What Kind Of Doctor Treats Type 1 Diabetes
An endocrinologist a healthcare provider who specializes in treating hormone-related conditions treats people who have Type 1 diabetes. Some endocrinologists specialize in diabetes.
If your child has Type 1 diabetes, theyll need to see a pediatric endocrinologist.
Youll need to see your endocrinologist regularly to ensure that your Type 1 diabetes management is working well. Your insulin needs will change throughout your life.
What Happens If You Have Diabetes And Get Pregnant
If you have diabetes and become pregnant, it is possible to have a very healthy and safe pregnancy with both type 1 and type 2 diabetes.
However, it is important to consult with your doctor or healthcare provider as soon as possible as diabetes can cause a number of complications during pregnancy for both you and your child. These complications include:
- Having a large child
- Low blood pressure for your child
For these reasons, it is important to get your blood glucose levels in your healthy range before getting pregnant and maintain healthy glucose levels while pregnant also.
Please note, that the target levels may differ when pregnant and not pregnant.
Hypoglycemia And Diabetic Ketoacidosis
These 2 conditions are common complications of diabetes, and youll need to know how to handle them. Meet with your doctor for step-by-step instructions. You may want to bring a family member with you to the appointment so they learn the steps too.
Hypoglycemia can happen quickly and needs to be treated quickly. Its most often caused by:
- Too much insulin.
- Waiting too long for a meal or snack.
- Not eating enough.
- Getting extra physical activity.
Talk to your doctor if you have low blood sugar several times a week. Your treatment plan may need to be changed.
Diabetic ketoacidosis is a serious complication of diabetes that can be life-threatening. DKA develops when you dont have enough insulin to let blood sugar into your cells. Very high blood sugar and low insulin levels lead to DKA. The two most common causes are illness and missing insulin shots. Talk with your doctor and make sure you understand how you can prevent and treat DKA.
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Symptoms And Risk Factors
It can take months or years before symptoms of type 1 diabetes are noticed. Type 1 diabetes symptoms can develop in just a few weeks or months. Once symptoms appear, they can be severe.
Some type 1 diabetes symptoms are similar to symptoms of other health conditions. Dont guess! If you think you could have type 1 diabetes, see your doctor to get your blood sugar tested. Untreated diabetes can lead to very seriouseven fatalhealth problems.
Risk factors for type 1 diabetes are not as clear as for prediabetes and type 2 diabetes. However, studies show that family history plays a part.
When To Call Your Doctor
If you’re older than 45 or have other risks for diabetes, it’s important to get tested. When you spot the condition early, you can avoid nerve damage, heart trouble, and other complications.
As a general rule, call your doctor if you:
- Feel sick to your stomach, weak, and very thirsty
- Are peeing a lot
- Have a bad belly ache
- Are breathing more deeply and faster than normal
- Have sweet breath that smells like nail polish remover
Show Sources
Cleveland Clinic: “Diabetes: Frequently Asked Questions” and “What Is Diabetes?”à ââ¬ÅDiabetes: Preventing Complications,ââ¬ï¿½ ââ¬ÅHyperglycemia .ââ¬ï¿½
University of Michigan Health System: “Type 1 Diabetes.”
National Diabetes Information Clearinghouse: “Am I at Risk for Type 2 Diabetes? Taking Steps to Lower Your Risk of Getting Diabetes.”
Baylor Scott & White Healthcare: “Urinary Frequency” and “Diabetes and Diabetic Neuropathy Hard-to-Heal Wounds.”
Sutter Health: “Question & Answer: Is Sudden Weight Loss a Sign of Diabetes? If So, Why?”
Neithercott, T. Diabetes Forecast, August 2013.
University of Rochester Medical Center: “Diabetic Skin Troubles.”
Joslin Diabetes Center: “Diseases of the Eye” and “Diabetic Neuropathy: What You Need to Know.”
The Nemours Foundation: “When Blood Sugar Is Too High.”
Virginia Mason Medical Center: “Complications.”
Carolinas Health System: “Diabetes: Yeast Infections and Diabetes: What You Should Know.”
Geisinger Health: ââ¬Å3 reasons diabetic wounds are slow to heal.ââ¬ï¿½
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What Are Early Signs Of Diabetes
Both type 1 and type 2 diabetes can generate different physical symptoms. However, those afflicted with either type may experience these common occurrences:
Be on the lookout for any of these symptoms of type 1 or 2 diabetes and dont hesitate to consult with a healthcare professional. When left unattended, certain symptoms of diabetes can cause lifelong issues, even when type 1 or type 2 diabetes gets under control.
Holistic Approach To Diabetes Management
Diabetes affects millions of American women each year. There are several warning signs that women overlook. Knowing the most common signs of diabetes can help you seek out help. Our integrative practitioners use a holistic approach to help you improve your health and reduce the risk of developing diabetes or controlling the symptoms that come with it.
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What Are The Early Symptoms And Signs Of Diabetes In Women
Diabetes or diabetes mellitus is a chronic disease that occurs either when the pancreas does not produce enough insulin or when the body cannot effectively use the insulin it produces.
Insulin is a hormone that regulates blood sugar. The role of insulin is to transfer glucose from the blood to cells for storage and energy production.
When the pancreas does not function properly the level of glucose in the blood rises drastically. This when untreated can cause damage to the nerves, kidneys, eyes, and other organs.
Get Involved + Save Lives
Now that youre aware of the signs and symptoms of type 1 diabetes, how can you get more involved and share this life-saving information? Check out our Warning Signs Awareness Campaign here and learn about how you can receive free posters and other materials to share in your communities, schools, coffee shops, doctors offices and so much more. Together, we can see to it that no one experiences life-threatening complications or a preventable tragedy as a result of a delayed or missed type 1 diagnosis.
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You’re Losing Weightbut Aren’t Trying To
Unexplained weight loss can happen for lots of reasons, and diabetes is one of them. Goundan explains that insulin helps your body move sugar from your blood to your cells, so when you have an insulin resistance, you dont get enough energy into your cells despite all that sugar flowing through your body. Because youre unable to get enough energy from sugar, your body burns your own fat and muscle for energy,” Kellis says. “Weight loss can be pretty significant, sometimes 10 to 20 pounds.”
Generally, doctors recommend visiting the doc if you unintentionally lose between 5 to 10 percent of your body weight over the course of six months.
Causes Of Type 1 Diabetes
Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune condition, where the immune system mistakes the cells in your pancreas as harmful and attacks them.
Without insulin, your body will break down its own fat and muscle, resulting in weight loss. This can lead to a serious short-term condition called diabetic ketoacidosis. This is when the bloodstream becomes acidic, you develop dangerous levels of ketones in your blood stream and become severely dehydrated.
This results in the body being unable to produce insulin, which is required to move glucose out of the blood and into your cells to be used for energy. This is called Type 1 diabetes.
Read more about the causes of type 1 diabetes
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What Is Type 1 Diabetes
Type 1 diabetes, sometimes known as juvenile diabetes, is a chronic autoimmune condition in which your pancreas loses the ability to produce insulin. It can be triggered by a virus, such as the common cold or flu, and there is evidence that it has a genetic component as well.
Following a viral infection, your body can sometimes malfunction and respond by attacking its own cells. This process is known as an autoimmune response. In , your bodys immune system specifically attacks cells in your pancreas called beta cells, which produce the hormone insulin. In that case, damaged beta cells mean your body either stops producing enough , or it cant produce insulin at all.
Do I Need To Be Tested For Diabetes
Maybe. You should be tested for diabetes if you are between 40 and 70 years old and are overweight or obese. Your doctor may recommend testing earlier than age 40 if you also have other risk factors for diabetes. Also, talk to your doctor about diabetes testing if you have signs or symptoms of diabetes. Your doctor will use a blood test to see if you have diabetes.
If the testing shows that your blood sugar levels are high, you can begin making healthy changes to your eating habits and getting more physical activity to help prevent diabetes.
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Is Type 1 Diabetes Preventable
Unfortunately, theres nothing you can do to prevent developing Type 1 diabetes.
Since Type 1 diabetes can run in families, your healthcare provider can test your family members for the autoantibodies that cause the disease. Type 1 Diabetes TrialNet, an international research network, also offers autoantibody testing to family members of people with Type 1 diabetes.
The presence of autoantibodies, even without diabetes symptoms, means youre more likely to develop Type 1 diabetes. If you have a sibling, child or parent with Type 1 diabetes, you may want to get an autoantibody test. These tests can help catch Type 1 diabetes in its earliest phases.
Risk Factors For Type 1 Diabetes:
Any combination of the following factors may put people at a higher risk for type 1 diabetes:
- Self-allergy : The immune system usually protects us from disease, but in the case of type 1 diabetes, the immune system turns against the cells in the pancreas that produce insulin . If you have any type of autoimmune disease, your risk of developing diabetes increases. Doctors can test for diabetes antibodies, specifically one called GAD65. Measuring this antibody early in the disease can help your medical team determine if you have type 1 or type 2 diabetes.
- Genes: People with type 1 diabetes are more likely to have inherited genes putting them at risk. Over 50% of those diagnosed with type 1 diabetes also have a close relative with the disease.
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Your Arms Or Legs Feel Numb
Tingly arms and legs are also early signs of diabetes in women. This condition is medically known as diabetic neuropathy.
Long-term high sugar in the bloodstream can damage the nerve function and disturb the signals sent from your brain to hands or feet. This may lead to a tingly feeling in these regions.
Another reason for numbness in arms or legs could be poor blood circulation.
Over time, untreated symptoms of diabetes can destroy vessels that carry blood to the organs. It often develops plaque, leading to inadequate circulation and numb limbs.
Frequent numbness in limbs is one of the first warning signs of diabetes in women. Visit a doctor immediately to get assessed.
Gestational Diabetes In Women
Diabetes often affects pregnant women who have never been diagnosed with the condition previously. Gestational diabetes causes the blood glucose levels to shoot up during pregnancy, which thereby increases the chances of both the mother as well as the child developing the condition. Diabetes symptoms during pregnancy is usually found out during a routine blood sugar test after the first trimester. Diabetes also increases the chances of a difficult delivery and the possibility that the child may have juvenile diabetes from birth.
Some of the symptoms of gestational diabetes in women are:
- Increased chances of cesarean instead of normal delivery.
- Excessive fatigue, weight loss, thirst, hunger, and frequent urination.
- The possibility of recovering from diabetes soon after the pregnancy is over.
- The possibility of giving birth to babies who weigh more than 9 pounds at birth.
- Increases chances of these babies growing up to become over weight or obese children.
- Diabetes either in the child or the mother or both post pregnancy.
This condition can be brought under control during pregnancy which can prevent the condition from affecting the unborn baby or the mother during, as well as after, the delivery.
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Financial Support And Benefits
Some people with diabetes may be eligible to receive disability benefits and incapacity benefits, depending on the impact the condition has on their life.
The main groups likely to qualify for welfare benefits are children, elderly people, people with learning disabilities or mental health problems, and those with complications of diabetes.
People over 65 who are severely disabled, may qualify for a type of disability benefit called Attendance Allowance.
Carers may also be entitled to some benefit too, depending on their involvement in caring for the person with diabetes.
Staff at your local Citizens Advice Bureau can check whether you’re getting all of the benefits you’re entitled to. Both they and your diabetes specialist nurse should also be able to give you advice about filling in the forms.
GOV.uk has more information about benefits, and the Diabetes UK website has further advice about the Disability Living Allowance .
Blood Sugar Control With Lark
Whether your blood sugar is perfectly normal or your blood sugar is high because of prediabetes or diabetes, your health behaviors affect your blood sugar. The daily choices you make affect blood sugar levels and insulin resistance, and they impact your risk for developing prediabetes, diabetes, signs and symptoms of diabetes, and complications of diabetes.
Luckily, Lark can be there throughout each day to help you make small changes that can have a big impact on blood sugar and diabetes symptoms. Signs and symptoms are unlikely to appear during prediabetes or early diabetes, so don’t wait for them! Instead, it is time to take action if you have prediabetes or have other risk factors for developing diabetes. You could be at risk for type 2 diabetes and eligible for a Diabetes Prevention Program if you have one or more risk factors such as being overweight or obese, being over 45 years old, being physically inactive, or having a family history of type 2 diabetes.
The entire program can be available at no cost to you if your health insurer participates. to find out if you may be eligible for Lark! Lark is completely convenient and ready to chat whenever you are. You could be minutes away from taking the first steps to managing prediabetes and improving health.
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Is There A Cure For Type 1 Diabetes
There is currently no cure for Type 1 diabetes, but scientists are working on ways to prevent or slow down the progression of the condition through studies such as TrialNet.
Scientists are also working on research into pancreatic islet transplantation an experimental treatment for people who have brittle diabetes.
Pancreatic islets are clusters of cells in the pancreas that make insulin. Your immune system attacks these cells in Type 1 diabetes. A pancreatic islet transplant replaces destroyed islets with new ones that make and release insulin. This procedure takes islets from the pancreas of an organ donor and transfers them to a person with Type 1 diabetes. Because researchers are still studying pancreatic islet transplantation, the procedure is only available to people enrolled in a study.
Symptoms Of Type 2 Diabetes
Type 2 diabetes symptoms often take several years to develop. Some people dont notice any symptoms at all. Type 2 diabetes usually starts when youre an adult, though more and more children and teens are developing it. Because symptoms are hard to spot, its important to know the risk factors for type 2 diabetes. Make sure to visit your doctor if you have any of them.
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Your Vision’s Getting Increasingly Blurry
Blurry vision is a commonand often ignoreddiabetes symptom in women. What does diabetes have to do with your vision? Kellis explains that fluid can form in your eye’s lens as sugar levels increase .
Diabetes can cause significant, unexplained weight loss. Think: 10 or 20 pounds.
A buildup of fluid in the eye blurs vision, causes nearsightedness, and sends many people to the optometrist for a new glasses or contacts prescription.
Fortunately, getting your blood sugar levels under control can clear up blurred vision, she adds.
Symptoms Seen In Women With Diabetes
In the case of women, research has shown an increased tendency of type 2 diabetes in adolescent and young adult women. Also, between 1971 and 2000 the death rate of men with diabetes fell but did not find any improvement in the case of women. The death rate of women with diabetes has doubled compared to the death rate of women without diabetes. In addition, the risk of getting heart disease for women with diabetes is four times and only two in the case of men. The symptoms seen in women with diabetes are:
Vaginal yeast infection
Oral yeast infection
A white coating is often seen on the tongue and inside the mouth. The high levels of glucose in the blood can set off fungal growth. Bad breath, Redness, soreness, swollen gums, and trouble eating and swallowing are other signs of oral yeast infections.
Urinary infection
women suffering from diabetes have a higher risk of developing urinary tract infections. Urinary tract infections can be caused due to bacteria. This is common in diabetic women as the high level of sugar in the blood may hinder the immune system of the body and thus cannot be efficient in fighting those foreign cells The symptoms may include painful urination and burning sensations.
Female sexual dysfunction
Painful intercourse
The complications in the vaginal tract can make the tract dry and cause pain during intercourse. Consulting an expert can help, as they can prescribe vaginal lubricants and some exercise to increase sexual response.
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