What is diabetes?

What happens when you have type 2 diabetes?

To function, our body needs energy. This energy is provided to our muscles, our brain, and all our organs by the blood in the form of sugar.

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How can you recognize diabetes? YOU MAY BE DIABETIC WITHOUT REALIZING IT! Most of the time you do not feel ill, and there are no warning signs. Your type 2 diabetes is generally discovered because your doctor has decided to test you routinely for glycemia... More details

Are there emergencies?

There are few real emergencies with type 2 diabetes. One of them is a hyperosmolar coma, luckily fairly rare, which is caused by very high glycemia.

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How do you know if you are diabetic?

When you consult your doctor he or she will first examine your predisposition to diabetes and confirm his or her diagnosis by measuring your glycemia.

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Are there other examinations?

Measuring the glycosylated hemoglobin or glycosylate (abbreviated as: HbA1c): hemoglobin is a protein of the blood cells that carries oxygen.

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Monitoring your glycemia You can monitor your own glycemia by measuring the glycemia in a blood sample taken from your fingertip. This is essential for diabetics treated with insulin (see emergencies) but it is also useful for a type 2 diabetic to become aware of the effect of a diet and physical effort on his (her) glycaemia.

What are the causes of type 2 diabetes? We do not yet know the exact causes of type 2 diabetes, but it is generally a combination of factors that triggers the disease. These are the predispositions for diabetes. It is useful for each of us to be forewarned about our risk of diabetes. More details

Can diabetes be prevented?

If you think that any of the predispositions to diabetes described above concern you, you can take active steps towards preventing its occurrence.

There are two main keys in the prevention of type 2 diabetes: - Weight More details - Physical exercise More details

Consequences and complications of diabetes

The first consequence of diabetes is the deterioration of your small and main arteries. The hyperglycemia and the increased level of fats in the blood increase the atherosclerosis of the main arteries like with coronary illness, but also of the small arteries and capillaries.

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The treatment of type 2 diabetes The objective of the treatment is to slow down as much as possible the evolution of the diabetes towards complications. More details

Type 1 diabetes

Contrary to type 2 diabetes, type 1 diabetes appears early, often in childhood, and the role of heredity is slight. In this disease, the blood sugar level increases, not because the insulin is inefficient, but because it is lacking. From the very beginning, the pancreas is not producing enough insulin because the cells that produce it are gradually being destroyed. The level of insulin is therefore low in type 1 diabetes.