Also, the cells, because of partial or total lack of insulin, cannot take glucose from the blood, hence remaining without energy, creating a continuous feeling of hunger (excessive eating). In serious cases, despite this excessive eating, a serious weight loss occurs within a short time.
Consequently, the need to urinate far too often, the need to drink huge amounts of liquids, the excessive consumption of food, as well as a general feeling of weakness, are the characteristic symptoms of diabetes mellitus.
Juvenile insulin-dependent diabetes: It mainly concerns children and young people under 20 and it is due to the total inability of the organism to produce insulin. The precise cause of appearance of this type of diabetes is virtually unknown. This type of illness has a multitude of causes and usually appears quite suddenly. Its frequency amounts to five percent of the cases. Heredity is rare, about two to four percent. In Greece, we have about 500 new cases a year in contrast with northern Europe where the incidents are multiples.
Non-insulin-dependent diabetes of adults: It constitutes the 80-90 percent of cases and it is mostly accompanied by obesity, and mainly appears in overweight individuals, 40-60 years of age, or to women who during pregnancy showed signs of diabetes, or to women who gave birth to overweight babies. In the past few years it has begun to appear in overweight children between 12-16 years of age.
Every diabetic must systematically measure his blood sugar, depending on the type, duration, type of treatment, complications (if any), and difficulty in regulating it. In each person the blood sugar goes up and down about 8,500 times daily!
Depending on work, diet and activity, at least in the beginning, the blood sugar should be measured at least four to six times a day, that is, before and two hours after the main meals. Afterwards, and with the doctor’s advice, measuring the blood sugar can be adapted.