Understanding Diabetes

What is diabetes? Diabetes is the result of having too much sugar in the bloodstream. Normally, the food a person eats is converted into blood sugar, which provides energy to all the body's cells. A hormone called " insulin" is needed to unlock the cells and let the sugar in. If a person's body doesn't manufacture insulin - or changes in their body cause their cells to resist the effects of insulin - sugar will stay in the bloodstream.

Over the short term, that will make the person feel ill, sap their energy, and stop the muscles and cells from growing. Over the longer term, high levels of sugar in the blood can damage the eyes, nerves, kidneys, blood vessels - virtually all of the body's systems.

That means that a person with diabetes must use diet, exercise, and sometimes medications to keep their blood sugar levels close to normal.

Types of Diabetes

You may have heard of "type 1" and "type 2" diabetes. Each one requires a person to carefully control their blood sugar to avoid short- and long-term medical problems. But they differ in some important ways.

Type 1 diabetes occurs most often in children and young adults (which is why some people still call it "juvenile" diabetes). Their bodies, for reasons we don't know just yet, stop manufacturing insulin. As a result, they have to "take" insulin every day through injections, a pump, or other means. About 5-10% of people with diabetes have type 1.

The other 90% of people with diabetes have type 2. This used to be called "adult-onset" or "non-insulin dependent," but the truth is, children and teenagers can get type 2 diabetes, and sometimes it has to be treated with prescribed insulin. Type 2 diabetes occurs when a person's pancreas doesn't create enough insulin, or their body has become desensitized to it. Type 2 diabetes is treated with controlled diet and exercise, oral medications, and sometimes insulin injections.

The Emotional Effects of Diabetes

Even though diabetes can be managed, people often feel burned out by the need to continually watch what they eat, prick their fingertips for blood tests, and exercise as often as they should. As a person gets older, these demands can be even harder to keep up with, especially if they're adjusting to other medical complications such as low vision, decreased mobility, or digestive problems.

Now that you'll be sharing some or all of the duties associated with diabetes management, you may have some of these same feelings. It's natural. That's why it's important to learn as much as you can about diabetes management, proper caregiving, and all the resources available to you.

Keep in mind that it's very hard for a person who's getting older to accept the fact that he or she may need help. From the time we're children, independence is a key part of who we are, and no one wants to feel like they have to give that up. Do your best to continue talking to your parent or spouse as a mature adult, and keep them as involved as possible in decisions about their self care. Plus, the more self-reliant they remain, the more energy you'll have left over for you.