Am I Diabetic??
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Do You Have Diabetes?
Millions of people have diabetes mellitus, commonly called diabetes. You may be surprised to know that many of these people don’t even know they have it.
Diabetes is a serious disease and should not be ignored. If you have it, correct treatment can help you live a long and healthy life.
What Is Diabetes?
If you have diabetes, your body can’t make or use insulin. Insulin helps change sugar into energy to keep you alive.
There are different kinds of diabetes. The main ones are type 1 and type 2.
Type 1 Diabetes
This type of diabetes is mostly found in children and young adults. If you have type 1 diabetes, your body does not make insulin and you must inject insulin daily.
You May:
urinate often
be very thirsty
be very hungry
lose a lot of weight
be very tired
be irritable
have blurred vision
have trouble seeing.
Type 2 Diabetes
Most people with diabetes have this form of the disease. Type 2 is usually found in people over 45, who have diabetes in their family, who are overweight, who don’t exercise, and who have cholesterol problems. It is also common in certain racial and ethnic groups (blacks, American Indians, and Hispanics) and in women who had diabetes when they were pregnant. If you have type 2 diabetes, your body cannot make enough insulin or correctly use it. Treatment is diabetes pills and sometimes insulin injections, as well as diet and exercise.
You May Have:
any of the symptoms of type 1 diabetes
a lot of infections
cuts or bruises that heal slowly
tingling or numbness in the hands or feet
skin, gum, or bladder infections that keep coming back.
Controlling Diabetes
Daily monitoring and careful control of blood sugar levels are the most important steps to take for people with diabetes. If not treated, diabetes can cause:
High blood sugar (which could make you thirsty, tired, lose weight, urinate often, or give you infections that won’t go away)
Many serious health problems (which could hurt your eyes, kidneys, nerves, or heart).
Warning: Low Blood Sugar
People with diabetes may develop low blood sugar because their blood has too much insulin or other blood sugar-lowering medication or from not eating enough food. It is important to follow the eating and medication schedule your doctor has prescribed to avoid low blood sugar.
Low blood sugar could make you shaky, dizzy, sweaty, hungry, have a headache, have pale skin color, have sudden mood or behavior changes, have clumsy or jerky movements, have difficulty paying attention, feel confused, or have tingling sensations around the mouth.
Taking Care of Your Diabetes
The best way to take care of your diabetes is to make sure the levels or amount of sugar in your blood are near the normal range. This will make you feel better and help you stay healthy.
Your doctor will tell you how often to check your blood sugar level. To do this, you will need to take a drop of your blood and place it on a special test strip. Then a device, called a blood glucose meter, reads the strip. This device measures the amount of sugar in your blood.
Writing down this level, along with the time and date, will help you see how well your treatment plan is working.
Remember:
A person’s blood sugar level rises after eating any meal that contains carbohydrates or protein. Table sugar (also called ?sucrose) counts as a carbohydrate. Artificial sweeteners, such as saccharin, aspartame (NutraSweet), and sucralose (Splenda), do not count as carbohydrates or fats. They make food taste sweet. But they do not raise blood sugar levels and have little or no calories.
What Else Can You Do?
Eat well-balanced meals. The right amount of healthy food will keep your weight under control and help manage your diabetes.
Your body needs food from the four main food groups every day:
Fruits and vegetables (oranges, apples, bananas, carrots, and spinach)
Whole grains, cereals, and bread (wheat, rice, oats, bran, and barley)
Dairy products (milk, cheese, and yogurt)
Meats, fish, poultry, eggs, dried beans, and nuts.
Remember:
Too much fat and cholesterol in your diet can be very harmful to people with diabetes. Food that is high in fat includes red meat, dairy products (whole milk, cream, cheese, and ice cream), egg yolks, butter, salad dressings, vegetable oils, and many desserts.
Can You Do Anything Else?
Exercise is important for good diabetes control. It usually lowers blood sugar and may help insulin work better. Exercise and a healthy diet can also help you take off extra pounds if you are overweight.
Warning:
Check with your doctor before starting any exercise program. You may need a snack before or during the activity to avoid having low blood sugar while you exercise.
see a dr.
i really have no idea =( sorry, ask your doctor!
it sounds kinda like you get low blood sugar (mabye hypoglycemia). its like diabetes, but instead of high blood sugar, you have low blood sugar. just eat more often and mabye you'll begin to feel better? if you don't deff ask you doctor...
The best thing to do is get your mom to take you to the doctor so he can run a series of tests to determine whether you are a diabetic. If you are, he/she can then refer you to a pediatric endocrinologist who can set you up on a regimen of insulin. No, being a diabetic will not interfere with your sports; they now have insulin pumps that can be worn under clothes and stay put even during vigorous activity, or you could choose daily shots (several times a day for some), though the pump lasts for up to a week at a time.
Either way, see your PMD first and go from there. I hope you get to feeling better soon!
First of all, don't be scared to go to the doctor. They are there to help you stay healthy. Sounds like you have symptoms of hypoglycemia, which is low sugar. That is where the lightheadedness and mild nausea can come from. And you obviously need fuel in your system to get your blood sugar on an even keel. However, I think you should see your physician because chest pain and being lethargic can point to other conditions that aren't necessarily related to diabetes. I'd suggest first explaining this to your parent/guardian so they can assist you with making a medical appointment with the right doctor. By telling the doctor how much you love basketball, they will help you to be as healthy as possible so you can play! Best wishes.
Best thing to do is see a Dr and have them do a glucose tolerance test...
This could be low blood sugar for a diabetic, but I would also expect to hear of your sweating a lot, and urinating excessively. Possibly even a thirst. Not seeing this, makes me wonder if it is diabetes or something else.
Are you on any other pills, injections or anything?
The smartest thing to do is for you to get to a doctor. Talk to your mom about going had having a check-up. I would worry, about it being something other than diabetes, as you can still play basketball with diabetes... many have professionally.
I hope this helps.
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