subject: Living With Type 1 Diabetes [print this page] Though anyone can get this disease, children and adolescents are most frequently diagnosed with this disease. Type 1 diabetes develops when the immune system turns on itself and destroys cells in the pancreas that are responsible for producing insulin.
Why this happens is still unclear to researchers, and a cure is yet to be found for the disease. Some scientists suspect that is a cause of a gene that has been present in the family line.
Other causes may be that certain viruses trigger a response in the immune system that is similar to a search and destroy mission. This reaction causes the body to shut down insulin production in the pancreas
Other researches point to environmental influences, which - when combined with genetic factors - may raise the risk for type 1 diabetes. Though the exact cause is not yet known, it is certain that diabetes is not caused by eating foods with high sugar content.
When you eat, food is digested and broken down into a simple sugar called glucose. Glucose is necessary for every bodily function, including thinking.
If your pancreas stops producing the insulin that turns glucose into energy, the glucose will continue to circulate in your bloodstream and not be absorbed by your body.
Because the glucose can't get into the cells of your body, it builds up in your bloodstream and throws your body into crisis mode. Some symptoms of type 1 diabetes are extreme fatigue, continual thirst, severe hunger urges, unexplained weight loss and the frequent need to urinate.
If the disease is not diagnosed, then these symptoms will seem strange to the individual experiencing them, but may not put up a red flag. These symptoms are a direct result of your body being starved for glucose.
Symptoms like hunger, weight loss, and fatigue are from a lack of energy because of a glucose deficiency. The constant need to urinate and urges to drink fluid is because your body is trying to get rid of the excess glucose in your blood stream by dumping it in your bladder.
Many people are unaware that there are different kinds of diabetes that affect millions of people every day. The biggest difference in type 1 and 2 is found in the production of insulin.
In type 1, insulin production stops. In type 2, the pancreas continues to make insulin, but it is not enough to keep the glucose in balance.
In type 2 it is also possible that the pancreas is making adequate amounts of insulin, but the body uses it poorly. This is called insulin resistance and is most often because the person is overweight.
The vast majority of those who have been diagnosed with diabetes have type 2. There is not currently a cure for diabetes, but there are many researchers are looking for the causes of the disease and hope to find a cure.
The closest medical experts have come to a cure for type 1 diabetes is a pancreas transplant. But this is risky surgery and those who receive transplants must take potent drugs for the rest of their lives to keep their bodies from rejecting the new organ.
Aside from these risks, there is also a shortage of available donors to meet the demand for transplants. In the mean time, most people living with diabetes can manage their disease and live a fully normal life.
The disease does not impair your ability to be active, so you can do everything you friends can. You can also eat most foods as long as you manage your blood sugar levels several times a day.
The goal is to manage your disease carefully and constantly. Clinical studies have shown that well-managed diabetics can delay or even prevent many of the health complications that can result.
In fact, there are few things a person with diabetes can't do if you take it seriously. Good management habits include healthy meal planning habits, regular exercise, regulating insulin medications, and being knowledgeable about the disease.
