Understand the Different Types of Diabetes

According to the Centers for Disease Control, further than 34 million Americans have diabetes. This represents approximately 10.5% of the population of the United States. In addition, more than 7 million adults whose blood met laboratory criteria for diabetes did not know they had the disease.

These numbers tell us at least two things: any disease that affects 10% of the population needs our full attention, and we have a lot of work to do in diabetes education if so many people have not been diagnosed with diabetes.

At TIB Pharmacy, our team of experts work with patients of all ages to diagnose and treat diabetes. Diabetes is actually an umbrella term that covers a group of diseases related to how your body processes glucose (sugar) in your bloodstream.

Your body needs glucose to survive, it gives your cells energy, but when you have diabetes, your blood sugar gets too high. If these levels remain high, they can cause serious health problems.

All forms of diabetes cause high blood sugar, but the underlying cause of each kind varies. Here's how to understand the different types of diabetes:

Type 1

When you have type 1 diabetes, your pancreas produces little or no insulin, a hormone needed to regulate blood sugar. Insulin allows glucose to move from the bloodstream to cells, where it is used for energy.

If you don't have insulin, glucose will build up to dangerously high levels in your bloodstream. People with type 1 diabetes need daily insulin injections to stay healthy.

Type 2

Type 2 diabetes is more common: it accounts for about 90% of cases. With this type, your pancreas makes insulin, but your body doesn't use it well. Over time, however, your pancreas produces less insulin, which means you may eventually need to take insulin to keep your blood sugar levels low enough.

The best way to help treat type 2 diabetes is to adopt a healthy lifestyle, including diet and exercise. You are more likely to develop type 2 if you are overweight. However, type 2 usually requires diabetes medication, then also statins and blood pressure control.

gestational

Gestational diabetes occurs during pregnancy when pregnancy hormones make your cells resistant to insulin. Usually your pancreas can handle this by producing extra insulin, but in some cases it cannot, leading the mother to develop gestational diabetes.

The problem usually resolves after pregnancy, but it increases the chances of developing type 2 diabetes in the future.

Another form of diabetes is prediabetes, which means that your blood sugar is consistently high but not yet high enough to qualify as full-blown diabetes. If you get the disease at this stage, you can usually reverse it by changing your lifestyle.

There are also other types of diabetes. If you think you have diabetes or would like more information about the condition, please contact TIB Pharmacy by calling 510-573-0064 or booking an appointment online with our easy online scheduler.