Diabetes

 By: Jordan

                     

           "STOP! This can’t keep going on, I’m sick and tired of all the people around me dying, and getting hurt." 

"Are you okay? Talk to me about it, what’s going on?" 

"DIABETES! That’s what going on, it’s killing and hurting people I love and I need to get some help to stop it from killing others." 

"What idea do you have in mind, is there really anything that you think can do?" 

"I don’t know, but I can try at least something." 

           These are the conversations that should be happening in households where a family member has diabetes. My best-friend and my great-grandmother both have diabetes, luckily neither of them have a really bad case of it. I really just want us to stop the increase of diabetes rates by knowing more about it. You may not know, but diabetes has a really big effect on Americans today. People also think you can only develop diabetes as an adult, but you can also be born with it and this disease can be passed down from generation to generation.

             There are three different types of diabetes; Type 1, Type 2, and Gestational Diabetes. Gestational Diabetes only effect pregnant women but Type 1 and Type 2 can happen to anyone. Type 1 diabetes is early-onset, which people develop in their young adulthood and teenage years. Type 1 diabetes used to be called juvenile-onset diabetes. It is usually caused by an auto-immune reaction, which means the body's defense system attacks the cells that produce insulin. Patients with type 1 diabetes produces very little insulin or none at all. People with type 1 diabetes need injections of insulin everyday in order to control levels of sugar in your blood and if they don't have any access they could die.

           Type 2 diabetes is called the non-insulin dependent diabetes or even adult-onset diabetes. This accounts for about 90% of diabetes cases. This type can occur at any age. Type 2 diabetes can be undetected for many years and the diagnosis is often made when a complication appears, or even a blood test can be done. Type 2 is often associated with obesity, which itself can lead to high glucose levels. Patients with type 2  can often somewhat manage their condition with exercise and a diet. Most people will also require oral drugs.

              Gestational Diabetes (GDM) is the form where consisting of high blood glucose levels during pregnancy. It can developed every 1 in 25 pregnancies  and is associated with complications with the mother and the baby. GDM usually goes away after the pregnancy but women and even the children can be at an increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes later in life. About half of the women with an history of GDM go on to develop  type 2 diabetes within 5 to 10 years after delivery. 

       These 3 different typr of diabetes can affect people in all different ways. They all have different characteristics. Type 1 are like the early onset diabetes. Whereas type 2 are where you get affected, but also not really affected. Gestational diabetes really just affects pregnant women and their baby. These are all the types of diabetes and how they affect us today.