The Silent Epidemic: Unveiling the Impact and Management of Diabetes

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Glucose, Insulin, and Complex Health Implications

Imagine a disease that is spread throughout one-tenth of all Americans and one-fourth of them do not even realize that they are infected; a disease that is ranked in the top ten in death causation in the United States; and a disease that places most noninfected people at risk. This disease is alive and well and goes by the name of diabetes. Diabetes is defined as a disease in which one’s blood glucose (blood sugar) levels are too high to be considered healthy. Glucose is an imperative element of everyone’s internal, organic makeup. For this reason, the term “diabetes” has been around for ages, yet the disease has been present for all of human history.

Furthermore, as technology has developed and research has become more abundant, the disease has grown more complex. Various types and stages of the disease that have been established cause treatments to diversify on a patient-to-patient basis. Even with the improvement of treatment options, diabetes is still taking lives at a high rate; some would even say that it is an epidemic. As previously stated, one in ten people (Americans) are diagnosed with diabetes; however, many more are affected by the disease in some way or fashion.

Glucose, derived from the Greek word for “to pass through,” is the most familiar type of sugar to humans, attributed to the fact that it originates from the food that humans eat. This sugar, once in the bloodstream, is used for energy throughout the day. In terms, glucose is positive in every way for human function, yet not having the right amount of glucose in the bloodstream can be detrimental. If one’s glucose levels are too low, he/she will be lethargic and will lack the energy needed to perform daily tasks, but if his/her glucose levels are too high, potentially fatal, internal issues will begin to occur. When one has high glucose levels, nerve, kidney, and even eye damage are all possibilities.

High glucose levels (over time) can also lead to other serious bodily malfunctions such as heart disease and stroke. Those who have not been diagnosed with diabetes should worry not because of a natural hormone called insulin. Insulin is a natural mode of transportation that moves glucose from the bloodstream into cells. There, glucose will either be used for energy (ATP) or sent into cell storage. This is precisely where those with diabetes are lacking. Diabetes is an indicator that someone is lacking an appropriate amount of insulin to transport the amount of glucose that he/she is taking, or he/she could have insulin that does not respond as it should when in the bloodstream. This is an issue that has been around as long as glucose itself.

Historical Origins, Evolving Treatments, and Personal Struggles

The full name for diabetes is diabetes mellitus. The term originates from a combination of the Greek word “diabetes” (to pass through) and the Latin word “mellitus” (which means honey). This is important because it was first used by Apollonius of Memphis around 2269 years ago (250 BC) – it was not used in English text until 1425. This disease has been speculated to have been around since humans had originated. However, it was not fully discovered until the findings of Liverpoolian physician Matthew Dobson. In 1776, Dobson confirmed that the urine of people with diabetes had a sweet taste because of remnants of excess sugar. He learned of this phenomenon when he noticed a brown sugar-like substance in their urine. Dobson’s discoveries led to the ability to diagnose and treat diabetes.

Treating diabetes is a very difficult task. If the diagnostics show that the disease is not very serious, some can treat diabetes by making healthier life decisions. This points to lighter and more nutritious food options and being more physically active than previously before. For many, that is a tough transition to make. When one makes the same constant decisions to eat unproductively or has a job that does not require physical activity by an individual (including unemployment), it can be tough to change his/her ways if there is no positive reinforcement backing his/her decisions.

However, those people are lucky because if the disease worsens, treatment becomes a little more difficult. Most people need better dieting and exercise, but they also need medication along with it. These medicines may come in the form of pills to control the disease itself or can come in the form of injection needles (which are used to inject insulin into a diabetic bloodstream. Even if a patient does not need the insulin shots regularly, they are still necessary during occasional checkups.

Living with type 1 diabetes is very difficult for the family of the patient, and especially the one with the disease him/herself. The routine is rigorous: check one’s blood sugar and diet, take medication, have a plethora of doctor checkups and appointments, and do it all over again. I’ve learned this by watching the struggle of my grandfather. He is the most stubborn but prideful man I know on this planet. He is sixty-six years old and has been diabetic for over 20 years. In July 2013, because of damage done to his nervous system, he had a stroke (nearly paralyzing him on his entire left side).

Coping with the Consequences of Diabetes

My family was distraught, seeing that he was the matriarch of my family. Consequently, he has never been the same since before his stroke. He used to be a hard-working man (physically). He was active in every way: whenever things needed to be fixed, he was there, and whenever his grandkids (including myself) wanted to play, he was available. Now, he can no longer participate in those activities, and as a matter of fact, he cannot complete much simpler activities. His driving, eating, and even walking were all heavily impaired by the event of 2013. He often explains that the constant pain in his body due to his stroke is enough to make him shed tears every single day.

Also, he rarely has the pleasure of enjoying the time that he is relaxed because of the half dozen pills he takes three times throughout the day, the burden of having to check his blood sugar four times a day, and the (what I would call) God-awful sugar-free diet that he has been placed on. Furthermore, due to my grandfather’s stubbornness, my mother, aunt, uncle, and grandmother all feel as though they must act as caregivers. They always make sure that he is eating right and taking his medicine. They police his activity and are constantly declining his everyday wants and want-to-dos. None of my family truly enjoys having to be so authoritative towards him, and he especially does not take fondly to it. Nevertheless, he is just one person, out of millions, with the disease. He even has the most common type of the disease. Many Americans are in a much smaller boat than himself.

There are three main types of diabetes, along with another minor form. The first type of diabetes is type 1 diabetes. Type 1 diabetes, formally known as juvenile-onset diabetes, is usually the result of the human body’s defense system attacking and breaking down cells that produce insulin. Doctors are not yet clear as to why this attack occurs. Unfortunately, this disease usually occurs in infants and young children because it is more of a defect than an acquired disease. Those with type 1 diabetes need insulin injections every day, or the disease becomes fatal. The next type of diabetes is type 2. Type 2 diabetes sounds a bit more pleasant, but that is simply an illusion.

Type 2 diabetes, formally known as adult-onset diabetes, is the most common type of diabetes (accounting for at least ninety percent of all cases of the disease). The disease often has to do with a body’s resistance to insulin. Oftentimes, obesity is the cause of this disease, thus unpredictable, and can be diagnosed at any point in someone’s lifetime. This type of diabetes can often be managed by a change of diet and exercise. The third type of this disease is often referred to as Gestational diabetes. Many would think that not a large sum of individuals acquire this type of diabetes because it is specific to women in pregnancy; however, one in every four pregnant women worldwide contract the disease.

Confronting Diabetes through Personal Experiences

Complications to both the mother and the child will most likely occur. The positive in this form of diabetes is that it disappears after pregnancy ends, but both the mother and the child are more likely to attain type 2 diabetes over their lifetimes. There also exists an early stage of diabetes called prediabetes. Prediabetes is not a disease, yet it is an indication that you are on the path. To have prediabetes, your blood glucose level must be much higher than what it should be but not yet in the diabetes range. With all of these types of diabetes in mind, the average person should consider getting their blood tested more often than usual. It cannot hurt, but it would be nice to know where you are on the diabetes spectrum.

Seeing my story about my grandfather should be enough to deter anyone from an unhealthy lifestyle; however, maybe it would be more effective to see the stories of other real people. The first story highlights the battle of sixty-five-year-old Florence “Flori” Schikker. She had ten grandchildren and, for that reason, denied that she might have had diabetes for over twenty-seven years. She did not take the disease seriously until her toe was amputated. Here is a real quote along with further explanation of the situation as a whole: “Doctors told me the only way to survive this fight was to amputate my leg,” Schikker says.

She acknowledges that she has lived an unhealthy lifestyle for many years. Working in a bank, she did very little exercise, ate fast food, and drank Coke on a regular basis.

“If the doctor tells you you’re a diabetic, don’t ignore it. Don’t get to where I am. The sooner you accept things, the better it is for your health.”

Only after her toe was amputated did she realize the seriousness of diabetes and how her lifestyle was a major contributing factor to her situation. She knew very well that both her mother and brother had type 2 diabetes. And four years earlier, Peralta’s doctor had already told her that she had prediabetes. That meant that her blood sugar levels were higher than they should have been but not yet high enough to constitute diabetes.

Overcoming Diabetes Challenges through Determination

Another story highlights a woman by the name of Elizabeth Peralta from the Bronx. She was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes in July 2014 at the age of 53. She was knowledgeable that diabetes ran in her family, including her mother and brother (not to mention that four years before her incident, she was diagnosed with prediabetes).

At her annual checkups, Peralta’s doctor warned her about her growing risk given her family history of diabetes — a significant risk factor for developing the condition, according — and the fact that she gained considerable weight over the years. Peralta’s weight kept rising, which peaked at 240 pounds. Then, one day in July 2014, she lost sensation in her feet. She went on to say, “My legs were killing me, and I was feeling funny, so I went to see my doctor,” she says. Her doctor did a test to see her three-month blood sugar average and was alarmed when it was over ten.

“My doctor told me it was a miracle I was walking around because my sugar was so high,” Peralta recalls.

Soon afterward, Peralta made a vow to change her ways and become healthy once again. She worked with Maria E. Rodriguez, who is a program manager at The Diabetes Alliance at Mount Sinai. With Rodriguez’s aid, Peralta was able to make a complete one-eighty in her life. She dieted for years, along with an exponential growth in workout routines. Because she stayed disciplined, Peralta is no longer in need of medication to keep her blood sugar within a normal range.

Diabetes is a disease that everyone has heard of, yet nobody truly knows the significance of what it actually is or its effects on those diagnosed and family members.

A Hypothetical Journey into the Reality of Diabetes

For that reason, here is something that will make it a bit more relatable: a hypothetical. Imagine if you were living the life of an average American. You worked a nine-to-five, had children and a wife, and ate as you pleased. You feel as though you are having internal bodily issues; however, you think nothing of it. On an annual checkup at the doctor’s office, you learn that your blood sugar level is far too high and you have been diagnosed with diabetes. You think very little of it until your life completely changes. Every morning, when you wake up, your routine is altered. Before showering, brushing your teeth, and eating breakfast, you must take your blood sugar and take three to four pills.

Then, when you finally do sit down for breakfast, you must eat very specific meals that do not involve an excess of sugar. As you go about your day, you will have to repeat the routine of blood sugar checks and medication twice more. Also, snacks are no longer an option. At some point in your day (tired from the mental stress of work), you must find time to exercise. When your kids ask to play, the activity must be limited due to your body’s inability to produce ATP at a high rate. One day after following this diabetic routine, you feel an ache in your chest. You fall to the floor, unknowledgeable about the near future. You are rushed to the hospital and have been informed that you had a heart attack; luckily, you pull through. Nevertheless, your routine is now altered once again.

Along with the pills you have been taking, you now need to incorporate insulin shots into your day. You need to visit your doctor on a weekly basis and have been limited to little or no physical activity during the day. This means that you will never be able to be taken off of medication and can no longer do fun activities with your family. To top it all off, a couple of mistakes in your diet can now prove fatal. This is a life that no one wants to live, but it is a harsh reality for many. This should show those who are healthy how important a healthy lifestyle is. And if one is diagnosed with diabetes, it should be taken seriously immediately.

Recognizing Signs, Seeking Testing, and Preventing Loss

Diabetes is a disease in which one’s blood glucose (blood sugar) levels are too high to be considered healthy. Millions of Americans and others worldwide are affected. I myself have witnessed it, and it is certainly life-altering. Although there is no cure, living an exemplary physical lifestyle can reverse some effects. If one knows that he/she has been underperforming in the category, then searching for the signs is imperative. The symptoms are mild yet still noticeable. Hunger and fatigue is the number one indicator that one has diabetes. If constant tiredness and an unhealthy urge of hunger is always present, the disease could be present.

Urinating too frequently and a sudden sense of thirst are also noticeable differences those with diabetes can pose. Dry mouth, itchy skin, and blurred vision are also strong indicators of diabetes. If one experiences these symptoms, he/she should get tested immediately. The test either consists of Hemoglobin A1c testing or Oral Glucose Tolerance testing. The Hemoglobin A1c test is simple: one gets his/her blood drawn, and professionals check for the average level of blood sugar over an extended amount of time by looking at the hemoglobin (the protein found in red blood cells).

The Oral Glucose Tolerance test is less common, but it involves getting blood drawn once (then the patient will drink a mixture of glucose dissolved in water) and getting blood drawn again two hours later. The doctors try to analyze how effectively insulin works within a patient’s bloodstream throughout the test. These tests are very simple and take very little time. Advocation for these tests should sharply rise as more information is released about the disease itself; it also should be stated how important it is for those who receive positive results to consult with his/her doctor on what changes can and should be made. This way, fewer people, year in and year out are taken from their families and loved ones.

References:

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). (2021). Diabetes. Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/diabetes/basics/index.html
American Diabetes Association. (2021). Types of Diabetes. Retrieved from https://www.diabetes.org/diabetes/type-1
American Diabetes Association. (2021). Type 2 Diabetes. Retrieved from https://www.diabetes.org/diabetes/type-2
American Diabetes Association. (2021). Gestational Diabetes. Retrieved from https://www.diabetes.org/diabetes/gestational-diabetes
American Diabetes Association. (2021). Complications. Retrieved from https://www.diabetes.org/diabetes/complications
Bailey, E. (2015). After toe amputation, a wake-up call about diabetes. CNN. Retrieved from https://www.cnn.com/2015/05/06/health/diabetes-toe-amputation/index.html
Landau, E. (2015). How one woman’s diabetes turned into a message of hope. CNN. Retrieved from https://www.cnn.com/2015/04/16/health/diabetes-weight-loss-es/index.html
Mayo Clinic. (2021). Diabetes. Retrieved from https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/diabetes/diagnosis-treatment/drc-20371451

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