Benefis - Diabetes & Endocrinology

Diabetes & Endocrinology

What causes diabetes?
Diabetes is a disease in which your body is unable to properly use and store glucose (a form of sugar). Glucose backs up in the bloodstream -- causing your blood glucose or "sugar" to rise too high. The specific causes of diabetes depend on the type of diabetes that you're diagnosed with.

Type 1 Diabetes
Type 1 diabetes (also known as juvenile-onset or insulin-dependent diabetes) happens when your body completely stops producing any insulin, a hormone that enables your body to use glucose found in foods for energy. Diabetics with this type of diabetes must take daily insulin injections to survive. Type 1 diabetes usually develops in children or young adults, but can occur at any age. Insulin-dependent diabetes may account for 5% to 10% of all diagnosed cases of diabetes.

Type 2 Diabetes
Type 2 diabetes (also called adult-onset or non insulin-dependent diabetes) happens when the body has issues properly converting food into energy, because it doesn't produce enough insulin. This type of diabetes usually occurs in people who are over 40, overweight, and have a family history of diabetes. Type 2 diabetes may account for about 90% to 95% of all diagnosed cases of diabetes.

Gestational Diabetes
Gestational diabetes develops in women during pregnancy when they are not able to produce enough insulin. This type of diabetes usually begins in the second trimester, and goes away after the baby is born. While the exact cause of gestational diabetes is unknown, it's believed by some scientists that the hormones produced during pregnancy may block the action of insulin. Gestational diabetes develops in 2% to 5% of all pregnancies but disappears when a pregnancy is over. Women who have had gestational diabetes are at increased risk for developing type 2 diabetes. In some studies, nearly 40% of women with a history of gestational diabetes developed diabetes later in life.

Other Types of Diabetes
Other types of diabetes result from specific genetic syndromes, surgery, drugs, malnutrition, infections, and other illnesses. Such types of diabetes may account for 1% to 2% of all diagnosed cases of diabetes.

Who can get diabetes?
Anyone can get diabetes. However, there are certain factors that can make you more at risk for diabetes. People who have close relatives with the disease are somewhat more likely to develop it. The risk of developing diabetes also increases as people grow older. People who are over 40 and overweight are more likely to develop diabetes. So are people of African-American, Hispanic or Asian heritage. Also, women who develop diabetes while pregnant (see gestational diabetes above) are more likely to develop other types of diabetes later in life.

What are the symptoms of diabetes?
While severity of symptoms can vary, many diabetics may experience some or all of these symptoms of diabetes:

Blurry vision
Fatigue (feeling weak, tired)
Frequent urination (having to go to the bathroom too much)
Increased hunger (especially after eating)
Increased thirst
Skin infections
Slow healing wounds/cuts
Unexplained weight loss or weight gain (not related to eating habits)

In some cases, there are no diabetes symptoms -- this can happen with type 2 diabetes. In this case, people can live for months, even years without knowing they have the disease. In a recent study, American Diabetes Association estimated that 5.2 million Americans have diabetes and don't even know it.

The American Diabetes Association now also recommends that all individuals age 45 and above be tested for diabetes, and if the test is normal, they should be re-tested every three years. Diabetes testing should be conducted at earlier ages and carried out more frequently in individuals who are any of the following:

Are obese or overweight.
Have a first degree relative with diabetes (mother, father or siblings).
Are members of a high-risk ethnic population (African-American, Hispanic, Native American, Asian).
Have delivered a baby weighing more than 9 pounds.
Have had gestational diabetes.
Are hypertensive.
Have HDL cholesterol levels equal to or less than 35 mg/dl or triglyceride levels equal to or greater than 250 mg/dl.
On previous diabetes testing, had impaired glucose tolerance or impaired fasting glucose.

The American Diabetes Association recommendations for diagnosing diabetes state patients should be told they have diabetes if any of the criteria below applies:

Fasting plasma glucose is above 126 mg/dl.
Diabetes symptoms exist and casual plasma glucose is equal to or above 200 mg/dl.
Plasma glucose is equal to or above 200 mg/dl during an oral glucose tolerance test.

If any of these test results occurs, diabetes testing should be repeated on a different day to confirm the diagnosis.

Ten Questions to Ask Your Doctor
If you've been diagnosed with either type 1 or type 2 diabetes, there are some important questions you need to ask your doctor to ensure that you understand the best way to manage your diabetes. To make the process a little easier, American Diabetes Services, the leading provider for free diabetic testing supplies, offers these helpful hints on what to ask your doctor:

Can I manage my diabetes through exercise and diet alone?
How can I control my blood sugar level?
Will I need to inject insulin?
Will I need to take additional medication to manage my diabetes?
How often should I test my blood sugar levels?
What can I do to prevent complications related to diabetes?
What glucose meter do you recommend?
Can I use painless/alternate site testing?
What other lifestyle changes do I need to make to manage my diabetes?
How can my family help me manage my diabetes?

Of course there are more things you can ask. But these ten questions should at least get you started with creating an open conversation between you and your health care provider. Understanding diabetes is the first part to managing your disease.

American Diabetes Services helps thousands of diabetics manage their diabetes. We provide free diabetic testing supplies to diabetics who are eligible through Medicare or private insurance company. Let American Diabetes Services help you manage your diabetes, fill out our form to find out if you're eligible for free diabetic testing supplies.

For more information about the Diabetes Program click here.

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