DIABETES
Type 1
How it affects your life
What to expect when you’re expecting diabetes
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Diabetes definition- a metabolic disease in which the body’s inability to produce
any or enough insulin which causes elevated levels of glucose in the blood.
In general terms this means the body either can't make insulin or the insulin doesn't
work in the body like it should. In type 1 the body can’t make insulin. The
pancreas, which is part of the endocrine system, is responsible for that job. To get
insulin you’ll need insulin injections or an insulin pump. A pump is more
convenient and there are many advantages as well as some disadvantages. You will
also have a lifestyle change. You’ll have to eat healthier and get plenty of exercise
all the while monitoring your blood sugar. You’ll use a meter for that. You just
prick your finger, touch it to the strip, then put the strip in the meter. Don’t worry
you can handle it all.
“
Life is not over because you have diabetes.
-Dale Evans
”
Daily Life
General Background: The Biology of this Disease
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Insulin is required for your cells to take up glucose. The process that happens in
your body is called Insulin Mediated Glucose Uptake. There are four steps to this
process. First, insulin bonds to a receptor site embedded in the cell. Next, binding
triggers a signal transduction cascade, series of biochemical events, to a Glucose
Transport Protein also known as a GLUT. Then, the glut moves into the cell
membrane via exocytosis. Finally, the GLUT begins moving in glucose via passive
facilitated transport. This doesn’t happen with type 1 diabetics because no insulin
is being produced. Since no insulin is being produced, then you’ll need insulin
injections which will act just as insulin would in the body to turn the glucose into
energy by the process previously listed. Hyperglycemia is the medical word for
high blood sugar levels. Having too much sugar in the blood for long periods of
time can cause serious health problems if it's
not treated.
Basic Recommendations for a
Diabetic Diet
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Eating a variety of nutritious foods in
moderate amounts and sticking to regular
meal times. A healthy eating plan that’s
naturally rich in nutrients and low in fats and
calories, with an emphasis on fruits,
vegetables, and whole grains is an example of information and advice you could
get from a dietitian. Recommended foods include foods with healthy carbs, fiberrich foods, heart healthy fish, and good fats. Food to avoid are ones that include a
high density of saturated fats, trans fats, cholesterol, and sodium.
The role of blood sugar monitoring and adjustment
Blood sugar monitoring is the main tool you have to keeping your diabetes in
check. The goal of blood sugar monitoring is to collect detailed information about
blood glucose levels at many time points to enable maintenance of a more constant
glucose level by more precise regimens. It can be used to aid in the adjustment of a
therapeutic regimen in response to blood glucose values and to help individuals
adjust their dietary intake, physical activity, and insulin doses to improve glycemic
control on a day-to-day basis. The tool you use to monitor your blood sugar is a
meter and the tool you use to get insulin is either an insulin pen or pump. Pictures
of these instruments are included below. I described how to use a meter earlier.
You prick your finger, touch it to the strip, and put it in the meter. Syringe is the
most common form of insulin delivery, but there are other options, including
insulin pens and pumps. An insulin pen contains a cartridge of insulin that is
inserted into the pen and some are pre-filled with insulin and discarded after all the
insulin has been used. The insulin dose is dialed on the pen, and the insulin is
injected through a needle, much like using a syringe and a pump delivers rapid- or
short-acting insulin 24 hours a day through a catheter placed under the skin.
Exercise
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Exercise is a vital part of remaining in control of your diabetes. When you are
active, your cells become more sensitive to insulin so it can work more efficiently.
Your cells can also remove glucose from the blood using a mechanism totally
separate from insulin during exercise. So, exercise constantly lowers your blood
sugar. Along with lowering blood sugar, exercise is beneficial to your overall well
being, and can help with many other health conditions.
Complications
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A few complications that can occur from this disease are skin, eye, and neuropathy
complications.
Skin Complications
Skin conditions anyone can have, for example bacterial and fungal infections, and
itching,but diabetics can get them more easily. Other skin problems happen mostly
or only to people with diabetes including diabetic dermopathy, necrobiosis
lipoidica diabeticorum, diabetic blisters, and eruptive xanthomatosis. Diabetes can
cause damage in small blood vessels which can cause skin problems called diabetic
dermopathy. Dermopathy often looks like light brown, scaly patches that can be
oval or circular. They are possible to be mistaken for age spots. This disorder most
often occurs on the front of both legs. But the legs may not be affected to the same
degree. The patches do not hurt, open up, or itch. Dermopathy does not need to be
treated because it is harmless. Necrobiosis lipoidica diabeticorum (NLD) causes
spots that are similar to diabetic dermopathy, but they are fewer, larger, and
deeper. NLD often starts as a dull, red, raised area then after a while it will look
like a shiny scar with a violet border. The blood vessels under the skin may
become easier to see. NLD can be itchy and painful and the spots may crack open.
NLD is a rare condition and adult women are the most likely to get it. You do not
need to seek treatment unless the sores open. Diabetic blisters (bullosis
diabeticorum) is another skin complication.
It’s rare for people with diabetes to erupt in blisters. Diabetic blisters can occur on
the backs of fingers, hands, toes, feet, and on legs or forearms. These sores look
like burn blisters though they are painless and often occur in people who have
diabetic neuropathy. They heal by themselves, usually without scars, in about three
weeks. This is treated by getting blood sugar levels under control. Another
condition caused by diabetes that's out of control is eruptive xanthomatosis. It
consists of firm, yellow, pea-like enlargements in the skin and each bump has a red
halo and may itch. Most often this condition occurs on the backs of hands, feet,
arms, legs and buttocks. The disorder usually occurs in young men with type 1
diabetes. The person often has high levels of cholesterol and fat in the blood. Just
like diabetic blisters, these bumps go away when diabetes control is restored.
Eye Complications
People with diabetes are at a higher risk for blindness, glaucoma, and cataracts.
They are 40% more likely to have glaucoma than people who aren’t diabetic.
Glaucoma is when pressure builds up in the eye and vision is lost when the retina
and nerve are damaged. Treatments include drugs to reduce pressure and surgery.
Diabetics are 60% more likely to suffer from cataracts than non-diabetics.
Cataracts occur when the eye’s lens clouds, blocking light. Wearing sunglasses can
be helpful as well as glare-control lenses in glasses. If it interferes greatly with
vision then the lens of the eye can be removed or transplanted. All disorders of the
retina caused by diabetes is called diabetic retinopathy. There are two major types
and they are nonproliferative and proliferative. Nonproliferative is the most
common form of retinopathy. It is when the capillaries in the back of the eye
balloon and form pouches. As it progresses it goes through three stages from mild
to moderate then finally severe as more and more vessels become blocked.
Proliferative is when a more serious form that has led to the blood vessels closing
off after several years of being damaged. In response, new blood vessels start
growing in the retina. These new vessels are weak and can leak blood, blocking
vision, and which is a condition called vitreous hemorrhage. The new blood
vessels can also cause scar tissue to grow. After the scar tissue shrinks, it can
distort the retina or pull it out of place, a condition called retinal detachment.
Neuropathy
Nerve damage from diabetes is diabetic neuropathy. Nerve damage from diabetes
is called diabetic neuropathy. About half of all people with diabetes have some
form of nerve damage. It is more common in those who have had the disease for a
number of years and can lead to many kinds of problems. To help prevent or delay
nerve damage you can keep your blood sugar levels on target or if you already
have nerve damage, this will help prevent or delay further damage. Other
treatments can help too. There are many types of neuropathy.
The Future of Diabetic Treatment
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A plan for innovation I believe will help type 1 diabetics is a vaccine that can
prevent diabetes. This vaccine would be for women in the early stages of
pregnancy so there children do not develop diabetes. This vaccine would help the
pancreas continuously make insulin. There could be another vaccine that is given
to children around the age of 5, which is the time they usually are diagnosed with
Type I diabetes.
Works Cited
● Diabetes.org. (nd). Diabetes.org. [accessed 17 November 2015]. Retrieved
from http://www.diabetes.org/food-and-fitness/fitness/physical-activity-isimportant.html
● Clinical.diabetesjournal.org. (nd). Clinical.diabetesjournal.org. [accessed 19
November 2015]. Retrieved from
http://clinical.diabetesjournals.org/content/20/1/45.full
● "Eye Complications." American Diabetes Association. Web. 22 Nov. 2015.
<http://www.diabetes.org/living-with-diabetes/complications/eyecomplications/>.
● "Neuropathy (Nerve Damage)." American Diabetes Association. Web. 22
Nov. 2015. <http://www.diabetes.org/living-withdiabetes/complications/neuropathy/>.
● "Skin Complications." American Diabetes Association. Web. 22 Nov. 2015.
<http://www.diabetes.org/living-with-diabetes/complications/skincomplications.html>.
●
"Insulin
Routines." American Diabetes Association. Web. 22 Nov. 2015.
<http://www.diabetes.org/living-with-diabetes/treatment-andcare/medication/insulin/insulin-routines.html>.