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Diabetes is a disease in which your blood glucose, or blood sugar, levels are too high. Glucose comes from the foods you eat. Insulin is a hormone that helps the glucose get into your cells to give them energy. With type 1 diabetes, your body does not make insulin. With type 2 diabetes, the more common type, your body does not make or use insulin well. Without enough insulin, the glucose stays in your blood. You can also have prediabetes. This means that your blood sugar is higher than normal but not high enough to be called diabetes. Having prediabetes puts you at a higher risk of getting type 2 diabetes.
Over time, having too much glucose in your blood can cause serious problems. It can damage your eyes, kidneys, and nerves. Diabetes can also cause heart disease, stroke and even the need to remove a limb. Pregnant women can also get diabetes, called gestational diabetes.
Blood tests can show if you have diabetes. One type of test, the A1C, can also check on how you are managing your diabetes. Exercise, weight control and sticking to your meal plan can help control your diabetes. You should also monitor your blood glucose level and take medicine if prescribed.
NIH: National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases
Diabetes is a disease in which your blood glucose, or blood sugar, levels are too high. When you are pregnant, high blood sugar levels are not good for your baby.
About seven out of every 100 pregnant women in the United States get gestational diabetes. Gestational diabetes is diabetes that happens for the first time when a woman is pregnant. Most of the time, it goes away after you have your baby. But it does increase your risk for developing type 2 diabetes later on. Your child is also at risk for obesity and type 2 diabetes.
Most women get a test to check for diabetes during their second trimester of pregnancy. Women at higher risk may get a test earlier.
If you already have diabetes, the best time to control your blood sugar is before you get pregnant. High blood sugar levels can be harmful to your baby during the first weeks of pregnancy - even before you know you are pregnant. To keep you and your baby healthy, it is important to keep your blood sugar as close to normal as possible before and during pregnancy.
Either type of diabetes during pregnancy increases the chances of problems for you and your baby. To help lower the chances talk to your health care team about:
NIH: National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases
What is diabetes?
If you have diabetes, your blood glucose, or blood sugar, levels are too high. Glucose comes from the foods you eat. A hormone called insulin helps the glucose get into your cells to give them energy. With type 1 diabetes, your body does not make insulin. With type 2 diabetes, your body does not make or use insulin well. Without enough insulin, the glucose stays in your blood.
What health problems can diabetes cause?Over time, having too much glucose in your blood can cause complications, including:
If you have diabetes, you need to watch out for blood sugar levels that are very high (hyperglycemia) or very low (hypoglycemia). These can happen quickly and can become dangerous. Some of the causes include having another illness or infection and certain medicines. They can also happen if you don't get the right amount of diabetes medicines. To try to prevent these problems, make sure to take your diabetes medicines correctly, follow your diabetic diet, and check your blood sugar regularly.
NIH: National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases
Until recently, the common type of diabetes in children and teens was type 1. It was called juvenile diabetes. With Type 1 diabetes, the pancreas does not make insulin. Insulin is a hormone that helps glucose,or sugar, get into your cells to give them energy. Without insulin, too much sugar stays in the blood.
Now younger people are also getting type 2 diabetes. Type 2 diabetes used to be called adult-onset diabetes. But now it is becoming more common in children and teens, due to more obesity. With Type 2 diabetes, the body does not make or use insulin well.
Children have a higher risk of type 2 diabetes if they are overweight or have obesity, have a family history of diabetes, or are not active. Children who are African American, Hispanic, Native American/Alaska Native, Asian American, or Pacific Islander also have a higher risk. To lower the risk of type 2 diabetes in children:
Children and teens with type 1 diabetes may need to take insulin. Type 2 diabetes may be controlled with diet and exercise. If not, patients will need to take oral diabetes medicines or insulin. A blood test called the A1C can check on how you are managing your diabetes.
What is diabetes?
Diabetes is a disease in which your blood glucose, or blood sugar, levels are too high. Glucose comes from the foods you eat. The cells of your body need glucose for energy. A hormone called insulin helps the glucose get into your cells.
type 1 diabetestype 2 diabetesWhat are the treatments for diabetes?Treatments for diabetes can depend on the type. Common treatments include a diabetic meal plan, regular physical activity, and medicines. Some less common treatments are weight loss surgery for either type and an artificial pancreas or pancreatic islet transplantation for some people with type 1 diabetes.
Who needs diabetes medicines?People with type 1 diabetes need to take a diabetes medicine called insulin to control their blood sugar.
Some people with type 2 diabetes can control their blood sugar with healthy food choices and physical activity. But for others, a diabetic meal plan and physical activity are not enough. They need to take diabetes medicines.
The kind of medicine you take depends on your type of diabetes, daily schedule, medicine costs, and any other health conditions that you have. Over time, you may need to take more than one diabetes medicine.
What are the types of medicines for type 1 diabetes?If you have type 1 diabetes, you must take insulin because your body no longer makes it. There are different types of insulin that start to work at different speeds, and the effects of each last a different length of time. Your health care provider will measure your blood glucose to decide on the type of insulin. You may need to use more than one type.
You will also need to check your blood sugar at home. Your provider will tell you how often. The results of your blood sugar testing can help you make decisions about food, physical activity, and medicines.
You can take insulin several different ways. The most common are with a needle and syringe, an insulin pen, or an insulin pump. If you use a needle and syringe or a pen, you have to take insulin several times during the day, including with meals. An insulin pump gives you small, steady doses throughout the day. Less common ways to take insulin include inhalers, injection ports, and jet injectors.
In rare cases, taking insulin alone might not be enough to manage your blood sugar. Then you would need to take another diabetes medicine.
What are the types of medicines for type 2 diabetes?There are several different medicines for type 2 diabetes. Each works in a different way. Many of them are pills. There are also medicines that you inject under your skin, such as insulin.
Over time, you may need more than one diabetes medicine to manage your blood sugar. You might add another diabetes medicine or switch to a combination medicine. A combination medicine contains more than one type of diabetes medicine in the same pill. Some people with type 2 diabetes take both pills and injections.
Even if you don't usually take insulin, you may need it at special times, such as during pregnancy or if you are in the hospital.
What else should I know about taking medicines for diabetes?Even if you take medicines for diabetes, you still need to eat a healthy diet, stop smoking, take your other medicines, and get regular physical activity. These will help you manage your diabetes.
It is important to make sure that you understand your diabetes treatment plan. Talk to your provider about:
You should not change or stop your diabetes medicines on your own. Talk to your provider first.
NIH: National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases