| Product: |
Insulin Dependent Diabetes |
| Date: |
02/09/06 (83 review reads) |
| Rating: |
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Advantages: Free prescriptions / Cool gadgets
Disadvantages: Not supposed to eat chocolate or anything else high in sugar.
With the number of of people being diagnosed with Diabetes soaring at an alarming rate, also the suspected number of people who don't even know they have it. I thought maybe I could should let you know a little more detail on this illness. So I would like to take this opportunity to tell you a liitle about what it is and what it can cause if left undiagnosed too long. Also a few simple warning signals that you may have Diabetes so you may follow up as you see fit.
What Is Diabetes?
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Diabetes simply means that the part of an organ inside your body known as the Pancreas, is not secreeting a substance called Insulin.
Insulin is what your body needs to break down the sugars in what you eat, or drink, thus meaning it has no way of passing through your body. This means that all those sugars are building up in your bloodstream, which can lead to much more serious threats to your health.
It can also reduce your visual capabilities as the sugar crystals can build up behind your eyes, this is known as Glaucoma. Although opticians say they can spot this symptom when you go for your regular checkups, it is not failsafe. They did not spot it with me, my sugar levels at the time were astronomical but I didn't know.
The other thing I am constantly being warned about is furring of the arteries, this can be quite serious as this can cause blocked arteries. Or could lead to a serious heart attack or organ failure.
The havoc it can cause with other organs such as your kidneys,liver and even your brain can be damaged due to restricted blood flow and weakened arteries,vains and capillaries.
As well as this you also can be more at risk from things such as gangrene, especially in the regions that the blood has furthest to travel. This means that diabetics should take very good care of their feet, keeping a close eye on ANY cut,scratch or graze. Especially when cutting toe nails as any little cut or nick could spell trouble.
How Can I Check For Diabetes?
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There are in my eyes 4 signals that you may be Diabetic, although not failsafe as they could relate to other problems.
1, Drinking MUCH more than normal
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Before I was diagnosed, I could easily drink a 2ltr bottle of pop in around 30 mins, I literally couldn't stop myself. But no matter how much I drank, or what I drank it just wouldn't quench my thirst. I had a kind of coating in my mouth that just wouldn't go away.
2, Urinating alot
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I found that I was going to the toilet about every half hour or so, which is mainly because of how much I was drinking. But the only difference is during the night, I was up about every hour to go to the toilet. Now normal healthy people don't usually wake up during sleep for the toilet, and not that often. You also may feel slight discomfort whilst passing fluid as it may burn a little or/and be of a bright yellow colour. it can also have a very pungent smell to it almost a sweet sort of smell.
3, Loss of weight
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Now this may not be the case in some cases, but in the time between becoming and being diagnosed, which was about a year. I actually lost about 9 stone, even though I was drinking so much sugary pop and ate as much as I always did (which was quite alot as I lived in a sweet shop)
4, Constant tiredness, bouts of dizzyness
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You may find that you feel physically and mentally drained, no matter how hard you try you can't seem to bring yourself to put your all into any task. You can't do two things at once as your concentration tends to drift you just can't seem to focus on the task at hand. You may find from time to time that your judgement become clouded and you can't seem to make what seems like an easy decision, this can make you seem to other people as spaced out.
What should I do next?
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If you recognise these symptoms in yourself or most important in anyone you know, You should seek a medical opinion. You don't even need to make an appointment at the doctors, as you will find that some chemists offer a free testing service.
If the test is positive don't worry because it isn't going to kill you, all of the things I described earlier aren't just going to come along and get you. Just go to your doctor, he will perform a urine test to establish the level of keytones, which I beliveve are like sugar crystals in your urine. He will also do a blood sample to establish what your sugar levels have been like in the last month, just to be sure it's not just a glitch.
In most cases a short stay in hospital is neccesary to help stabalise you, also to teach you how to regulate your medication. You won't neccesarily have to inject as in some cases tablets and strict diet are suffice.
Finally I would just like to advise that if you have a family I wold go and buy home blood testing kit. They are relatively inexpensive, I believe I saw one in Superdrug for about six quid. I believe this is a small price to pay for such peace of mind, every household in England should have one.
If you know any old people that are unable to perform this task please do check them regular. They are the most likely to contract this and many deaths could and should be saved by just taking time out to check them too.
Remember it is not a disease or to be regarded as fatal, if you take this approach you are so wrong. We are no different, I like to say that it's just me pancreas thats buggered not me body, an I can live with that so could you.
Summary: Diabetes is not a disease or disability and shouldn't be treated as such.
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