Diabetes We Hear Phrases and Proverbs Such

Diabetes

We hear phrases and proverbs such as "health is wealth" so many times during our lives that they tend to become cliches and lose their real meaning until we are personally confronted with a disease. I too had been a healthy individual without a care in the world and could never have imagined that a silent disease was brewing inside me that would change my life forever until I was diagnosed with "diabetes mellitus" last year. The news was absolutely devastating as well as unexpected for me as I had no family history of the dreaded disease, and I had always assumed that such diseases were inherited through one's genes. Not necessarily, say the doctors.

The only discomforts that I had felt before the silent disease crept up on me were vague feelings of thirst, hunger and frequent urge to urinate. It was only later that I learnt that these were classic symptoms of diabetes. ("Diabetes Mellitus," Encarta). I had also not known before the diagnosis that there were two types of diabetes, Type 1 (the type I am afflicted with) that occurs in children and young people and Type 2 that usually afflicts older people. Type I diabetes is a condition characterized by high blood glucose levels caused by a total lack of insulin and it occurs when the body's immune system attacks the insulin-producing beta cells in the pancreas and destroys them. ("Type 1 Diabetes," ADA Web site). How my body's immune system chose to attack its own insulin producing cells I will never know but I do know now that I am one of about 17 million people (6.2% of the population) in the United States who suffer from diabetes. ("Basic Diabetes Information," ADA Web site). Although such statistics do not in any way reduce one's discomfort they do help in making one realize that countless others are facing similar challenges in their lives and help us in confronting them. I should consider myself fortunate that at least I am not among the 5.9 million people in the U.S. (one-third of the total) who are unaware that they have the disease. (Ibid.)

Having been diagnosed with type 1 diabetes, it has become necessary for me to regularly take insulin shots every day to keep my blood sugar levels as close as possible to normal since my body does not produce its own insulin. It also makes it necessary for me to constantly monitor my blood sugar levels, and to occasionally check the ketone level in my urine. Fortunately, there are now fairly accurate meters available that help diabetic patients like me to do the monitoring and administrating insulin shots ourselves. For example, I am now using a computerized meter using infrared and laser technology to monitor my blood sugar level that has eliminated the necessity of drawing blood for the purpose. Improved medicine has replaced several daily insulin injections with just one insulin shot per day.

It is necessary for a diabetic patient to be thoroughly familiar with the dos and don'ts involved in coping with the disease, which, thus far is a life-long process since there is no cure for the condition. I have to strictly control my diet and to exercise regularly so that the amount of insulin required is kept to the minimum. At the same time, I am aware that a diabetic patient must not only strive to keep the sugar level low but guard against very low sugar level (hypoglycemia). I have also educated myself on the complications that can arise as a result of diabetes. These include eye, nerve, and kidney diseases, susceptibility to infections, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and fat levels, and heart disease. ("Standards of Care," ADA Website).