Diabetes
- Type 1 diabetes: When your body’s immune system attacks and destroys the production of insulin
- Type 2 diabetes: When your body doesn’t produce insulin or cells won’t react to insulin.
Type 2 diabetes is more common.
Pregnant women have high-level blood glucose levels and won’t be able to produce enough insulin; this is gestational diabetes.
Diabetes causes
The blood sugar controls the hormone called insulin, produced by the pancreas. Digested food enters the bloodstream, and insulin helps glucose reach the blood and cells to produce energy. When people have diabetes, the digested food won’t break down into the required glucose to produce energy.
Type 2 diabetes manageable through some lifestyle changes, while type 1 diabetes is not manageable through any lifestyle change.
-
Pre-diabetes
Pre-diabetes is when people have above the normal range of blood sugar levels but are still not considered diabetic. When your blood sugar level is above average, the chances of your developing diabetes will increase. Diabetes must be identified at an early stage; if not, it might worsen over time.
When to consult a doctor for diabetes
Consult a doctor if you come across the primary signs of diabetes, which include:
- Often feeling thirsty
- Tiredness
- Abrupt weight and muscle loss
- Itching around your testicles or vulva
- Wounds or cuts heal slowly
- Blurred vision
Type 1 diabetes tends to develop over days or weeks, and type 2 diabetes develops without symptoms for years since its early signs are general.
Reviewed by – Dr. Priyanka, MBBS MD
Page last reviewed: 23 JUNE 2022