Welcome!!

Hello! My name is Emalee and I would like to welcome you to my blog about living through diabetes!

For those of you suffering with diabetes, you may or may not be aware of the physiology of the disease. If you are unaware or a caregiver/friend/family member of a diabetic interested in more information, I will use this introductory post to explain some of the particulars of the illness.

Formally called Diabetes Mellitus (DM), diabetes is a metabolic disease characterized by hyperglycemia, or high blood sugar (fasting blood glucose >125 mg/dL or non-fasting blood glucose >200 mg/dL). This occurs as a result of problems with insulin secretion and/or the inability to utilize insulin produced by the pancreas. There are several types of diabetes that you may suffer from: Type 1, Type 2, or gestational, with Type 2 diabetes being the most common (90% of all cases in the US). Typically, Type 2 diabetes is referred to as adult-onset diabetes, but it is becoming more and more common in children due to a shift towards sedentary lifestyles and improper nutrition (for more info on childhood obesity, check out this special series by HBO: "Weight of the Nation").

Type 1 diabetes is usually an autoimmune disease (the body fighting itself), where the insulin-producing cells in the pancreas are destroyed. Therefore, Type 1 is referred to as "insulin-dependent" diabetes, with patients being required to inject insulin to make up for their deficiency. Type 2 diabetes is caused by insulin-resistance in the muscles, liver, and fatty tissue, combined with a defect in insulin secretion. A common feature of patients with Type 2 diabetes is overweight and obesity. Gestational diabetes is diagnosed during pregnancy and may be reversible after delivering the baby.

Some of you may be suffering from prediabetes - a state of elevated blood glucose (fasting blood glucose 100-125 mg/dL or non-fasting blood glucose 140-199 mg/dL). For those of you who fall into this category, it is imperative that you start modifying your behaviors now to help prevent the onset of the disease.

Check out this link to see if you are at risk for Type 2 diabetes: http://www.diabetes.org/ are-you-at-risk/diabetes-risk-test/. Some signs and symptoms include: frequent urination, feeling very hungry or thirsty, and more. If you experience any of these, or others as noted by the American Diabetes Association website, I encourage you to see your physician. Remember, the earlier you start to fight it, the more you reduce your chance of developing serious complications from it!

Next time, I hope to start giving some tips on incorporating physical activity into your life. In the meantime, I encourage you to check out the American Diabetes Association for more information on the disease.

Note: many of the things presented in this blog will be focused more on adult populations; please take note if you are the parent of a diabetic child. I will try to add in some of the changes that should be made for children, but be aware and definitely see your child's physician for more personalized information!

Have a wonderful day!

-Emalee

Information for this blog came from the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) Guidelines for Exercise Testing and Prescription, 9th edition (2014) and the website for the American Diabetes Association.