You are newly diagnosed with type 1 diabetes your numbers were up to 1050 and they said your organs were shutting down why?

Answer 1

Diabetes mellitus (the proper name for "diabetes") is a disorder in the production or usage of insulin. It causes the blood sugar to be elevated for prolonged periods of time.

Diabetes mellitus is divided into two "types," depending on the pathophysiology of the disease:

Type I is a disordered production of insulin in the beta cells in the pancreatic islets of langerhans. This is considered to be an autoimmune disease, in that, for whatever reason, the body produces antibodies to these beta cells and against insulin, destroying your ability to produce insulin and destroying insulin in your bloodstream.

Typical age of onset of Type I diabetes is before age 20, although it can sometimes occur later. Signs and symptoms include weight loss, increased thirst, increased hunger, increased urination, and increased susceptibility to infection. As the blood sugar rises, you begin to spill glucose into your urine, which has a diuretic effect. This dehydrates your body, which is why you urinate a lot and you feel very thirsty. The profound dehydration can also cause strain on your kidneys, which can cause acute renal failure. You can also develop heart strain and confusion as your blood glucose climbs very high and you become more dehydrated.

Since your body cannot use sugar, it begins to break down fat and proteins, which causes the weight loss. Fat breakdown produces ketones and triglycerides. The accumulation of ketones in the bloodstream causes acidosis, which can also result in disordered beating of the heart and confusion. It also gives your breath that sweet fruity smell for which diabetic ketoacidosis is known. The acidosis also causes your respiratory drive to be increased, causing you to take deep rapid breaths. This is called kussmaul (koos-mall) breathing. Your body is trying to get rid of acid through your breathing to compensate for the excess acid in your bloodstream.

The only treatment for this type of diabetes is injected insulin. There are some centers that are experimenting with pancreas transplants, but this is experimental and not terribly widespread yet. This also appears to be a cure.

Type II is a disorder in which the person makes insulin, but they either do not make enough or their body is resistant to it. Typically, these people are overweight or obese. The age of onset used to be older adults, but more and more children are being diagnosed with this type of diabetes mellitus as the childhood obesity epidemic continues.