Faq diabetes
What is…
When you have diabetes, your body cannot ensure that your blood sugar is balanced. In a healthy person, this is precisely regulated by the hormone insulin. Insulin makes sugar go from your blood to your cells. A person with diabetes has little or no insulin themselves, which keeps sugar in the blood.
Diabetes type 1 is a form of diabetes that cannot be prevented. This is because the person’s immune system destroys the cells that are supposed to make the insulin. Thus, the body itself is no longer able to make insulin that’s needed to remove the sugar.
Diabetes type 2 is not something you are born with right away. There are many reasons why a person gets type 2 and it is often a combination of different factors. Hereditary predisposition, obesity and little exercise are some of these factors. With this type, the body has too little insulin or no longer responds well to it.
Lada is a form of type 1 diabetes. It develops slowly and is therefore often discovered in adults. Lada is often mistaken for type 2 diabetes, but like type 1 diabetes, it is an autoimmune disease that is not curable
MODY diabetes is an inherited form of diabetes. It stands for Maturity Onset Diabetes of the Young and usually begins in young people between the ages of 10 and 25. MODY is caused by an abnormality in one gene and is therefore hereditary.
Neonatal diabetes is a rare form of diabetes that occurs in babies in the first 6 months after birth. It is an inherited form of diabetes that can be confused with type 1 diabetes but is actually different. In neonatal diabetes, a duct in the pancreas no longer works properly. It can be remedied by taking tablets.
MIDD stands for Maternally Inherited Diabetes and Deafness. As the name implies, it is a form of diabetes that is associated with hearing loss. MIDD is a rare form of diabetes that can be transmitted to a child through the mother.
Prediabetes is a preliminary stage of type 2 diabetes. Your blood sugars are already a little higher, but not yet so high that you have diabetes. By losing weight, eating healthy and/or exercising, you can often prevent yourself from actually getting diabetes.
Pregnancy diabetes remains a special phenomenon. As soon as you are pregnant you suddenly have diabetes and after giving birth it is over. With gestational diabetes, your body does not respond as well to the insulin your body makes, leaving too much sugar in your blood.
Type 3C diabetes occurs when the pancreas is damaged by surgery or inflammation, for example. The pancreas is then no longer able to produce enough insulin, leaving too much sugar in the blood.
An insulin pump is a small device attached to your body with a tube. It continuously delivers small amounts of insulin through the tube and a thin plastic catheter under the skin of your abdomen.
As the name suggests, this device resembles a pen in shape and size, but has a needle at the end. You can set and administer the required number of units of insulin yourself here by pricking the needle under the skin.
A glucose sensor is a sensor that automatically tracks your blood sugar levels every minute. It sounds an alarm if your levels get too high or too low.
Injecting additional insulin through a pump, such as before a meal.
Ketones are chemicals that accumulate when your body begins to burn fat for energy. The most common cause of ketones in diabetes is insulin deficiency.
Ketones created by a change in your diet. They can occur even with normal blood sugar levels.
Diabetics experience a hypo when their blood sugar is too low. This then results in fatigue, dizziness, palpitations and poor concentration.
Many people experience hormone fluctuations early in the day whether they have diabetes or not. For people with type 1, this does mean that blood sugar levels can rise.
Diabetes burnout is a condition in which a person with diabetes becomes tired of controlling or managing their condition. As a result, that once doesn’t control or worse never does.
An additional reinforcing tape that ensures that the sensor stays firmly in place, as well as protecting it from dust and sand, and that it can better withstand a push.
If you are a European citizen, you are entitled to a free EHIC health card that will give you fast, free access to extra insulin in case of emergency.
Questions about health
That’s possible. Some people are more sensitive to caffeine such as coffee so it can lead to high or low blood sugars.
That’s possible. Certain nasal sprays contain chemicals that cause your liver to release more sugar into the bloodstream, which manifests as higher blood glucose.
Less water in your body can easily lead to high blood sugar because the amount of sugar in the body becomes more concentrated.
Your blood sugar will rise. Even just one night of no or little sleep can lead to insulin resistance.
This is not really a good idea. Alcohol makes your blood sugar rise quickly, but it also drops a few hours later. On a night like this, it’s better to be a little too high for a while, rather than going to extreme correction.
Alcohol can have very long-lasting effects on your blood sugar levels, sometimes even causing lower levels in the morning.
It takes some time to get to know each other in terms of diabetes. It continues to be learning and talking together. So be patient with each other. It is frustrating on both sides when someone does not feel understood
Before you leave on an adventure, it is best to let your “diabetes team” know you are going away. Inform your family doctor, physician, parents or relatives. They can give you advice on the type of climate and destination you are going to, and may be able to give you tips you hadn’t thought of beforehand.
Please ask your medical provider to write a letter telling you to carry your personal insulin supply with you at all times. That way you won’t get into trouble during a flight.
Never put your insulin in the luggage compartment. It gets too cold there and then your insulin breaks down. So stick your insulin and other reserves in your carry-on luggage.
Do not pass your pump through the baggage scan, this can be harmful. So you have to take it through the x-ray scan. When wearing a pump or a sensor, the x-ray scan will beep. Customs will check this briefly, then indicate that you have diabetes and this is your pump and/or sensor.
In cold weather, your metabolism speeds up because your body keeps itself warm. Then, in warm weather, your body starts working less hard.
You best pay attention when the weather is warmer. Warm weather means that the insulin sprayed enters your bloodstream faster, causing the effect of the insulin to occur earlier than usual. Therefore, you may need less insulin and be more susceptible to a hypo.
Insulin, glucagon and test strips should not be stored in hot sun. Heat reduces the efficacy of insulin. Thus, it can be very dangerous to put your supplies in the bright summer sun.
Calculating the number of carbohydrates, is very easy with chocolate. Chocolate consists of 50% carbohydrates. So you divide the weight of a piece of chocolate by two.
The advantage of fats is that it slows the absorption of carbohydrates. By eating fat in the morning and then injecting little insulin, the carbohydrates enter your blood. This prevents a hypo, but can cause a hyper. Plus, it’s also not very good for your health.
Yes, ketones can also be produced in normal blood sugar levels, such as when you are sick or suddenly change your diet. It is also called starvation ketones or nutritional ketones.
That’s possible. They can also cause swings and sore fingers, as well as uncomfortable moments of course.
The PDM must stay in contact with your Omnipod. Otherwise, the pump cannot deliver insulin.