How Serious Is Diabetes?

Posted by Laurence in Blog

Most people have heard of diabetes but many don’t think much about it until they have been officially diagnosed. Whether you’re type 1 or type 2. It’s a very serious disease for which there’s currently no cure.

In simplistic terms, type 1 is when you’re born with it and you musttake insulin because your body simply doesn’t supply any. There’s no escaping it. Either you have injections or a pump but you must take regular insulin doses.

Type 2 is when the body doesn’t supply enough insulin to cope with the amount of sugar in your system. Sometimes diet and exercise is enough to manage the disease. Other times you may have to take tablets and/or administer insulin as well.

Type 2 Diabetes is an insidious disease because you often have it for years before it’s diagnosed. That’s what happened to me. I had eye surgery and after the sight didn’t return, I had more tests done and then discovered I had type 2 diabetes. I don’t know how long I had it before the diagnosis.

The bad news is that today 1 in 5 people have diabetes compared to 1 in 20 about 20 years ago and the numbers are growing rapidly. So it’s more important now than ever to get tested and to watch what you eat and drink. Exercise should also be a regular part of your life.

There’s loads of information online about diabetes, weight loss and exercise. Speak to your doctor or dietician if you need further information or advice. Diets are not usually helpful. If you really have to lose weight, you need to make lifestyle changes that are permanent. Start slow and maintain them.

I am going to be writing an article every Thursday about different aspects of weight loss, diabetes and related topics. I hope that I can help the readers to better understand the problems that are faced daily by millions of people.

I would like to help people take steps to prevent them from having to handle some of the problems I now face due to lack of knowledge in the past. Make no mistake. Diabetes is extremely dangerous and that’s partly because many of the symptoms aren’t visible for years. If you have any unexplained medical symptoms, see your doctor because prevention is far better than having to combat the problem once you have it.