Diabetes – Symptoms, treatment and early diagnosis

Among the modern people with ill lifestyle and irregular eating habits, diabetes has become one of the most common ailments in the modern generation. This metabolic disease is responsible for abrupt increase in blood sugar levels, due to which your body might not be able to produce enough insulin by itself, which in turn might damage your kidneys, eyes, nerves or other related organs.

Following are the three different types of diabetes usually found in humans:-

• Type 1 diabetes – It is an autoimmune kind of disease, in which the cells of the pancreas are attacked and destroyed by the weak immune system itself. The pancreas is the part of the human body where insulin is made, the chemical compound responsible for keeping sugar levels of your body under control.

• Type 2 diabetes – It is the most common kind of diabetes, in which the body of the affected person develops a kind of resistance to insulin. Due to this, the sugar level starts increasing abruptly, prominently in the blood.

• Gestational diabetes – This is commonly found only in women, and that too during pregnancy, when the sugar levels in blood starts increasing due to production of hormones which block the formation of insulin. Majorly, placenta (organ that develops in uterus during pregnancy) is responsible for production of the hormones responsible.

Apart from the usual detection through compulsory blood tests, there are some pre-signs which can indicate whether a person is suffering from diabetes or not. Here are those early indications:-

• Increase in hunger – This is usually a common thing among obese people, when they have consistent urge of eating something at frequent intervals. This only increases the cholesterol levels, and in turn, sugar levels as well.

• Increase in thirst – It’s not only the urge of eating something again and again, which is a common sign among people with diabetes. In some cases, if a person feels thirsty on a regular basis and drinks much more water than required or in normal condition, chances are that he/she might have increase sugar levels in his/her body.

• Loss in weight – While weight reduction can be done properly through work out, medication or exercises, but if a person loses a lot of weight abruptly, despite having a regular diet plan, the increase in sugar levels might be responsible for this action.

• Increase in frequency of urination – Since sugar levels increase in case of diabetes, the person affected will have his/her urinary system affected in turn as well. Due to this, the frequency of urine formation and disposal increases as well.

• Not healing of sores and minor wounds – If a person is suffering from diabetes, and his minor wounds or sores are not healing at all completely, it is considered to be one of the clearest indications of diabetes, prominently that of type 2.

• Increase in fatigue – A person suffering from diabetes is unable to perform heavy physical activity on a regular basis, considering the fact that he/she gets tired quite easily. And even in regular activities, he/she might suffer from fatigue much more than the usual levels.

• Blurry vision – It is one of the rarest signs of diabetes, but if a person is suffering from blurriness in his/her vision, further eye-tests and blood tests can confirm the condition of diabetes in him/her.

• Additional symptoms among men – Conditions like erectile dysfunction as well as  a decrease in sex drive and muscle strength are some of the symptoms which can be found only in men suffering from diabetes.

• Additional symptoms among women – Like men, women too have a couple of symptoms of diabetes restricted to them only, like dry and itchy skin and urinary tract infections.

Diabetes can be treated gradually, and it’s a slow process in which the sugar levels in the body are brought down. Following are some of the treatments and medications prescribed for diabetic people:-

• Type 1 diabetes patients – For these people, insulin is the most important medication involved. There are four types of insulin which are fed in the body of the affected person – rapid-acting insulin (lasts for 3-4 hours), short-acting insulin (lasts for 6-8 hours), intermediate-acting insulin (lasts for 12-18 hours) and long-acting insulin (lasts for 24 hours or more).

• Type 2 diabetes patients – The first step for these people is proper control and moderations in their lifestyle, with changes made to their diet and exercise plans. If these actions feel to be lesser than required, medicines like alpha-glucosidase inhibitors, biguanides, DPP-4 inhibitors, glucagon-like peptides, meglitinides, SGLT2 inhibitors, sulfonylureas and thiazolidinediones are prescribed under various situations and conditions.

• Gestational diabetes patients – For these patients/pregnant women, mild doses of insulin or noteworthy changes in diet and exercise plans need to be carried out. 

All these medications and remedies suggested above should be taken after proper diagnosis, blood tests and advices from trained endocrinologist only.