What is diabetes?
Diabetes is a disease caused by high blood sugar, and sugar is in many
of the foods we must eat to survive. After food is consumed, our body
takes its nutrients and breaks it down into carbohydrates, proteins and
fats. Carbohydrates turn into sugar that is then used as energy for our
body. Carbohydrates come in the form of starches, starchy vegetables,
milk/yogurt, fruits, and sweets. If your body doesn’t need all the
sugar you take in at once, it will store it in muscles, fat, and liver
cells for use later. That is the job of insulin, a hormone that moves
sugar into those cells. Those who have diabetes have high blood sugar
levels because they cannot store sugar in those cells. Diabetes can be
caused by either too little insulin production by an individual's body (
Type 1 Diabetes) or an individual's body is resistant to the effects of insulin (
Type 2 Diabetes) and can also occur during pregnancy (
Gestational Diabetes).
Signs of Type 1 Diabetes
Symptoms of type 1 diabetes
include: intense thirst, being very tired, urinating often, losing weight,
extreme hunger, extreme fatigue and blurred vision. If you are experiencing
any of these symptoms and/or think you might have type 1 diabetes, your
doctor can do a blood test to measure the amount of sugar in your blood.
Signs of Type 2 Diabetes
Prior to a type 2 diabetes diagnosis, most people have no symptoms. Some
type 2 diabetes signs
can include needing to urinate frequently, feeling thirsty, frequent infections,
cuts/bruises that are slow to heal, tingling/numbness in the hands and
feet, recurring skin, gum or bladder infections, tiredness, fatigue and
having blurred vision. To diagnosis type 2 diabetes, several blood tests
are required to measure blood glucose levels.
Signs of Gestational Diabetes
Gestational diabetes is a specific type of diabetes that can develop during
a woman’s pregnancy. Most women do not experience noticeable signs
of gestational diabetes. In rare situations, women may feel symptoms of
excessive thirst or even urinating often. Often, Women with gestational
diabetes are overweight before the pregnancy. Others may have diabetes
in the family. Although symptoms of gestational diabetes are rare and
may be unnoticeable, it is important to seek help before and during your
pregnancy.
The Allen Diabetes Center
can assist you on your way to healthy living by giving you the tools successfully
manage your diabetes. The Center has one of the largest
diabetes education programs
in Orange County and offers dietitians, educators certified for all major
continuous glucose monitoring sensors (CGMS) and major insulin pumps.
With free
diabetes education and support classes
on nutrition, cooking, exercise and psychosocial support and a diabetes
self-management program that focuses on managing diet, physical activity
and medications, the Allen Center can play a virtual role in helping you
avoid complications and teach how to manage and treat your diabetes. Patients
with type 1 diabetes will be interested in participating in the Allen
Center's
Herbert Family Program
that focuses on meeting the unique needs of young adults with type 1 diabetes
(age 18-30s). The program addresses the financial, psychological, social
and physical changes that challenge not only the young adult but also
their family and support system.