(Newswire.net — January 8, 2021) — The CDC has found that over 29 million Americans have diabetes mellitus; up to 25% of them don’t know that they are suffering from severe problems with their insulin levels.
Your doctor has diagnosed you with diabetes. Any disorder involving your body’s basic functions of metabolism can be confusing and scary. If you are having problems with insulin, or “blood sugar” then you probably have been diagnosed with one of a few types of Diabetes Mellitus. There are two main kinds of this type of diabetes, and a third kind that only occurs during pregnancy. If you have type 1 diabetes, you might have been diagnosed as a baby or child. The cause of that sort of diabetes is because the pancreas doesn’t produce enough insulin to regulate your blood sugar after you eat. People with this kind of diabetes are often called “Insulin Dependent Diabetics”.
Blood sugar must be tested regularly and insulin must be given to be able to stay healthy with Type 1 diabetes. It is absolutely essential to have an accurate glucose meter if you are an insulin-dependent diabetic. Your life depends on accurately reading daily blood sugar levels, and dosing insulin to inject, in order to digest your food properly and keep your blood sugar levels within safe parameters.
Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus is very similar to Type 1, but in this case, the body has become resistant to its supply of insulin. Your pancreas makes insulin, but because of many factors, your body’s insulin receptor cells can malfunction, and they do not allow the insulin to bind with them. Excess blood sugar causes permanent damage to the body and leads to chronic illness.
Things that cause Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus include obesity, naturally occurring high insulin levels, and chronic high blood sugar levels. Eating poorly and being chronically obese can eventually lead to this kind of diabetes. Some people can take oral medications to lower their blood sugar for this kind of diabetes, but in severe cases, insulin is given subcutaneously (just beneath the skin, into the fatty tissue) is needed to keep insulin levels high enough to prevent dangerously high blood sugar. Type 2 diabetics must monitor their blood glucose very carefully, as well, to prevent organ damage and other chronic effects of high blood sugar.
Pregnancy sometimes causes a form of insulin resistance in certain women. If this problem becomes severe enough to be diagnosed as Gestational Diabetes, it requires close blood sugar monitoring and treatment with insulin or other drugs to lower blood sugar.
You might have heard of Diabetes Insipidus. Diabetes Insipidus is a metabolic disorder that usually does not affect insulin production or absorption and primarily affects the kidneys. Many people confuse the much more uncommon Diabetes Insipidus for Diabetes Mellitus. The word “diabetes” originated from a Greek term meaning “to siphon”. Both Diabetes Mellitus and Diabetes Insipidus produce changes in the urine, which would account for them being named similarly. Diabetes Insipidus is not treated with insulin and is very different from Diabetes Mellitus in most ways.
Monitoring Your Blood Glucose Could Save Your Life
As a diabetic, it is of utmost importance to be able to monitor your blood glucose (sugar) levels as often as your doctor recommends. You must travel with it and keep it near you at all times, to make sure you are able to check your levels any time you feel sick or are scheduled to check your glucose at certain times of the day. If your doctor has given you insulin to take, especially if it is dosed using a “sliding scale”, you will need to have an accurate reading to know how much insulin you need to administer to yourself to stay healthy.
If your equipment isn’t functioning correctly, you could under-dose yourself, causing your blood glucose to run dangerously high. Worse than that, if you take too much insulin based on a faulty blood glucose reading, you could overdose on insulin and you could die. It is essential to have an accurate and properly functioning glucose monitor available at all times if you are diabetic. It could quite literally save your life to have your glucose meter with you that is calibrated and functioning properly if you have a diabetic emergency.
Good Equipment Means Accurate Testing
As technology progresses, we are lucky to live in a time when machines like blood glucose monitors are easily obtained, and very inexpensive in many cases. They are small enough to take anywhere, and when maintained and calibrated correctly, they are very accurate. If there is any question that your blood glucose monitor is malfunctioning, it is essential to obtain a functioning unit. There are many affordable options out there for every budget. Accuracy is of the utmost importance when choosing a blood glucose monitor.