Diabetes Overview

Diabetes Video

HOST ON CAMERA:
Hello and welcome to the Answered Patient. I’m Jane Hanson. Our focus in this episode is on Diabetes.  We’ll investigate the different types of diabetes and how they are diagnosed. We’ll also tell you some of the symptoms of this disease, as well as how it might affect your body.

HOST NARRATION
We’ll provide you with strategies—like the daily monitoring of your blood sugar levels (called glucose) – so that you can keep your diabetes under control. We’ll also give you some tips about diet and exercise which will lessen the complications of this disease. 

JENNIFER BATHGATE:  Just losing as little bit of weight is often enough to get the diabetes under control.

HOST NARRATION:
Even if you don’t have diabetes yet, but think you might be at risk for this disease, these tips might also help in preventing the development of some types of diabetes.

HOST ON CAMERA: 
But first, here’s something you need to know. Despite the best efforts of researchers and doctors all over the world, there is currently no known cure for diabetes.  But as we’ll illustrate, the care and treatment of diabetes has dramatically improved in recent years, making it a disease you can learn to live with.

HOST NARRATION:
So what exactly is Diabetes? Diabetes is a metabolic disorder of the Pancreas, a small gland located below and just behind the stomach. The Pancreas produces a hormone called insulin, which helps deliver Glucose, into every cell of the body. 

HOST NARRATION:
The symptoms of this disease can be serious:  dehydration, which might cause extreme thirst, unexplained weight loss, changes in vision, and extreme fatigue. Left untreated, diabetes can lead to a host of devastating complications to almost every cell and organ in the body. It is currently estimated that in the United States alone, nearly twenty million people have diabetes and many more have pre-diabetes.

HOST ON CAMERA:
The two major types of diabetes are called Type 1 and Type 2. Until recently, Type 1 was known as ‘juvenile diabetes’, because it was most commonly diagnosed in children and young adults. Type 1 diabetes occurs when virtually all of the insulin producing cells in the pancreas have been destroyed. 

HOST NARRATION: Everyone diagnosed with type 1 diabetes must take injections of insulin every day in order to survive.

DOCTOR: You been feeling well? School OK? Terrific. Of the two major types of diabetes, Type 1 is much less common than Type 2. Only about 5-10% of diabetics have Type 1.

HOST NARRATION: Type 2 Diabetes is much more prevalent. 90-95 percent of all diabetics have type 2 Diabetes .

BALDWIN INTERVIEW:  It’s estimated that about a third of all patients with actual definite diagnosable type two diabetes today, are just out there in the US totally undiagnosed, walking around, elevated blood sugars and no one is the wiser

HOST NARRATION: There are several risk factors for Type 2 Diabetes, including family history, high cholesterol,

NURSE:  You can open your hand if you’d like…

HOST NARRATION: and high blood pressure. But the Leading Cause of type 2 diabetes is Obesity…and 80-90 percent of people with this type of diabetes are overweight. Other risk factors include race and ethnicity. Other risk factors include race and ethnicity. For example, we know that in the United States, African Americans , Hispanics  and Native Americans  are two times more likely to develop type 2 diabetes than Caucasians.

ADULT PATIENT:  I had severe headache I couldn’t get rid of for two days.

HOST NARRATION: 
Because the symptoms of Type 2 Diabetes are often subtle, some people might go for years before a diagnosis is made and treatment can begin. For example, it is estimated that in the U.S. alone, there might be nearly 6 million undiagnosed cases of diabetes. A third, but less common, type of the disease —gestational diabetes — can develop in women during pregnancy. 

HOST ON CAM: The good news is that, in most cases, gestational diabetes ends after the mother gives birth.

HOST NARRATION:
Type 1 and type 2 diabetes have similar complications.  In both cases, diabetics tend to produce excessive urine, experience tingling or numbness in the hands or feet, and have wounds that are slow to heal. If not properly managed, over time diabetes can lead to high blood pressure, heart attacks, strokes, kidney disease, blindness, infections, and limb amputations. Diabetes is a serious and frightening condition, but the good news is that it can be effectively managed - with oral drugs and insulin therapy, proper diet, exercise, and other good health habits.

HOST ON CAMERA:
In the other chapters of this episode, you will find out more about how diabetes is diagnosed, get some science on what it does to your body and learn strategies you can use to control your type 1 or type 2 diabetes. 

HOST NARRATION: In our “Personal Stories” chapter, you’ll meet health care providers and patients who deal with this disease everyday.