Without enough insulin, the glucose stays in your blood. You can also have prediabetes. This means that your blood sugar is higher than normal but not high enough to be called diabetes. Having prediabetes puts you at a higher risk of getting type 2 diabetes. Over time, having too much glucose in your blood can cause serious problems.
It can damage your eyes , kidneys , and nerves. Diabetes can also cause heart disease , stroke and even the need to remove a limb. Pregnant women can also get diabetes, called gestational diabetes. Blood tests can show if you have diabetes. One type of test, the A1C , can also check on how you are managing your diabetes. The figure represents between Without ongoing, careful management, diabetes can lead to a buildup of sugars in the blood, which can increase the risk of dangerous complications, including stroke and heart disease.
Different kinds of diabetes can occur, and managing the condition depends on the type. Not all forms of diabetes stem from a person being overweight or leading an inactive lifestyle. In fact, some are present from childhood. Type I diabetes: Also known as juvenile diabetes, this type occurs when the body fails to produce insulin. People with type I diabetes are insulin-dependent, which means they must take artificial insulin daily to stay alive.
Type 2 diabetes: Type 2 diabetes affects the way the body uses insulin. While the body still makes insulin, unlike in type I, the cells in the body do not respond to it as effectively as they once did. This is the most common type of diabetes, according to the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, and it has strong links with obesity.
Gestational diabetes: This type occurs in women during pregnancy when the body can become less sensitive to insulin. Gestational diabetes does not occur in all women and usually resolves after giving birth. Click here to learn more about type I diabetes. The prediabetes level means that blood glucose is higher than usual but not so high as to constitute diabetes. People with prediabetes are, however, at risk of developing type 2 diabetes, although they do not usually experience the symptoms of full diabetes.
If a doctor identifies that a person has prediabetes, they will recommend that the individual makes healthful changes that can ideally stop the progression to type 2 diabetes. Losing weight and having a more healthful diet can often help prevent the disease. Doctors do not know the exact causes of type I diabetes. Type 2 diabetes, also known as insulin resistance , has clearer causes. Insulin resistance is usually a result of the following cycle:.
In the case of type 2 diabetes, insulin resistance takes place gradually. This is why doctors often recommend making lifestyle changes in an attempt to slow or reverse this cycle. Learn more about the function of insulin by clicking here. A healthy diet can help prevent, reverse, or manage diabetes.
If a doctor diagnoses a person with type 2 diabetes, they will often recommend making lifestyle changes to support weight loss and overall health. A doctor may refer a person with diabetes or prediabetes to a nutritionist. A specialist can help a person with diabetes lead an active, balanced lifestyle and manage the condition. Weight is not believed to be a factor in type 1 diabetes. In prediabetes — which can lead to type 2 diabetes — and in type 2 diabetes, your cells become resistant to the action of insulin, and your pancreas is unable to make enough insulin to overcome this resistance.
Instead of moving into your cells where it's needed for energy, sugar builds up in your bloodstream. Exactly why this happens is uncertain, although it's believed that genetic and environmental factors play a role in the development of type 2 diabetes too.
Being overweight is strongly linked to the development of type 2 diabetes, but not everyone with type 2 is overweight. During pregnancy, the placenta produces hormones to sustain your pregnancy. These hormones make your cells more resistant to insulin. Normally, your pancreas responds by producing enough extra insulin to overcome this resistance. But sometimes your pancreas can't keep up.
When this happens, too little glucose gets into your cells and too much stays in your blood, resulting in gestational diabetes.
Although the exact cause of type 1 diabetes is unknown, factors that may signal an increased risk include:. Researchers don't fully understand why some people develop prediabetes and type 2 diabetes and others don't. It's clear that certain factors increase the risk, however, including:.
Pregnant women can develop gestational diabetes. Some women are at greater risk than are others. Risk factors for gestational diabetes include:. Long-term complications of diabetes develop gradually. The longer you have diabetes — and the less controlled your blood sugar — the higher the risk of complications. Eventually, diabetes complications may be disabling or even life-threatening. Possible complications include:. Nerve damage neuropathy. Excess sugar can injure the walls of the tiny blood vessels capillaries that nourish your nerves, especially in your legs.
This can cause tingling, numbness, burning or pain that usually begins at the tips of the toes or fingers and gradually spreads upward. Left untreated, you could lose all sense of feeling in the affected limbs. Damage to the nerves related to digestion can cause problems with nausea, vomiting, diarrhea or constipation.
For men, it may lead to erectile dysfunction. Most women who have gestational diabetes deliver healthy babies. However, untreated or uncontrolled blood sugar levels can cause problems for you and your baby. Complications in your baby can occur as a result of gestational diabetes, including:.
Complications in the mother also can occur as a result of gestational diabetes, including:. Most of the food you eat is broken down into sugar also called glucose and released into your bloodstream.
When your blood sugar goes up, it signals your pancreas to release insulin. Over time, that can cause serious health problems, such as heart disease , vision loss , and kidney disease.
Taking medicine as needed, getting diabetes self-management education and support , and keeping health care appointments can also reduce the impact of diabetes on your life.
There are three main types of diabetes: type 1 , type 2 , and gestational diabetes diabetes while pregnant. Type 1 diabetes is thought to be caused by an autoimmune reaction the body attacks itself by mistake that stops your body from making insulin.
Symptoms of type 1 diabetes often develop quickly. Currently, no one knows how to prevent type 1 diabetes. It develops over many years and is usually diagnosed in adults but more and more in children, teens, and young adults.
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