What is Diabetes: Cause, Effect, and Treatment

What is diabetes?

Diabetes is a condition that your body that cannot stabilize the level of blood sugar. In normal conditions, the body digests the eaten food into a type of sugar called glucose that is released into your bloodstream which is regulated by insulin, a hormone produced by the pancreatic islets. However, if your body does not make enough insulin, or insulin is not working effectively, the level of blood sugar would uncontrollably rise and lead to serious health problems in the long run.

Major symptoms of diabetes can be shown as unintended weight loss, increased urination, thirst, and hunger. Some patients can suffer from blurred vision, headache, fatigue, slow healing of cuts, and itchy skin. Patients could also suffer from diabetic emergencies ranging from hyperglycemia – a high level of blood sugar that results in tiredness, headache, and blurred vision; hypoglycemia – low blood sugar that led to feelings of unease, sweating, and trembling; and diabetic ketoacidosis – a serious metabolic disturbance characterized by nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, and in severe case a decreased level of consciousness.

There is also a condition called pre-diabetes, a condition of rising levels of blood sugar but not high enough to be diagnosed as diabetes. Thus, pre-diabetes can develop into diabetes and also increase the chance of other complications including heart disease and strokes.

Three kinds of diabetes

Diabetes can be recognized into three categories, each of which causes differently and requires different treatments

• Type I: Type I diabetes is caused by loss of beta cells of the pancreatic islets, mostly from  autoimmune attacks by T-cells, which lead to insulin deficiency. 10% of diabetes patients suffered from Type I diabetes which can be inherited by multiple genes, making them occur at any age. 
• Type II: Type II diabetes is caused by insulin resistance, which can be a result of a defect in the insulin receptor. Some patients also suffered from both insulin resistance and  insulin insufficiency. Type II diabetes is mostly caused by lifestyles and genetics, making them the most common type with 80% of diabetes patients suffering from them.
• Gestational: Gestational diabetes is involved in women with pregnancies as it causes by an increase in insulin-antagonist hormones during pregnancies. 2-10% of women with pregnancies are suffers from gestational diabetes which also increased the risks of high birth weight, congenital heart and central nervous system abnormalities, and skeletal muscle malformations.

What can help you avoid Diabetes?

Diabetes can lead to lots of complications ranging from cardiovascular disease, nerve damage that leads to tingling and numbness, kidney damage that leads to kidney failure, eye damage that leads to blindness, hearing impairment, foot, skin, and mouth condition, and Alzheimer’s disease. As a result, avoiding diabetes also means avoiding various chronic diseases in the long run.

Even Type I and Gestational diabetes are hardly preventable, Type II diabetes and pre-diabetes are preventable or delayed by changing your behaviors. Eating healthy foods lower in fat and higher in fiber like fruits, vegetables, and whole grains, getting about 30 minutes of moderate aerobic activities a day, and losing excess weight can help prevent not only diabetes but also other non-communicable diseases including cardiovascular disease and cancers.

Living with Diabetes

Diabetes is diagnosed by the measurement of glucose levels in the blood. If your blood result demonstrating one of those conditions can be confirmed as diabetes  

• Plasma glucose level of more than 7.0 mmol/L or 126 mg/dL after fasting
• Plasma glucose level of more than 11.1 mmol/L or 200 mg/dL after glucose tolerance test
• Glycated hemoglobin (HbA1C) ≥ 48 mmol/mol

As a result, diabetes treatment is the control of blood sugar level close to the normal without causing low blood sugar. The key to effective control is the regular monitoring of blood sugar using a glucose meter. Meanwhile, the most effective way of controlling the level of blood sugar is changing patients’ habits – controlling the body weight, controlling the food being eaten, especially the amount of sugar, and regular exercise which is effective for the control of the level of blood sugar and blood pressure.

Patients with Type I diabetes need to use insulin to control the level of blood sugar, some may require a pancreas transplant to resume body capacity in producing insulin. Type II diabetes can also be treated with insulin in combination with medicines that directly control the generation of glucose (Metformin), increase insulin release (sulfonylureas), decrease absorption of glucose (acarbose), make the body more sensitive to insulin (thiazolidinedione), or increase the excretion of glucose in the urine (SGLT2 inhibitors). 

Patients with diabetes also need to take care of their eyes, feet, and teeth as there is a greater risk of complications including gum infections, inflammations, and retinal damage. Alcohol and tobacco can make diabetes complications more severe and avoid them being necessary. Stress also prevents insulin from working properly, making stress management can help control the level of blood sugar too. 

Diabetes treatment at Phyathai 1 International

Diabetes is one of the complications that need a holistic way of treatment. At Phyathai 1 International, our Diabetes and Metabolic Center takes a lead in the diagnosis and treatment of diabetes to maintain your level of blood sugar, followed by professionals of the cardiovascular center, the neurology center, the urology center, the women’s center, and the eye clinic to help reduce the risk of any complications related to diabetes.

If you have any conditions of diabetes or are concerned about your blood sugar level, we recommend consulting with our specialist at the Diabetes and Metabolic Center of Phyathai 1 International, which opens daily from 8 am to 8 pm. To ensure the fastest procedure time, We recommend taking a reservation by phone at number (+66)2-201-4600 ext.2257-8 or by E-mail at [email protected].