Dr Satiskumar Patel MD MBChB

Board Cetified Family Physician

Diabetes is a common medical illness in which the body cannot effectively control blood glucose, either due to the lack of insulin or the lack of effectiveness of insulin.

Diabetes mellitus comes from the greek word diabetes meaning siphon- to pass through and mellitus latin for sweat.

There are two main types of diabetes

Type 1 in which the body is unable to produce insulin and usually starts in childhood or early adulthood

Type 2 in which not enough insulin is produced or the insulin made by the body does work effectively and usually starts in older adults

Symptoms of diabetes are

• increased thirst
• increased urination
• tiredness and fatigue
• loss of weight
• blurred vision
• recurrent infections

It is diagnosed by a fasting blood test.

Type 1 diabetes can only be treated with insulin.

Type 2 diabetes can be treated with medications usually but insulin is used sometimes

Diabetes can cause neuropathy (nerve damage), retinopathy (damage to the retina), kidney damage (leading to dialysis), foot pain, recurrent infections, sepsis, DKA, death