What is Diabetes?

People with diabetes have a shortage of insulin or a decreased ability to use insulin.  Insulin is a hormone that allows glucose (sugar) to enter cells and be converted to energy.  When diabetes is not controlled, glucose and fats remain in the blood and, over time, damage vital organs.  Diabetes can cause many secondary complications which are debilitating and deadly.  People who have diabetes, but who have not been yet diagnosed with it, are particularly at risk for these secondary complications.

Diabetes results most frequently from one of two basic problems. In type 1 diabetes, the body has mistakenly destroyed its own islet cells of the pancreas, which are the cells that produce insulin in response to glucose levels in the blood.  Type 1 most often appears during childhood or adolescence.  In type 2 diabetes, the body has not destroyed its cells, but rather, cannot effectively use the insulin they are producing.  Type 2 accounts for about 90% of diabetes cases and most often appears among people older than 40.  However, it is now being found at younger ages and is even being diagnosed among children and teens.

In both types of diabetes, the body has minimal or no ability to control its blood glucose levels without adequate insulin production. Blood glucose levels rise dangerously, causing one or more of the following symptoms, in addition to a variety of others:

• Excessive thirst

• Frequent urination

• Hunger

• Weight loss

• Blurred vision

• Itching

• Skin infections

Diabetes can lead to blindness, heart attack, stroke, kidney failure, nerve damage and amputation, among other complications.

Type 1 Diabetes

People with type 1 diabetes have no functioning islet cells. They must inject insulin in balance with a healthy diet and exercise, attempting to manually compensate for what the pancreas can no longer do.  Because a variety of external factors, such as stress, exercise and diet, impact blood glucose levels, inevitably a person will experience high or low blood sugars.

High blood sugar is known as "hyperglycemia," and low blood sugar is known as "hypoglycemia."

Type 2 Diabetes

Type 2 diabetes typically results when predisposed people become overweight and sedentary. In type 2 diabetes, a person's immune system has not attacked and destroyed their islet cells. Rather, their body has become resistant to effectively using the insulin its pancreas produces. Type 2 diabetes used to be most commonly diagnosed in adults over the age of 40 who are overweight. However, given today's sedentary lifestyles and high-fat snacks and diets, more children are being diagnosed with type 2 diabetes.

A person with type 2 diabetes may be able to minimize or eliminate the need to take oral medications or insulin injections by losing weight, eating a healthy diet and becoming more active. Type 2 diabetes is often controlled strictly by diet, oral medications that work the pancreas to produce or use insulin more effectively, and/or by losing weight and becoming more active.

Type 2 diabetes is the more prevalent form of diabetes in America. Over 16 million Americans have diabetes. Of this figure, approximately 1 million have type 1 diabetes; the remainder are type 2 diabetics. However, of the $100 billion that is spent annually to manage and treat diabetes, over half of the costs are incurred by people with type 1 diabetes. This demonstrates the substantial health threat of type 1 diabetes.

How can I tell if I have Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes?

Your doctor can tell you if you have type 1 or type 2 diabetes. However, there are some general tendencies.

Your are more likely to have type 1 diabetes if:

• You were diagnosed with diabetes before the age of 30 years;

• You were very ill when you were diagnosed;

• You have required insulin injections since the time of diagnosis.

You are more likely to have type 2 diabetes if you:

• Were diagnosed with diabetes after the age of 45;

• Didn't know that you were ill and the diabetes was discovered in conjunction with a doctor visit for other reasons;

• Don't need insulin injections (although many with type 2 diabetes do require insulin injections), and

• Are overweight.

Please keep in mind that these are generalizations and your doctor can tell you for sure which type of diabetes you have if you are unsure.