Endocrine Disorders and Diabetes - Essay Sample

Introduction

Diabetes is an illness that arises when blood sugar which is also referred to as blood glucose is too high. The primary source of energy is the blood glucose which is generated by the food we eat. Having a higher percentage of glucose in the blood leads to health problems. There are various types of diabetes which include gestational, type 1, type 2 and juvenile.

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Differences Between Type 1, Type 2 and Gestational Diabetes

In type 1 diabetes, it occurs first in adolescents and children. The same type of disease can also appear in older people too. The immune system damage the pancreatic beta cells making them not to produce insulin. Type 1 diabetes is commonly hereditary, and there are no ways of preventing the disease. Close to 5% of people living with diabetes have type 1? (Daneman, 2006). While in type 2 diabetes, it commonly appears to people as they age, but currently, many of the children have started developing it. In this kind, the pancreas generates insulin, but unfortunately, the body cannot efficiently use it. Lifestyle is a predominant factor that enhances the development of the disease. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention carried out a study that revealed that around 90-95% of persons who have diabetes have this type.

Gestational type of diabetes is as a disorder that women acquire while in their second trimester of gestation. Around 4% of the total pregnant women develop gestational diabetes (Wang et al., 2002). Unlike type 2 and type 1 kind of diabetes, gestational diabetes disappears immediately a baby is born. When a woman develops this type of diabetes, there are higher chances of acquiring the disease the next time she is pregnant. This puts the mother at a higher risk of emerging a type 2 diabetes in the future. There is a relationship between a woman's age while pregnant and the risk of developing the disease during pregnancy - the older the lady when pregnant, the higher the risk of developing gestational diabetes during pregnancy.

In type 2 diabetes, it is often linked with people with excess body weight compared to type 1 which is not usually associated with body weights. Type 1 is treated using an insulin pump or insulin injections compared to type 2 which is diagnosed initially without tablets nor medication. Type 2 kind of diabetes is occasionally possible to succeed diabetes treatment compared to the standard one which cannot be controlled lacking taking insulin. Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune illness while type 2 is a metabolic sickness. Unlike type 1 diabetes, a person with type 2 generates insufficient volumes of amylin, which is a crucial hormone that assists in regulating appetite after meals and blood sugar levels. Type 1 diabetes is least common but is considered as the most severe type while type 2 is regarded as the favorite type of diabetes worldwide. Type 2, it is associated with genetics or lifestyle while in type 1, the cause is not well understood.

A patient with type 1 diabetes should manage carbohydrate starting with 15 grams (Garg et al., 1994) Snacks and meals should be taken at regular times and do not skip meals.

Treatment for Type 1 Diabetes

Most of the patients having type 1 diabetes which is also referred to as diabetes mellitus (DM ) need lifetime insulin therapy (Nerup et al., 1978). Majority of them either two or more injections of insulin every day. The doses are adjusted based on the self-monitoring of the glucose levels. Lifetime management needs a multidisciplinary method including the dietitians, physicians, specialists and nurses.

Preparation and Administration of Insulin

There are some general tips in which the patient should always use similar brands and insulin that have not reached the shelf life. Insulin has to be provided room temperature if it was initially stored in either a refrigerator or a cooler bag. It should be taken out 30 minutes before the injection. Collect your alcohol wipes, insulin, needles and syringes:

• Administration
• Be cautious about the amount of insulin required.
• Clean your hands.
• If the insulin is cloudy, roll the bottle smoothly against your palms for a thorough mixture. Shaking the container will result in air bubbles.
• Grasp the bottle firmly on the table and insert the needle via the rubber stopper. Inject the gas inside the container and later remove the needle without pulling any insulin.
• Draw the gas into the syringe equivalent to the dosage of rapid performing insulin and inoculate air in the bottle of rapid-or short-performing insulin.
• Turn the needle upside down to ensure insulin dominates the end of the needle.
• Pull the prescribed amount of insulin while checking for air bubbles. If bubbles are present, put the bottle upside-down while pushing the plunger up for insulin to get back to the container.
• Pull the plunger slowly acquire the right dosage.
• Don't return excess insulin into the bottle because it has already become a mixture. Double check for the prescribed amounts. If incorrect, remove the insulin from the syringe and start over.
• Remove the needle from the bottle and lay the syringe cautiously on a table without interfering with it.

Short and Long Term Effects

Hypoglycemia is a condition of having low levels of blood glucose. It has some symptoms which include higher pulse rate, weakness, exhaustion and confusion. (Golden et al., 2004) It also occurs in people who do not undergo diabetes medication.

Ketoacidosis is a state where a body uses a certain amount of time with lower insulin levels to refuel the body cells. When fat is cracked down by the body, ketones are produced. The symptoms include weight loss, frequent urination and abdominal pain.

Microvascular is a longterm effect which affects the kidney and eyes. Poor blood glucose damages the vessel leading to the problem. It also leads to heart complications. The large vessels are affected causing plaque that eventually leads to heart attack.

Nausea and weight gain is an effect of diabetes drug treatment. When there is a drop in blood sugar, the patient faints or fall into a coma.

References

Daneman, D. (2006). Type 1 diabetes. The Lancet, 367(9513), 847-858.

Garg, A., Bantle, J. P., Henry, R. R., Coulston, A. M., Griver, K. A., Raatz, S. K., ... & Reaven, G. M. (1994). Effects of varying carbohydrate content of diet in patients with non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus. Jama, 271(18), 1421-1428.

Golden, S. H., Williams, J. E., Ford, D. E., Yeh, H. C., Sanford, C. P., Nieto, F. J., & Brancati, F. L. (2004). Depressive symptoms and the risk of type 2 diabetes: the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities study. Diabetes care, 27(2), 429-435.

Nerup, J., Platz, P., Ryder, L. P., Thomsen, M., & Svejgaard, A. (1978). HLA, islet cell antibodies, and types of diabetes mellitus. Diabetes, 27(Supplement 1), 247-250.

Wang, Y., Tan, M., Huang, Z., Sheng, L., Ge, Y., Zhang, H., ... & Zhang, G. (2002). Elemental contents in serum of pregnant women with gestational diabetes mellitus. Biological trace element research, 88(2), 113-118.