About Your Diagnosis: Understanding Your Condition
Diabetes is a condition where your body can’t use food as it should.
Normally, your body breaks down food into sugar (glucose) and moves it into your
blood stream. Insulin, a hormone your pancreas produces, helps get the glucose from
the blood into the cells to be used for energy. In people with diabetes, the pancreas
doesn’t make insulin, or it makes an insufficient amount of insulin. Without sufficient
insulin, blood glucose goes up.
Diabetes is defined as:
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A fasting glucose of 126 mg/dL or more.
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Symptoms of hyperglycemia (increased thirst, increased urination and
unexplained weight loss) and a blood glucose level of less than (or equal to) 200
mg/dL at any time of the day.
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Blood glucose of less than (or equal to) 200 mg/dL after an oral glucose
tolerance test.
Note: Diabetes must be diagnosed by a health care provider.
In the short term, high blood sugar can cause excessive urination and thirst, changes
in vision, and increased likelihood of bacterial or fungal infections. High blood
sugars over long periods can cause damage to important body parts such as your eyes,
kidneys, heart, skin, and nerves.
Types of Diabetes
Type 1 diabetes —
A disease in which the body does not make insulin. People with type
1 take insulin every day.
Type 2 diabetes —
A disease in which the body does not make sufficient amounts of insulin.
People with type 2 diabetes manage their condition by using a meal plan, being active,
and taking diabetes medicines (oral medication or insulin).
Prediabetes —
Type 2 diabetes is often preceded by prediabetes — this means blood
sugar levels are high but not high enough to be diagnosed as diabetes. Managing
blood sugar in this phase can delay or prevent the onset of type 2 diabetes.
Gestational diabetes —
A type of diabetes diagnosed in pregnancy. Women with gestational diabetes
are more likely to develop type 2 diabetes later in life. Gestational diabetes typically
disappears after delivery.
How Did I Get Diabetes?
Diabetes is not infectious. You didn’t catch diabetes from somebody,
and you can’t pass it on. It is difficult to say with certainty why one person develops
diabetes and another does not. What is certain is that the contributing risk factors
for type 2 diabetes include:
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Genetics
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Race
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Increasing age
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Excess weight
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Low physical activity
Diabetes is a serious disease, but it can be managed. You can lead a
long, healthy life with diabetes. When you are equipped with the right tools, information,
and support, self-management of blood sugar levels can become a reality. And maintaining
tight control of your blood sugar levels over the long term may help you significantly
reduce your risk of diabetes complications.
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