User blog:Acebatonfan/November is Diabetes Awareness Month

Hello! As what many of you know, I was diagnosed approximately a year ago with type 1 diabetes and have also recently experienced a close relative being diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. In addition to my "diaversary" rapidly approaching, November has been designated in the US as diabetes awareness month, and November 14 is World Diabetes Day. Each week, I plan on informing the wiki about different aspects of diabetes and ways people can help to fund a cure to diabetes.

Week 1: What is Diabetes?
Diabetes is a worldwide epidemic and affects nearly 30 million adults and children in the United States alone. There are three main types of diabetes, though each type has different disorders within them.

Type 1 diabetes occurs due to an autoimmune destruction of the pancreas' beta cells. Beta cells are responsible for the production of insulin, a critical enzyme necessary for glucose metabolism. When there is no insulin, glucose, a form of sugar, builds up in the blood and will cause rapid and fatal damage to other organs within the body. Subcutaneous insulin injections or infusion of insulin from a pump must be delivered every day for the rest of a type one diabetic's life for survival. Approximately 5-10% of all diabetes cases are cases of type 1 diabetes. There is no known cause for type one diabetes, though certain genes and exposure to specific environmental influences, such as avirus or vitamin D deficiency, are correlated with an increased risk of developing it.

Type 2 diabetes occurs due to insulin resistance that results in an inefficient productuon or processing of insulin. Unlike type 1 diabetics, tyype 2 diabetics initially produce normal to above normal amounts of insulin, but overtime can also lose beta cells. This also causes a buildup of glucose in the blood and can lead to complications over time. Treatment options include diet and weight loss, excercise, medications that increase insulin sensitivity or inhibit the release of glucose from the liver, and insulin. Approximately 90-95% of all diabetes cases are from type 2 diabetes. Certain risk factors, such as age, obesity, genetics, other medical conditions, and race can increase a person's risk for developing type 2 diabetes.

Gestational diabetes occurs during pregnancy. It affects roughly one in 25 pregnancies and increases the risks of both mother and child developing type 2 diabetes. Approximately half of all mothers with gestational diabetes go on to develop type 2 diabetes within 10 years after delivery. Like type 1 diabetes, there is no known cause yet, though it is believed that the placenta that is allowing the baby to develop causes an increased amount of insulin resistance within the mother. Trearment includes diet, excercise, and insulin injections.

In addition, I am including a link to my diagnosis story. Please remember to keep all cupcakes away from me on November 6th. :)

Week 2: What is a Day Like for Someone with Diabetes?
Most diabetics can go on to live normal lives, but there are a few extra steps we need to take each day necessary for survival. There are multiple videos online that depict the day-to-day lives of persons with diabetes

The following is what yesterday (Tuesday) was like for me. The day preceeding it had very crazy blood sugars (my infusion set's cannula bent and essentially had no insulin going into my body for five hours), so I was trying to take it easy yesterday. On a typical day, I test about 10 times per day and program an insulin dose about 8 times a day.

5:50am: I wake up and test my blood sugar. My meter tells me that I am 83mg/dL. I look back to my bedtime number from the previous night (88mg/dL) and concluded that I had a very stable night. I begin carb counting for my breakfast -a protein shake- and program my insulin pump to deliver enough insulin to cover 7g of carbs. I let the pump deliver my insulin and wait 15 minutes before eating.

7:00am: I arrive at my university. I have an hour to kill before needing to be at my anatomy lecture, so I head to my favorite coffee house on the university's main street. I decide to have a more filling breakfast at the coffee house and skip lunch, so I begin to carb count for my breakfast. I look up the carbs for a biscuit (30g), cheese (0g), egg (0g), and black coffee (0g) and decide to take insulin for 40g of carbs instead of 30g.

11:30am: It's been four hours since I ate my breakfast. I did not check my blood sugar two hours after breakfast (used to determine how much you are "spiking" with a certain meal), but I want to see whether I took an appropriate amount of insulin for that meal. My reading comes back at 179mg/dL, which is about 80mg/dL above my personal target. I conclude that I will need to take at least an additional unit of insulin if I have that meal again, and I program my pump to deliver some correction insulin.

12:30pm: It's been about an hour after I took my correction insulin, and I want to see whether my blood sugar is coming down before my nursing lecture begins. I test, and I am at 87mg/dL. I look at how much of my insulin is yet to metabolize, and I realize that I risk going into hypoglycemia. I do not do anything about it but keep glucose tablets close by.

3:00pm: I am back home, and I wanted to test my blood sugar; I typically go into hypoglycemia around 3:00-5:00, so I wanted to test and see if I need to bring up my blood sugar. I come back at 103mg/dL, which is right on target. Dinner will most likely be ready in three hours, so I decide to not have a snack.

6:30pm: Dinner is a bit late, but it's here. For two chicken breasts (2g carbs each) and some broccoli and carrots (12g), I program an insulin dose to cover 16g of carbs. I test my blood sugar before eating, and I am at 88mg/dL.

7:30pm: It has been an hour and since eating, so I need to test my blood sugar and see how much the meal is "spiking" me. I anticipate a reading around 130-150, so I was surprised when my meter came back at 99mg/dL. I was still hungry, so I made myself a cup of hot chocolate (11g of carbs) with whipped cream (5g of carbs) and program an insulin dose to cover 16g of carbs. I then head to bed about an hour later.

7:00am (the next day): I wake up and see that I am at 68mg/dL. Crap, I am low. I shrug my shoulders, celebrate that I am not at 200, chew on a jelly bean, and begin the process all over again.