BUSH
Smash Cadet
Link to original post: [drupal=4087]The BUSH Informer: Diabetes[/drupal]
This is my attempt at a blog post to help people understand and respect diabetes, as well as think about what they can do to help. Please Enjoy.
PART 1: What is Diabetes?
Diabetes is a DISEASE that is currently un-curable, not un-treatable, meaning you will have it all of your life from diagnosis day.
PART 2: Types
There are two types of diabetes, simply named type one and type two. I myself have type 1 diabetes and have to take care of that on a regular every day basis. Type 1 diabetes means you have to monitor your BLOOD SUGAR (see steps) and take what is called INSULIN (see INSULIN) to keep them regulated. Type 2 diabetes is a bit more simple in the fact that you do not need to take insulin. Sometimes type 2 diabetics do take insulin capsules or small doses to keep their sugars regulated, but that is not always necessary.
PART 3: Insulin
Insulin a substance in your body that breaks down the sugars in your food (carbohydrates). Insulin is produced in the pancreas and is regulated through the body for the reason stated. As a type 1 diabetic, my pancreas is at a stand still. In fact, my immune system (what fights off colds and illness) is treating my pancreas as a foreign organ and attacking it, thus weakening my insulin creation process. For this reason, I need to be treated with artificial insulin so that I can keep the sugar in my blood regulated.
PART 4: Steps to treating diabetes
Step 1 as a diabetic is check your blood sugar before you eat, and 2 hours after EACH meal. You check your blood sugar with what is called a blood glucose meter and it will give you a number, that is your blood sugar. You have to prick your finger with a tiny needle and squeeze some blood out to put on a disposable strip that is inserted into the machine. A normal blood sugar is 80-120. Anything over will make you feel bad, and anything under is dangerous. Then you count the carbohydrates in your meal. Usually the normal is 75 for breakfast, and 90 for lunch and dinner. Then you have your carb to insulin ratio. Such as: Every 5 carbs, is 1 unit of insulin, or a 5:1 ratio. Then you have to take a need (yes a needle like a flu shot, but thinner and shorter) and draw from an insulin vile the right amount, then inject. The main injection points being your stomach, thighs, back of the arms, and hip areas. You inject into fatty tissue because there are not many nerve endings in those parts of the body, so it doesn't hurt as much.
PART 5: SYMPTOMS
For anyone reading this wondering if its possible that they have it, here are some ways to find out if your on the verge of diabetes. One symptom is increased dehydration, you are thirsty ALL THE TIME. I remember that one day I drank a whole gallon of milk, and the next day a gallon of OJ, it is truly ridiculous. Another way to tell is ketones, go to the pharmacy and ask for ketone strips. You urinate on the strip and it will show you your ketone level. The higher your ketones, the more you are probably diabetic. Another simple way would be to just check your blood sugar 2 hours after eating. Is it over 300? Your diabetic, head to the doctor.
PART 6: Lows
Low blood sugars for a diabetic are the most dangerous things that can happen. When a low blood sugar occurs (thats about 30-70) you can be in serious trouble. Low blood sugars impair reaction time, make you light headed, and they also cause black outs. You can have a seizure if your sugar is too low. There is a way to fix someone having a diabetic seizure or black out and that is Glucagon. Glucagon is a small kit that a diabetic should have that has a giant needle and a giant vile in it. You take the needle, draw every drop from the vile into it, and quickly inject the diabetic in the side of the thigh. It is basically telling every organ in your body to release every last bit of sugar that it has stored, raising blood sugar rapidly. If the person is not seizing or blacking out yet, just give them a juice box and a rice krispie treat they will be ok.
PART 7: What can you do?
Now that you are educated on diabetes you can go and tell all of your friends about it. I did this whole blog off the top of my head because I have grown up with this disease basically since I could talk, i needed no notes. Other people will need to know. You can donate to your local diabetes foundation or to JDRF, the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, and help to find a cure.
Thanks for reading
-BUSH
This is my attempt at a blog post to help people understand and respect diabetes, as well as think about what they can do to help. Please Enjoy.
PART 1: What is Diabetes?
Diabetes is a DISEASE that is currently un-curable, not un-treatable, meaning you will have it all of your life from diagnosis day.
PART 2: Types
There are two types of diabetes, simply named type one and type two. I myself have type 1 diabetes and have to take care of that on a regular every day basis. Type 1 diabetes means you have to monitor your BLOOD SUGAR (see steps) and take what is called INSULIN (see INSULIN) to keep them regulated. Type 2 diabetes is a bit more simple in the fact that you do not need to take insulin. Sometimes type 2 diabetics do take insulin capsules or small doses to keep their sugars regulated, but that is not always necessary.
PART 3: Insulin
Insulin a substance in your body that breaks down the sugars in your food (carbohydrates). Insulin is produced in the pancreas and is regulated through the body for the reason stated. As a type 1 diabetic, my pancreas is at a stand still. In fact, my immune system (what fights off colds and illness) is treating my pancreas as a foreign organ and attacking it, thus weakening my insulin creation process. For this reason, I need to be treated with artificial insulin so that I can keep the sugar in my blood regulated.
PART 4: Steps to treating diabetes
Step 1 as a diabetic is check your blood sugar before you eat, and 2 hours after EACH meal. You check your blood sugar with what is called a blood glucose meter and it will give you a number, that is your blood sugar. You have to prick your finger with a tiny needle and squeeze some blood out to put on a disposable strip that is inserted into the machine. A normal blood sugar is 80-120. Anything over will make you feel bad, and anything under is dangerous. Then you count the carbohydrates in your meal. Usually the normal is 75 for breakfast, and 90 for lunch and dinner. Then you have your carb to insulin ratio. Such as: Every 5 carbs, is 1 unit of insulin, or a 5:1 ratio. Then you have to take a need (yes a needle like a flu shot, but thinner and shorter) and draw from an insulin vile the right amount, then inject. The main injection points being your stomach, thighs, back of the arms, and hip areas. You inject into fatty tissue because there are not many nerve endings in those parts of the body, so it doesn't hurt as much.
PART 5: SYMPTOMS
For anyone reading this wondering if its possible that they have it, here are some ways to find out if your on the verge of diabetes. One symptom is increased dehydration, you are thirsty ALL THE TIME. I remember that one day I drank a whole gallon of milk, and the next day a gallon of OJ, it is truly ridiculous. Another way to tell is ketones, go to the pharmacy and ask for ketone strips. You urinate on the strip and it will show you your ketone level. The higher your ketones, the more you are probably diabetic. Another simple way would be to just check your blood sugar 2 hours after eating. Is it over 300? Your diabetic, head to the doctor.
PART 6: Lows
Low blood sugars for a diabetic are the most dangerous things that can happen. When a low blood sugar occurs (thats about 30-70) you can be in serious trouble. Low blood sugars impair reaction time, make you light headed, and they also cause black outs. You can have a seizure if your sugar is too low. There is a way to fix someone having a diabetic seizure or black out and that is Glucagon. Glucagon is a small kit that a diabetic should have that has a giant needle and a giant vile in it. You take the needle, draw every drop from the vile into it, and quickly inject the diabetic in the side of the thigh. It is basically telling every organ in your body to release every last bit of sugar that it has stored, raising blood sugar rapidly. If the person is not seizing or blacking out yet, just give them a juice box and a rice krispie treat they will be ok.
PART 7: What can you do?
Now that you are educated on diabetes you can go and tell all of your friends about it. I did this whole blog off the top of my head because I have grown up with this disease basically since I could talk, i needed no notes. Other people will need to know. You can donate to your local diabetes foundation or to JDRF, the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, and help to find a cure.
Thanks for reading
-BUSH
