Understanding diabetes

Diabetes is a serious complex condition that can affect the entire body. Diabetes requires daily self care and if complications develop, diabetes can have a significant impact on quality of life and can reduce life expectancy.

While there is currently no cure for diabetes, you can live an enjoyable life by learning about the condition and effectively managing it. There are different types of diabetes; all types are complex and serious. The three main types of diabetes are type 1, type 2 and gestational diabetes.{{more}}

When someone has diabetes, their body can’t maintain healthy levels of glucose in the blood. Glucose is a form of sugar that is the main source of energy for our bodies. Unhealthy levels of glucose in the blood can lead to long-term and short-term health complications.

For our bodies to work properly, we need to convert glucose (sugar) from food into energy. A hormone called insulin is essential for the conversion of glucose into energy. In people with diabetes, insulin is no longer produced or not produced in sufficient amounts by the body. When people with diabetes eat glucose, which is in foods such as breads, cereals, fruit and starchy vegetables, legumes, milk, yoghurt and sweets, it can’t be converted into energy. Instead of being turned into energy, the glucose stays in the blood, resulting in high blood glucose levels. After eating, the glucose is carried around your body in your blood. Your blood glucose level is called glycaemia. Blood glucose levels can be monitored and managed through self care and treatment.

Diabetes can be managed well, but the potential complications are the same for type 1 and type 2 diabetes, including heart attack, stroke, kidney disease, limb amputation, depression, anxiety and blindness. Diabetes is the leading cause of blindness in working age adults. It is a leading cause of kidney failure and dialysis and it also increases the risk of heart attacks and stroke by up to four times. Diabetes is also a major cause of limb amputations and has significant impact on mental health, as well as physical health. Depression, anxiety and distress occur in more than 30 per cent of all people with diabetes.

Diabetes presents itself with multiple signs and symptoms. Symptoms are often sudden and can be life-threatening; therefore, it is usually diagnosed quite quickly. In type 2 diabetes, many people have no symptoms at all, while other signs can go unnoticed, being seen as part of ‘getting older’. Therefore, by the time symptoms are noticed, complications of diabetes may already be present.

Common signs and symptoms include: being more thirsty than usual; passing more urine; feeling tired and lethargic; always feeling hungry; having cuts that heal slowly; itching; skin infections; blurred vision; unexplained weight loss or gradually putting on weight; mood swings; headaches; feeling dizzy; and leg cramps.

Early diagnosis, optimal treatment and effective ongoing support and management reduce the risk of diabetes-related complications. It is important to note that diabetes is not one condition, as mentioned earlier. All types of diabetes are complex and require daily care and management and diabetes does not discriminate; anyone can develop diabetes.

Dr Rosmond Adams is a medical doctor and a public health specialist.