What is Type 2 Diabetes?
You may have just found out you have diabetes, or you may have been
treating your diabetes for some time now. Either way if you use this
online book to learn or refresh and relearn about diabetes you will be able
to improve your control of your diabetes. I recommend you work though
each chapter or page. You may wish to skip around but you will find
helpful information on each page.
What is diabetes?
Simply stated diabetes is too much sugar in your blood.
Where does sugar come from?
The sugar in your blood comes from what you eat. Most
foods, not just sweets, will turn to sugar in your blood. We
need sugar in our bloodstream for energy, but people with diabetes
have too much.
Why is there too much sugar in my bloodstream?
Most of the cells in your body need sugar for energy.
Insulin helps the sugar go from the bloodstream to the cells.
In people who do not have diabetes the body will have just the right
amount of insulin. Some people with diabetes do not have
enough insulin. Other people will have insulin but it can not
work the way it should. So if there is not enough insulin or
if it can not work the way it should the sugar will build up in the
bloodstream because it can not get into the cells.
What happens when blood sugar gets too high?
When your blood sugar is too high your kidneys try to help get
rid of some of it. This is why you have to go to the bathroom
more often. This can cause you to become a little dehydrated
so you may be extra thirsty and drink more water than usual. You may
also feel extra tired because the cells in your body are not getting
the energy form the sugar.
Symptoms of Diabetes.
- thirst
- going to bathroom often
- tirdness
Not all symptoms happen to everybody. There may even be other
signs:
- blurry vision
- slow healing cuts or scrapes
- infections
- dry, itchy skin
- tingling or pain or burning in feet
High blood sugar can affect your whole body over time.
Diabetes is a leading cause of kidney failure and the need for
dialysis. Diabetes is a leading cause of blindness.
Diabetes greatly increases the risk for heart attacks nerve damage
and amputations. However if you maintain tight control of your
diabetes your chance of having any of these complications can be
greatly reduced.
How do I control my diabetes?
Treatment of diabetes must be with a combination of three tools -- nutrition
(meal plan), activity (exercise) and medication.
Where and how do I start?
You have taken the first step, and that is to learn more about diabetes and
your body.
Now take a minute and really think about how all this makes you feel.
Tell someone about the diabetes. You could join our
online diabetes
group and discuss with other people who have diabetes.