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Becoming a Diabetes Expert
I am a diabetes expert. No I'm not a doctor or a nurse. I am a
mom. A mom to a 13 year old girl named Ashley who has Juvenile
Diabetes. Ashley was diagnosed with Juvenile Diabetes just before
her fifth birthday. She went into a diabetic coma and almost
died. None of that would have happened if I had known the warning
signs. In this article I am going to give you some information on
diabetes and the warning signs.
There are two types of Diabetes. Type I - Juvenile Diabetes
and Type II - Adult Onset Diabetes. Here we are going to
concentrate on Type I.
With Type I , which mainly occurs in young people, the
pancreas produces very little or no insulin. This disease is now
being classed as an Auto-immune disease. This is what can happen.
A person becomes ill with a flu-like virus. Normally the white
blood cells would attack these invading organisms and the person
would begin to get better. But, in a person prone to diabetes the
white blood cells become confused and attack the beta cells in
the pancreas. To better understand this let me explain what the
pancreas does. The pancreas is a gland positioned behind the
stomach. It has two major functions. The first is to produce
enzymes that help to digest food. The second is to produce the
hormones insulin and glucagon. These two hormones are important
because they play a major part in regulating the glucose (sugar)
level in your blood by keeping it at an even or normal level.
When your pancreas becomes damaged it is unable to manufacture
insulin. Insulin helps your beta cells absorb sugar. Your body
needs the sugar to produce energy. Your body, unable to use
glucose because of the lack of insulin, is forced to obtain
energy from fat instead. This is very dangerous and if not
treated eventually leads to a coma.
If you are aware of them the warning signs are very easy to
see. The warning signs of Juvenile Diabetes are: irritability,
frequent urination which is associated with abnormal thirst,
nausea or vomiting, fatigue, weight loss despite a normal (or
even increased) intake of food, and unusual hunger. Something
usually not mentioned but, which happened with my daughter was
nightmares & sleep walking. In children, frequent bedwetting
- especially by a child who never previously wet the bed - is
another common sign. Just before going into a coma you will
notice breath that smells like acetone (ex:fingernail polish
remover). This is a sign of ketoacidosis. You should get this
person to the hospital immediately.
People with Type I Diabetes are subject to episodes in which
blood glucose levels are very high (hyperglycemia) and very low
(hypoglycemia). Either of these conditions can lead to a serious
medical emergency. To better understand this you should know that
a normal blood glucose level is between 70 - 120. When my
daughter went into a diabetic coma her level was over 1,000. She
has been as low as 19. This is very scary. This is what I notice
when Ashley becomes low. You look into her eyes and she looks far
away. Her eyes are glassy and vacant looking. She becomes
confused, disoriented and sometimes combative. Her speech is slow
and often slurred. Her hand will tremble and she says she feels
shaky. Sometimes Ashley does not recall these episodes.
Episodes of hypoglycemia (low blood glucose) which strikes
suddenly, can be caused by a missed meal, too much excersize, or
a reaction to too much insulin. The initial signs are hunger,
dizziness, sweating, confusion, palpitations, and numbness or
tingling of the lips. If not treated the individual may go on to
experience double vision, trembling and disorientation; they may
act strangely and may even lapse into a coma.
In contrast, a hyperglycemic (high blood glucose) episode can
come on over a period of several hours or even weeks. The risk of
hyperglycemia is greatest during illness. When insulin
requirements rise; blood sugar can creep, ultimately resulting in
a coma, a reaction also known as diabetic ketoacidosis. One of
the warning signs of developing hyperglycemia is the inability to
keep down fluids. Possible long term complications include
stroke, blindness, heart disease, kidney failure, gangrene, and
nerve damage.
So you see I am a diabetes expert. It was important for me to
know my enemy. My enemy is diabetes and with education I can
fight it.
Devoting her last 8 years to Diabetes Education, Kimberly
maintains her website ElviraDarkNight.com and
publishes the
Living Life as a Diabetic Newsletter and also dispatches
donated Diabetic supplies to needie individuals without Health
Insurance. Kim would like to personally invite you to become
informed on issues of Health, Nutrition & Diabetes.
MORE RESOURCES:
Google News
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