Diabetes mellitus (high blood sugar) - highlights on types and symptoms

Diabetes mellitus (high blood sugar) - highlights on types and symptoms

Diabetes mellitus occurs when you have a problem with your pancreas, the organ that controls your blood sugar. Either insulin production stops or insufficient amounts are produced to meet your body's needs. This insulin deficiency results in poor absorption of glucose by your body's cells, which use it to produce energy, as well as your liver, which stores it. The end result of this poor absorption is high blood sugar or glucose levels.

There are two main forms of diabetes mellitus. They are type I diabetes (also called juvenile or insulin-dependent diabetes) and type II diabetes (also called mature or insulin-independent diabetes).

For type I (insulin-dependent) diabetes; The pancreas, which usually affects young people, produces very little or no insulin. The defect is caused by damage to the cells that produce insulin. Your body, unable to use glucose due to insulin deficiency, must instead obtain energy from fat. This can lead to a dangerous condition called diabetic coma.

For type II diabetes (insulin independent); The cells that produce insulin are still functioning, but the amount of insulin is not enough for your body's needs. Patients suffering from this type of disorder usually eat too much and are overweight. Your overeating leads to an excess of glucose in the blood, and the pancreas cannot produce enough insulin to cope. Genetics and hereditary factors play a key role in this type. In a third of cases, there is always a family member or members who suffer from the disorder. Another factor is your age, as the function of your pancreas becomes impaired as part of the normal aging process.

All forms of diabetes cause the same main symptoms. They urinate much more than usual, sometimes as often as every hour or so, day and night. You may notice white spots on your underwear or shoes that consist of dried splashes of glucose-filled urine. Microorganisms are attracted to sugary urine and can cause various complications such as: B. Bladder infections. The excessive loss of fluids can make you constantly thirsty, and drinking sweetened beverages increases the amount of urination and makes your thirst worse. Your cells don't get enough glucose, leaving you feeling extremely tired, weak and listless. so much so that you may not be able to get up in the morning.

If you are diabetic or the father/mother of a diabetic child, you may notice excessive weight loss. This is explained by the body's inability to use glucose as an energy source, and instead your body begins to burn fat and muscle. Other symptoms that may occur include tingling in the hands and feet, decreased immunity (small abscesses and burning urination due to infection can be the first symptoms of diabetes.), blurred vision due to excess glucose in the eye fluid and loss of erection in men or the absence of monthly periods in women.

The symptoms of type I (insulin dependent) diabetes usually develop quickly, within weeks or months. Those of the type II form (insulin-independent) often only appear many years after the actual onset of the disease. Sometimes the disorder is discovered accidentally during a routine medical examination before symptoms appear.

Inspired by Yasser Elnahas