Next Monday 14th November is World Diabetes Day – and a person is diagnosed with diabetes every 2 minutes. This year the emphasis is on early diagnosis, and the importance of this to save lives, reduce the risk of life-changing complications, and prevent a medical emergency.
Someone is diagnosed with Diabetes every two minutes, this is why it is so important to know the signs and symptoms of all types of diabetes, and to know your risk of Type 2.
What is the difference between type 1 and type 2?
There are two main types of diabetes, having either means you have too much glucose (a type of sugar) in your blood – the difference between them is how this happens.
If you have type 1 diabetes, it means you have an autoimmune condition. This means your body has attacked and destroyed the cells that make a hormone called insulin. So you can’t make insulin anymore. We all need insulin as it helps take the glucose from our blood into our body’s cells. We then use this glucose for energy. Without insulin, the glucose level in your blood gets too high.
Type 2 diabetes is different. If you’ve got type 2, either your body doesn’t make enough insulin, or your insulin doesn’t work properly. This is known as insulin resistance. Like type 1, this means the level of glucose in your blood is too high.
Signs to look out for – the 4 T’s of Type 1:
- Toilet – going for a wee more often, especially at night.
- Thirsty – being constantly thirsty and not being able to quench it.
- Tired – being incredibly tired and having no energy.
- Thinner – losing weight without trying to, or looking thinner than usual.