Diabetes is a condition where a patient has high levels of sugar in blood. This may be because the patient has inadequate production of insulin or as a result of failure of body parts to respond efficiently to insulin available. Some of the symptoms of diabetes include frequent urination, feelings of thirst and hunger. The main indication of the condition is the failure by the body to regulate blood glucose levels from food. This leads to high concentration of glucose in blood.
Types of Diabetes
There are different types of diabetes. These include: type 1 diabetes, type 2 diabetes, gestational diabetes, and juvenile diabetes. Type 1 diabetes refers to a condition when beta cells in the pancreas do not produce insulin as a result of damage. The immune system produces antibodies that may attack and destroy beta cells of the pancreas resulting to their failure. Patients of type 1 diabetes depend on insulin for survival. The treatment of this diabetes entails administration of insulin shots using an insulin pump. In addition, patients should make a nutritional plan, exercise regularly, and take pain killers and control blood pressure and cholesterol levels. It is common in patients of the age of 8 to 19 years (Huether & McCance, 2012).
Juvenile diabetes is usually common in children and teenagers. Beta cells fail to produce adequate insulin because of damage from antibodies. In contrast to the other types of diabetes, juvenile diabetes condition begins in childhood when the body fails to break down glucose. It is common in patients between 1 and 8 years (American Diabetes Association, 2010).
In contrast, type 2 diabetes begins as a result of body resistance to insulin. Body muscles, fats and liver cells resist using insulin correctly. This may result to a condition where the pancreas increases the production levels of insulin. However, the pancreas may reach a level where it loses the capacity to secrete adequate insulin in response to food. This type of diabetes commonly affects overweight and inactive people. The treatment may entail taking diabetes drugs and pain killers, changing nutrition, exercising regularly, and regulating blood pressure and cholesterol levels (American Diabetes Association, 2010).
Gestational diabetes occurs when pregnant women develop high glucose levels despite having no previous diagnosis of the condition. Women can develop diabetes in the late stages of pregnancy because of the shortage of insulin or pregnancy hormones. However, this diabetes disappears after the birth of a baby. However, there is a high probability that a lady with gestational diabetes may develop type 2 diabetes in late stages of life (American Diabetes Association, 2010).
Type 2 Diabetes
I have selected type 2 diabetes to review in this essay. Metformin is one of the drugs that treat this diabetes. This may include drugs such as Glucophage and Glumetza. These drugs improve the sensitivity of body tissues to insulin. The drugs also reduce glucose production in liver. The drugs aid to regulate the level of glucose in blood (Dokken, 2013). The preparation of metformin follows a reaction between dimethylamine hydrochloride and 2-cyanoguanidine (dicyanamide) with heating. The drug is in the form of a tablet or liquid. One takes the drug through the mouth. Administration of the tablet is usually thrice or two times a day. One can take the drug with meals. Administration of the liquid is usually once or twice a day. A patient swallows metformin tablets as a whole without chewing or crushing them (Drugs.com. 2012).
The dietary consideration for type 2 diabetes aims to control blood pressure, reduce cholesterol, regulate A1C, and improve body immunity. Patients should take meals three times a day (Lifshitz, 2009). Diets should contain starchy carbohydrate foods, low fats and low salt content. In addition, diet should contain fruits and vegetables, oily fish, and a low glycemic index (Patil, 2013).
The short-term impact of type 2 diabetes may include the loss of appetite and skin infections. Moreover, they may include extreme tiredness, discomfort, vomiting, decrease of appetite, and flushing of the skin. The long-term impacts may include eye complications, skin infections, heart problems, hypertension and gum disease. The condition may also lead to the development of stomach muscle problems, erectile dysfunction and difficulties in wound healing (Peterson et al., 2007). In addition, the long-term effects of the drugs may include nausea, irregular heartbeats, dizziness and muscle pains (Arcangelo & Peterson, 2013).
In conclusion, advanced practice nurses have the role of efficiently managing patients with diabetes disorder to promote their health care. It is essential for nurses to consider diverse factors in managing and applying drug treatment for diabetes. This can help to manage treatment and the efficient application of diabetes drugs.