of diabetes, previous history of gestational diabetes, physical inactivity, and certain ethnicities.

Type 2 diabetes is increasingly being diagnosed in children and young adults, especially among African American, Mexican American, and Pacific Islander youth.

When type 2 diabetes is diagnosed, the pancreas is usually producing enough insulin, but for some reason the body cannot use the insulin effectively, this is a condition called insulin resistance. Symptoms may not show for many years and, by the time they appear, significant problems may have developed. People with type 2 diabetes are twice as likely to suffer cardiovascular disease. Type 2 diabetes may be treated by dietary changes, exercise and/or tablets. Insulin injections may later be required because overtime, insulin production decreases. The result is the same as for type 1 diabetes-glucose builds up in the bloodstream and the body simply cannot make good use of its main source of energy.

The symptoms of type 2 diabetes develop more gradually. Symptoms may include fatigue, frequent urination, increased thirst and hunger, weight loss, blurred vision, and slow healing of wounds or sores. Some people never show symptoms.

• Gestational Diabetes-Accounts for 3-8 percent of pregnant woman.

Otherwise known as GDM, or carbohydrate intolerance, is first diagnosed during pregnancy through an oral glucose tolerance test. Some women develop GDM late in pregnancy. Although this form of diabetes usually disappears after the birth of the baby. However, women who have had gestational diabetes have a 40 to 60 percent chance of getting type 2 diabetes over the next 5 to 10 years. However, maintaining a reasonable body weight and being physically active may help prevent the development of type 2 diabetes.

What Causes Diabetes?

• Poor Diet: Improper nutrition, low protein and fiber intake, high intake of refined products are the expected reasons for developing diabetes.
• Obesity: Being overweight means increased insulin resistance. That is if your body fat is more than 30%, waist girth 35 inches in women or 40 inches in males.
• Inactive Lifestyle : People with an inactive lifestyle are more prone to diabetes, when compared to those who exercise 3 times a week, are at a lower risk of falling prey to diabetes.
• Hereditary/Inherited Traits : Due to some genes which passes from one generation to another, a person could also inherit diabetes. It depends upon closeness of blood relationship as mother is diabetic, the risk is 2 to 3%, father is diabetic, the risk is more if both the parents are diabetic, then the child has a much greater risk of getting diabetes.
• Age : This disease may occur at any age, but 80% of cases occur after 50 years, the diabetes rate increases with the age. Increased age is a factor which gives more possibility than in younger age.
• Stress/Hypertension : Either physical injury or emotional disturbance is another factor for the initial cause of the disease. Any disturbance in Cortiosteroid or ACTH therapy may lead to symptoms of the disease. It has been reported in many studies that there is direct relation between high systolic blood pressure and diabetes.
• Drug Induced: Clozapine (Clozaril), olanzapine (Zyprexa), risperidone (Risperdal), quetiapine (Seroquel) and ziprasidone (Geodon) are known to induce this lethal disease.
• Infection: Strephylococci is suppose to be responsible factor for infection in pancreas.
• Sex: Diabetes is commonly seen in elderly especially men but, strongly in women and those females with multiple pregnancy or suffering from (PCOS) Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome.
• Serum lipids and lipoproteins : High triglyceride and cholesterol level in the blood is related to high blood sugars, in some cases it has been studied that risk is involved even with low HDL levels in circulating blood.

Diabetes Demographics

• Number of Americans with Diabetes: 18.2 million people
• Percent of American Population: 6.3% of the population
• Total Diagnosed: 13 million people
• Total Undiagnosed: 5.2 million people

• Number of Americans with Diabetes: 210,000 people
• Percent of Age Group: 0.26%
• Frequency of Occurrence: one in every 400 to 500 children and adolescents has type 1 diabetes

• Age 20 years or older: 18 million (8.7% of age group)
• Age 60 years or older: 8.6 million (18.3% of age group)
• Men: 8.7 million (8.7% of age group/gender)
• Women: 9.3 million (8.7% of age group/gender)

Several studies have indicated that type 2 diabetes is increasingly common among Native American/American Indian, African American, and Hispanic and Latino children and adolescents.

Looking for Diabetes Products

Medicare, Medicaid and some private health insurance companies may only pay for specific meters or have limitations on their reimbursement cost. Check with our insurance verification specialists to see what your reimbursement would be for the diabetes supplies.

Meters come in all different colors, styles and sizes. Smaller meters may be more convenient for a child to carry with them, but they can also require more dexterity to use. If you have any vision problems, look for a meter that has a larger display or there are also meters that speak and read the test results aloud to you. Make sure you take a look at the packaging for the test strips -- are they going to be easy to open? Some test strips may be easier to use than others. Check on how much of a blood sample is needed and whether or not the strips need to be wiped clean.

Some meters come with a video that demonstrates the correct way to use the meter. Many meter manufacturers include a toll-free number on the packaging that you can call for help. Also, speak your doctor and Diabetes Supply-Care Specialist to familiarize yourself with the meter you're considering.

Some meters can store a certain number of blood glucose results in its memory (anywhere from a few to 250 readings) for you. This can be helpful if you need to test when you are visiting or on the go. You can even find meters with data management systems that track a variety of information of care and can be downloaded right into your computer. Some meters can display languages other than English. It's up to you and your Diabetes Supply-Care Specialist to decide which features would be the best for you.