Diabetes is often referred to as diabetes mellitus. It describes a group of metabolic diseases in which the patient has a high concentration of blood glucose (blood sugar). This may be caused by inadequate insulin production, or insulin resistance, or both. Patients suffering from high blood sugar will often experience symptoms such as frequent urination, dry mouth, fatigue, excessive thirst, blurred vision, and more. It is important to note that someone who has diabetes may not experience any of these symptoms. That is why it is important to check your blood sugar regularly.

Types of Diabetes

1) Type 1 Diabetes

This type of diabetes is believed to be an autoimmune condition. Type 1 diabetes happens when your immune system attacks and destroys cells in your pancreas that are responsible for insulin production. The damage is non-reversible.

What triggers these attacks isn’t well known. Both genetic and environmental components may play a role. However, lifestyle factors are rarely considered as a prompt for this attack.

2) Type 2 Diabetes

Type 2 diabetes begins with insulin resistance. This causes your body to not efficiently use insulin. You need more insulin to maintain the same result. It is a vicious cycle. When insulin resistance occurs, the pancreas is triggered to increase insulin production until it can’t keep up with the demand. Insulin production eventually decreases, exacerbating the issue. Insulin resistance combined with a lower output of insulin from your pancreas often results is high blood sugar.

The exact cause is not yet known. However, there are factors like genetics, environment, obesity, Alzheimer’s disease, lifestyle choices, and low testosterone in men that may play a role.

3) Gestational Diabetes

Gestational diabetes comes as a result of insulin blocking the production of hormones during pregnancy. Gestational diabetes only occurs during pregnancy.

Causes of Diabetes

There is no singular cause of the diabetic condition. Causes of diabetes vary wildly. In fact, usually the causes of type 1, type 2, and gestational diabetes are totally different.

Diabetes Treatment
Diabetes treatment depends on your doctor. Always consult your doctor. Every case of diabetes is unique and it is important to go over your history with your doctor and develop a treatment plan. The goal of diabetes treatment is maintaining normal blood glucose levels for as much of the time as possible.

Conclusion
Diabetes is a deadly disease that needs to be handled with care and caution. Otherwise, it could cause some further complications. There is no specific cause for diabetes in general and each patient is unique. However, some factors such as genetics, obesity, and diet(just to name few) can play a big role in triggering diabetes.

A diabetes treatment plan should be formulated during discussions between patient and clinician. Consulting with your clinician should always be done in order to formulate a safe and healthy plan to control your diabetes.

At the end of the day, diabetes control requires help from a clinician, usually accompanied by lifestyle changes including both diet and exercise. Maintaining a healthy diet and getting the proper amount of exercise is a healthy foundation to build your diabetes care plan around.

*The author of this blog is not a medical professional and this article does not contain professional medical advice. This blog is not intended to substitute for medical advice, treatment, or diagnosis. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of the contents of this article. If you think you may have a medical emergency, call 911 immediately.