So you’ve just been diagnosed with diabetes… Welcome to the club! We’re happy to have you here, even if it’s not something you would have chosen.
When you’re trying to figure out the different types of diabetes and how to explain it to people, it can be helpful to have a deeper understanding of how it works. Here goes… Any questions? Email us or ask us on SA’s largest diabetes community: South Africans with Diabetes.
Understanding diabetes
Want to know how diabetes works in the body? Here’s a simple explanation.
It all starts with food. The carbohydrates (also known as carbs or starch) you eat get broken down into glucose, a type of sugar. This glucose is absorbed into the bloodstream, and becomes known as blood glucose. The release of the hormone insulin from your pancreas allows the glucose to pass from your blood stream into your cells to produce energy for the body. In this way, the insulin helps to regulate your blood glucose levels and allows your body to use the energy from carbohydrates.
In people with diabetes, the body produces too little or no insulin or the body is not able to use its insulin properly. This means that glucose (from your food) doesn’t pass from your blood to your cells properly. As a result, glucose accumulates in the blood, causing blood glucose levels to rise. Over time, high blood glucose levels can cause damage to kidneys, eyes, nerves and the heart.
The good news is that with the right treatment plan, you can manage the condition, allowing you to live a long, healthy, active life. There’s nothing you can’t do because you’ve been diagnosed – you just need to pay some extra attention.
Remember TEEL:
A simple way to manage your diabetes (read about it here!)
Take your medication.
Eat healthy food.
Exercise, a little every day.
Lose weight, if you need to.
Types of diabetes
There are three main types of diabetes: Type 1, Type 2 and Gestational Diabetes. Here’s the differences between them – and a more detailed look at the difference between Type 1 and Type 2.
Type 1 Diabetes
Type 1 diabetes is when the pancreas stops producing insulin. The diabetes diagnosis is often very sudden and dramatic, usually in hospital. If you look after yourself, you can live a healthy, happy life with diabetes. Here are some basic tips. All people with Type 1 diabetes have to take insulin injections with every meal (and before going to bed). Some use a pump instead of injections
Type 1 diabetes is an auto-immune condition. It is not caused by eating the wrong food, or eating too much sugar, or being overweight.
Type 2 Diabetes
Type 2 diabetes is the more common type of diabetes: it affects 90% of people with diabetes. It is hereditary (it runs in families). Type 2 diabetes is often called a lifestyle disease, because it can be caused by carrying extra weight, eating the wrong kind of food and not exercising. But there is a strong hereditary link. It’s possible to live a long, healthy life with Type 2 diabetes – here are some basic tips.
It can be reversed by losing weight if necessary, eating healthy food and exercising. Here’s how to reverse Type 2 diabetes.
Gestational Diabetes (GDM)
GDM is first diagnosed during pregnancy. GDM usually disappears after pregnancy, but women with GDM and their children are at an increased risk of developing Type 2 later in life.
Learning to eat well
What should people with diabetes eat? Is often the first question we get from our community. Here’s what Sweet Life believes – see if it works for you. The goal is to eat lots of fresh green vegetables, not too many carbohydrates, and no refined carbohydrates (junk food, white bread, white rice, cookies, cakes – you know!) Carb counting is a very helpful tool to master, because it lets you have more freedom in your diet.
What is normal blood sugar?
It can be a bit confusing at first, knowing what normal blood sugar is. Here’s a simple explanation – it’s always best to ask your doctor for advice that is specific to you, but this is a good place to start.
Finding the right support team
While it’s important to have a doctor that you trust, you also want to ensure you have the right support team around you. This can be family and friends, a dietician, other people with diabetes, or anyone who supports you in your journey to better health. Find the right doctor, dietician or educator (recommended by our community) here.
The emotional side of diabetes
A big part of living with diabetes is figuring out the emotional side of the condition. It makes a big difference to have the right doctor (here’s our list of the best South African specialists, as voted by our community). It also helps to join a community: please join us on South Africans with Diabetes on Facebook, or Instagram.
Diabetes distress and burnout is something to be aware of – sometimes it just feels too exhausting to have to deal with all the tiny details every day. That’s perfectly normal! Dealing with a diagnosis is a challenge all on its own… Here’s the information you need if you’ve just been diagnosed.
Rarer forms of diabetes
There are also more rare forms of diabetes. These include:
MODY (Maturity Onset Diabetes of the Young): MODY limits the body’s ability to produce insulin, but is not the same as Type 1 diabetes.
LADA (Latent autoimmune diabetes in adults): an autoimmune version of diabetes, like Type 1 diabetes, but with a slower onset.
Neonatal diabetes: a genetic condition like Type 1 diabetes.
Type 3c or Pancreatogenic diabetes: often caused by pancreatic diseases and chronic pancreatitis.
Remember that you’re not alone, and we’ve all been through this. Although it seems like you’ll never figure it all out, it does get easier with every passing year.
What to read next?
Free Diabetes Guidebook: Not sure what food to choose, and how much to eat? We’ve made it simple.
Take your diabetes medication: All the medication tips you need to make it easy and comfortable to take your medication.
The best diabetes specialists in South Africa: Our Diabetic South Africans community recommended their favourite specialists.
Discover more from South Africans with Diabetes
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Where can I get a meal plan for a diabetic to follow?
Hi Linda!
Check out http://www.picknpay.co.za/diabetes for meal plan suggestions – you can ask their dietician, Leanne, for advice too. (For free!)
This is shocking that the doctors dont tell you. Most type 2 can reverse this condition. If you need help contact me urgently. #ketocavewoman facebook. There is freedom from this condition.
You can also take a look at our new Meal Plans section: https://sweetlife.org.za/category/meal-plans/