I left his office knowing nothing about my newly diagnosed disease.

I ordered magazines, read articles on the net, talked to other Diabetics and so on. It took me months to learn what this disease was all about.

I want you to learn as much as I can offer about this disease. This will include, symptoms in general, complications, gestational, juvenile, diets, recipes, exercise, medicines and as time passes on meal plans, rescue kits, supplies and much much more.

Diabetes mellitus is characterized mainly by high blood sugar (Hyperglycemia) especially after you eat. There are three types of diabetes, type 1, type 2 and gestational.

Type 1 onset usually happens very fast, a few weeks to a few months. It is usually caused by an autoimmune disorder. This is where your own body immune system attacks the pancreas beta cells.

Type 2 onset usually happens very slowly, often years. The actual causes are not clearly known. But it is increasing in industrialized countries. Although obesity often triggers it, it is usually the disease that causes obesity.

Gestational is a condition found in woman who become pregnant and have not been previously diagnosed but show an increased blood sugar level. No specific cause has been identified. It affects 3-10% of pregnancies. You will probably return to normal after the pregnancy, but you will have an increased risk of developing diabetes later in life.

The cause of high blood sugar is due to the loss of production of insulin in the pancreas. Or by your body's resistance to the insulin you make.

When you eat, the carbohydrates in food are converted to glucose in the blood. This glucose is normally moved into your body's cells by insulin.

Think of your cells of having a locked door, the glucose in your blood is knocking at that door trying to get in but it doesn't know how. So the insulin is the key that unlocks that door.

When your body doesn't have that key or the key doesn't unlock the door your blood sugar rises. When this happens your body tries to rid itself of the excess sugar. Usually in your urine and this takes a lot of fluid causing dehydration. You get thirstier and drink more fluids and go to the bathroom even more.

There are now an estimated 20.8 million Americans with diabetes. There are also an estimated 200 million people with diabetes worldwide. The estimated cost to treat this disease is $132 billion every year in the US alone.

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