Everything You Should Know About Diabetes

Diabetes mellitus is one of the most common diseases of the endocrine system. To date, it has acquired the character of a pandemic, as the number of patients increases every year and is ahead of WHO forecasts. Pathology is characterized by a persistent increase in blood sugar levels and tissue starvation. These phenomena are caused by a deficiency of insulin, which is a carrier of glucose in tissues. In addition to an increase in blood sugar, other serious disorders of protein, salt, and mineral metabolism are noted.

The main reason for the development of type 1 diabetes is insulin deficiency due to its insufficient synthesis by the beta cells of the islets of Langerhans, which are located in the tail of the pancreas. The probability of disease development against the background of inflammatory processes, oncological damage, viral infection, and hereditary factors is also noted. Type 1 diabetes usually develops in childhood and adolescence, but it can manifest itself in older people.

Symptoms of the disease usually appear quite quickly, since the sugar level in type 1 diabetes rises almost rapidly, in contrast to type 2 disease, in which hyperglycemia can build up for years and not cause any symptoms in the patient. The clinic at the manifestation of the first type of diabetes is always very bright, patients complain of pronounced fatigue, shortness of breath, dry mouth, strong thirst, frequent trips to the toilet, patients even wake up at night, and the volume of urine increases significantly. This condition is often accompanied by weight loss.

Diagnosis and diabetes medication treatment of diabetes is carried out by an endocrinologist, it is he who should be consulted when the above symptoms are detected. Among the main diagnostic measures for making a diagnosis, the following are distinguished:

• blood sugar analysis;
• glycosylated hemoglobin;
• clinical analysis of urine with the determination of sugar and acetone levels;
• for differential diagnosis of types of diabetes, insulin and C-peptide levels are studied.

Patients with an established diagnosis need to regularly monitor their blood sugar level at home with a glucometer or monitoring system. To date, the most optimal method of diabetes control is blood sugar monitoring, when the system measures glycemia every 5 minutes, that is, 288 times a day, which makes it possible to reduce the risks of blood sugar fluctuations as much as possible.

It is also recommended to undergo a regular examination: control of glycated hemoglobin once every 3 months. It is important to annually visit such specialists as an ophthalmologist, neurologist, vascular surgeon, cardiologist, and nephrologist, that is, those doctors who deal with the treatment of target organs in diabetes. The following studies are also recommended:

• ultrasound of abdominal organs;
• ECG;
• ultrasound of the vessels of the lower extremities.

Other analyzes are possible depending on the severity of the course of diabetes, the presence of concomitant pathologies, and the individual characteristics of the patient.

Type 1 diabetes involves constant insulin replacement therapy. There are many schemes for the treatment of the disease, and the methods of insulin administration are quite large – ordinary subcutaneous injections, syringe pens, and insulin pumps. The most optimal method of therapy is an insulin pump, which greatly facilitates the daily routine administration of insulin. There are models of insulin pumps that are connected to glucose monitoring systems, which allow you to monitor the blood sugar level as efficiently as possible, to respond to its changes in a timely manner. This approach allows you to significantly delay the onset of complications of this insidious disease.v