Diabetes is one of the most common diseases which are suffered by the people all over the world. Though this disease is expressed in only one word it has got far reaching effects. If a person falls in the vicious circle of diabetes then he/she will have to bear with it for his/her whole life. It is so because diabetes is a chronic disease and thus it cannot be cured and can only be controlled. Diabetes basically affects the energy producing function of the body. Thus glucose, which is the energy provider, starts settling in the bloodstream. This leads to various complications and consequently diabetes. Diabetes basically pertains to blood glucose levels. Blood glucose levels refer to the amount of glucose or sugar present in the blood. The measurement of blood glucose levels is done in millimeters per liter. Normally, the blood glucose levels throughout the day, remains somewhere near 4-8 millimeters per liter. Thus in case of diabetes the blood glucose levels cross this limit and thus it affects the person. Now it is also important to control the blood glucose levels because if the blood glucose level increases then it is harmful for small blood vessels. Thus maintaining the blood glucose levels is a must for a diabetes patient.

Causes of type 2 diabetes include when the body grows resistant to insulin, or when there is an insulin deficiency in the body.  Where we stand today, scientists have not yet pinpointed the exact cause of diabetes.  Even so, they have been able to come up with several factors that increase the risk and chances of a person getting diabetes.  The most common of these causes includes smoking, obesity, a history of diabetes in the family, the consumption of an unhealthy diet, the regular consumption of too many sugars, carbohydrates and proteins, emotional stress, age, and some virus infections such as the Coxsackie B virus.  To avoid being at risk for diabetes, it is important to maintain a healthy and active lifestyle.  Staying away from the factors that will put you at risk only betters your chances of staying healthy.  It is mostly common sense, really.  If one stays with a work out schedule, and keeps a healthy, balance diet, as well as maintains a low stress lifestyle and stays away from smoking cigarettes, they should leave a happy and healthy life.  Rocket science, I know.  It seems so easy on paper, but if it were, there would not be so many people that suffer from diabetes.            

When the doctors told us that Grandpa was sick, I didn’t realize how bad it was. But when we went to visit him in the hospital, I saw all the medications he was taking, and all his diabetes supplies. I never knew that diabetes could get so serious, and now that I saw everything he has to take I realize how bad it can be, and I’m so scared. Mom keeps telling us not to worry, but how can we not worry after seeing him like that? One of my friends told me that her father also had a lot of diabetes supplies in his room when he was sick, but now he is fully recovered. I guess that shows that maybe Grandpa isn’t that sick after all. I’ve just never seen so many things all for one sickness. Pills and liquids and breathing machines…there were so many things that he needed. Dad says if Grandpa just takes care of himself, he will be out of the hospital in no time. I hope him and Mom are right. I don’t know what I would do without Grandpa, and I can’t imagine how upset Grandma would be. I just can’t stop worrying even though Mom and Dad keep trying to comfort me.

I have always heard about the health concerns of family member for as far back as I can remember. Mostly the talk has been talk about diabetes among family members.  I remember Grandma and Granddad talking about how to make eating ice cream as a form of entertainment.  My Grandma makes yogurt and calls it an ice cream treat.  I guess I will have to accept that diabetes runs in my family, and start watching out for myself a little better.  I guess I will have to give up on McDonald’s and try to stop buying ice cream on the way home from school.  My Grandmother always says she has something that would taste much better at her house – homemade ice cream (which is really yogurt!)  Mom has even come around in her way of thinking about what we eat.  She watches very closely what we eat these days, not only for us but for her own health.  She says she wants to be around and live a long life as healthily as possible.  She says she is now aware of the dangers of not eating right.  We have practically cut out the habit of eating out, or grabbing some fast food on the way home.

We were becoming experts on hair, what makes it grow and what makes it fall out.  Hair loss cure was becoming an obsession with Tara.  Not for her.  She had plenty of hair, but for me.  In recent months — for a whole year, really — I had been losing my hair.  I wasn't sure why, but I'd wake up in the morning and there would be a pile of hair on the pillow.  When I'd take a show and shampoo there would be clumps of my hair in the drain.  I was shocked.  Gradually, the hair loss began to show up in the way of thinning hair.  I'd look in the mirror and I could even tell myself that it was thinner.  I didn't know what to do.  I was a little shaken, because I had heard that sudden hair loss can mean that you might be ill.  Tara thought it might be due to stress.   It could be.  This has been a bad year.  I was diagnosed with diabetes, and was going for treatment and attending a support group.  We had decided to get our eyes taken care of with lasik and had traveled all over the country looking for the right doctors and clinics, which cost us money we didn't have, and we had purchased a house full of organizers,  at a great price, but then had to move. 

I have some homework to do tonight for my health class. There's a test coming up on Friday and I have to make sure I get a good grade on this test since I did so poorly on the last one. This week's topic is about recognizing diabetic warning signs. I think I'm going to do a much better job since acquiring a study buddy. Actually, I think of him as more than a buddy but he doesn't really know that right now. Trust me, it's making all the difference. Having to look into his gorgeous eyes while answering a question means I'm more likely to remember the material. Plus, I don't want to look stupid in front of him. He's one of those people where you can just tell they're intelligent by looking closely at their face. The intelligence just shines through his eyes or something. He's got one of those faces that I just love to study. I find myself being particularly fixated on his eyes. Aside from the intelligence, he also has this concerned, soulful look that I find absolutely adorable. There's just something magical about him. Too bad none of the test questions are about his face. If they were, I would definitely pass!