Diabetes is an autoimmune disease where the immune system attacks beta cells produced by the pancreas that create insulin. The immune system gets so good at killing the beta cells that the pancreas eventually stops producing the cells all together, thus there is no insulin available.
What is Insulin?
Insulin is a hormone produced by the beta cells that acts as a key to unlock all of the cells in the body. Imagine a hallway lined with doors, where the hall is the bloodstream and behind all of the doors is the cells. When sugar molecules from food travel through the hallway, insulin acts as a key to open the doors and feed the cells. When there is no insulin, there is no way for the cells to eat the sugar in the bloodstream, so they starve, and the sugar in the bloodstream has no place to go. In the end, the cells begin to eat all of the fat in the body, which is harmful as this process produces ketones which make the blood acidic. The mind knows that the cells are starving, thus directs the body to eat more sugar which in fact makes the problem worsen. The sugar in the bloodstream then attaches itself to the outside of the cells, restricting them and killing them also, so when there is no insulin all the cells in the body are slowly being killed.
What is Type One Diabetes?
T1 Diabetics are people who's beta cells have been attacked and no longer are produced by the pancreas, known as an autoimmune disease. T1 diabetes is often diagnosed in juveniles, but occurs in adults as well. The causes of T1 diabetes are unknown exactly, but is speculated to be a combination of genetics and something else, maybe a virus or environmental factor. There is nothing that can be done to avoid T1 Diabetes, and nothing a patient does causes onset. Diabetics have to take insulin to feed their cells, something that is 100% of the time and will never go away. Diabetics measure their blood sugar, a count of the amount of sugar molecules in the bloodstream. If there is too little sugar in the blood stream, also known as low blood sugar, the cells will begin to starve so a diabetic must eat food with sugar in it. If there is too much sugar in the blood stream, known as high blood sugar, then the diabetic must take insulin to allow the cells to eat that sugar.
What is Type Two Diabetes?
T2 Diabetes is a completely different disease than T1D, but is grouped under diabetes because of the possible need for insulin and control by measuring Blood sugar, but otherwise is not alike at all. T2 Diabetes is more often found in older adults, correlated with unhealthy lifestyles or just old age. With T2 diabetes, the pancreas has not stopped producing beta cells like with T1, but just needs support. This can be caused by the pancreas becoming less efficient, or could be caused from overuse in the sense that a lifetime of hard work may wear down the pancreas. T2 diabetes can be treated with drugs that slow metabolism so the pancreas has more time to process food, as well as diets and lifestyle changes, and insulin is only used as a supplement.
How did I get diabetes?
I bet everyone has at some point in their life heard that joke "if you eat that you will get diabetes". The truth is, type one diabetes is far from that. I developed diabetes some time around the age of 10. I was not born with it. There is no known cause for diabetes, though some speculation suggests that both genetics and a possible environmental factor play a rode in diagnoses. I have a brother, and we share very similar genes. And yet I got diabetes and so far he hasn't shown any signs of it. Maybe it was a different food I ate, or different air I breathed that made me develop it and him not.
Whatever the case is, it is for sure that any actions such as diet does not play a role in diagnoses. Despite common stereotypes, maybe derived from Type 2 diabetes, there is no reason for a person developing diabetes. In a way, it is almost a lottery of who gets it and who does not.
What about diabetes diagnoses?
Diagnoses is normally based off of two tests. a urine test and a blood test. The blood test, simply enough, test the amount of sugar in the blood. When I was diagnosed, my blood sugar was around 400 which is incredibly high. When a person is diagnosed, they have been experiencing the reduce amount of insulin for an extended period of time, which causes all of the symptoms such as being tired, vision becoming blurry, and frequent urination. The final symptom listed is the body's mechanism to flush the excess sugar out of the system. If sugar is then detected in urine, it can be proof of diabetes.
Before diagnoses, the body is feeling two main affects from not getting insulin. The first is that the cells in the body aren't getting any food, thus are starving. When I was diagnosed, I didn't understand what was happening or even what was wrong. My vision had began to blur, a result of the body prioritizing keeping me alive rather than keeping my eyesight. I felt awful almost every day. I drank excess amounts of water, meaning I had to go to the bathroom a lot. This was my mind trying to flush all the sugar out of me. I also lost roughly 20 lbs. I was 60 lbs when I was diagnosed, at the age of 10. This is because the excess sugar that is not being consumed by the cells latches on to the outside of these cells and constricts them, killing them off too. My body was starving, so my mind was telling me to eat as much sugar and carbs as I could, which just made the situation worse! And yet my scenario was really quite good compared to some people. We caught the diagnosis before it got really bad. Many people go into DKA, or Diabetic Ketoacidosis before they are diagnosed. This is where the body begins eating fat as it is the only source of food left. Fat consists of ketones, and ketones acidify the blood. When all your body eats is fat, you are literally being poisoned from the inside out. I have to check for ketones every time by blood sugar is high for an extended period of time, as DKA can have debilitating effects such as loss of limbs or eyesight, if it doesn't kill you.