Type I & Type II Diabetes Mellitus

Type I & Type II Diabetes Mellitus are chronic illnesses that are increasingly affecting more American people every year. It was reported that approximately 8% of Americans, 17 million people, are affected by diabetes. Behind heart disease and cancer, diabetes is the 3^rd leading cause of death in the United States.

Type I Diabetes

Type I Diabetes, or insulin-dependent diabetes, is a chronic illness that usually develops early in life, childhood or young adult. Until the mid 20^th century diabetes was considered a fatal disease and could not be treated. Luckily today that is not the case, and with constant medication diabetics can survive.

Type I Diabetes results from the body’s inability to produce the hormone insulin. Insulin is a natural substance that is secreted from the pancreas. This substance regulates the body’s blood sugar level. Naturally when food is eaten the body becomes hyperglycemic (high blood sugar level). Insulin is then secreted to break down the newly present glucose (sugar) and converts it to energy for the body to utilize. With type I diabetics, this mechanism is disrupted. Diabetics lack insulin so their bodies stay in a prolonged state of hyperglycemia. You can see where this can become problematic. Without insulin the body cannot use the glucose in the blood to form energy. This explains why some of the hallmark signs and symptoms of type I diabetic patients include elevated blood sugar levels, loss of glucose in urine, fatigue, weakness, nausea, vomiting, and weight loss. The lack of insulin in the body is life threatening, therefore diabetic patients must be on medication for life to survive. Although this chronic illness can be controlled with medication this disease is life-long.

Treatment for Type I Diabetes

Have you ever thought about what it would be like to give yourself a shot? I have never done it. Now imagine having to do it everyday. Imagine your eight year old child having to take insulin injections everyday. Without drug therapy type I diabetic patients would not survive. This is why type I diabetes is also referred to as insulin-dependent diabetes. There are over 20 different types of insulin. The hormone is either derived from animals (pigs) or identical human insulin is genetically engineered in the lab. The standard treatments for these patients are insulin injections, dietary control, and exercise. Newly developing technology hopes to provide diabetics easier administration of insulin. An insulin pump is an example of an alternative route versus insulin injections. A common side effect of taking insulin injections is hypoglycemia. Insulin is a high-risk drug and can be hard to manage. Certain drugs like alcohol, beta-blockers, and anabolic steroids should not be taken with insulin because it increases the risks of becoming hypoglycemic. Becoming hypoglycemia is just as dangerous as hyperglycemia; therefore certain steps should be taken if a patient’s insulin medication is resulting in hypoglycemia. A change in the dose of insulin medication, limiting alcohol consumption, changing diet and exercise habits, all of these steps are factors in managing a diabetics blood sugar level.

Administration of Insulin

There are certain steps that are crucial when it comes to administrating insulin. Since type I diabetics are insulin-dependent insulin, injections are taught how to be given so they can administer the shots themselves when needed. Insulin injections must be given subcutaneously (into fatty tissue). Most commonly injections are given in the subcutaneous fat of the stomach because the drug will be rapidly absorption into bloodstream from this injection site. The American Diabetes Association has outlined the process and exact steps that should be taken in the administration of insulin. (link is below)

http://www.diabetes.org/for-parents-and-kids/diabetes-care/administration.jsp

Complications with Type I Diabetes

People with type I diabetes are at a greater risk than most for serious bodily complications. These complications include: heart disease, kidney disease, eye complications, nerve damage, foot complications, skin complications, gastroparesis (stomach complications), and depression. For more details on the signs and symptoms with these complications visit the American Diabetes Association below.

http://www.diabetes.org/type-1-diabetes/complications.jsp

 

Type II Diabetes

In America, type II diabetes is a rapidly growing condition. With lack of exercise, poor diets, and weight gain in older adults an open window is created for late-onset diabetes (type II diabetes). Unlike type I, these diabetic patients still create insulin; the problem is there is not enough insulin being created or the body cells are not responding to insulin anymore, insulin intolerance. If untreated, the signs and symptoms of type II are very similar to that of type I diabetes: increased hunger and thirst, increased urination, blurred vision, sudden unexplained weight loss, fatigue, and weakness.

Treatments for Type II Diabetes

Most type II diabetics can control their diabetes through dietary moderation (also referred to as a “diabetic diet”) and exercise. If diet and exercise cannot control a patient blood sugar levels than usually oral medications are then given. If blood sugar levels are still uncontrolled, even through diet, exercise, and oral meds, insulin is prescribed as a last resort. “Among adults with diagnosed diabetes (type 1 or type 2), 14% take insulin only, 13% take both insulin and oral medication, 57% take oral medication only, and 16% do not take either insulin or oral medication. Medications for each individual with diabetes will often change during the course of the disease.” (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2007)

Below is an example of several common oral medications for type II diabetic patients. The chart shows the various side effects and costs for the medications:

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/diabetes-treatment/DA00089

Prevalence of Diabetes in America

“Diabetes is becoming more common in the United States. From 1980 through 2006, the number of Americans with diabetes tripled (from 5.6 million to 16.8 million). As the detailed tables show, people aged 65 years or older account for approximately 37% of the population with diabetes.” (Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)

http://www.cdc.gov/diabetes/statistics/prev/national/figpersons.htm

More information on Diabetes

There is a lot of information out there about diabetes. Thankfully the process of how this chronic disease works is known and medication can control it.

For more detailed information of how type I and type II diabetes work visit the American Diabetes Association Website (http://www.diabetes.org/)

For statistics and more research information regarding diabetes visit The Health and Human Services Center for Disease Control and Prevention website below:  (http://www.cdc.gov/diabetes/consumer/prevent.htm)