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Frequently Asked
Questions Regarding Diabetes
What is diabetes?
Diabetes is a disease in which your body is unable to
properly use and store glucose (a form of sugar).
Glucose backs up in the bloodstream causing your blood
glucose or "sugar" to rise too high. There are two major
types of diabetes. In Type 1 (also called juvenile-onset
or insulin-dependant) diabetes, your body
completely-stops producing any insulin, a hormone that
enables your body to use glucose found in food for
energy. People with Type 1 Diabetes must take daily
insulin injection to survive. This form of diabetes
usually develops in children or young adults, but can
occur at any age. In Type 2 (also called adult-onset or
non insulin-dependent) diabetes, the body produces
insulin, but not enough to properly convert food into
energy. This form of diabetes usually occurs in people
who are over 40, overweight, and have a family history
of diabetes.
How do people know if they have diabetes?
People with diabetes frequently experience certain
symptoms. These include: being very thirsty, having to
go the bathroom very frequently to urinate, weight loss,
increased hunger, blurry vision, skin infections, wounds
that don't heal, and/or extreme unexplained fatigue. In
some cases there are no symptoms - this happens at times
with type 2 diabetes. In this case, people can live for
months, even years without knowing they have the
disease. This form of diabetes comes
on so gradually that symptoms may not even be
recognized.
Who gets diabetes?
However, people who have close relatives with the
disease are somewhat more likely to develop it. The risk
of developing diabetes also increases, as people grow
older. People who are over 40 and overweight are more
likely to develop diabetes. So are people of
African-American, Hispanic or Asian heritage. Also,
people who develop diabetes while pregnant (a condition
called gestational diabetes) are more likely to develop
full- blown diabetes later in life.
How is diabetes treated?
There are certain things that everyone who has diabetes,
whether type 1 or type 2, needs to do to is healthy. You
need to have a meal (eating) plan. You need to pay
attention to how much you exercise, because exercise can
help your body use insulin better to convert glucose
into energy for cells. Everyone with type 1 diabetes,
and some people with type 2 diabetes, also needs to take
insulin injections. Some people with type 2 diabetes
take pills called "oral agents" which help their bodies
produce more insulin and/or use the insulin it is
producing better. Some people with type 2 diabetes can
manage their disease with weight loss, diet and exercise
alone and don't need any medication. Everyone who has
diabetes should be seen at least once every six months
by diabetes Specialist. You should also be seen
periodically by. other members of a Diabetes treatment
team, including a diabetes nurse . .educator,, and a
diabetes dietitian educator who helps you develops. meal
plan that works best for you. Ideally you should also
see an exercise physiologist for help in developing an
exercise plan and if you think you need it, a social
worker, psychologist or other mental health professional
for help with the stresses and challenges of living with
a chronic disease. Everyone who has diabetes should have
regular eye exams (once a year) by an ophthalmologist to
make sure that any eye problems associated with diabetes
are caught early, and treated 'before they become
serious. Also, people with diabetes need to team how to
monitor their blood sugars day-to-day at home using home
blood sugar monitoring. This daily testing, which your
diabetes educator can explain to you, will help you see
how well your meal plan, exercise, and medication are
working to keep your blood sugars in a normal range.
What other problems can diabetes cause?
Our health care team will encourage you to follow your
meal plan and exercise program, use your medications and
monitor your blood sugars regularly to keep your blood
sugars in as normal a range as possible as much of the
time as possible. Why is this so important? Because
poorly managed diabetes can lead to a hostel long-term
complications among them are heart attacks, strokes,
blindness, kidney failure, blood vessel disease that
requires an amputation, nerve damage, and problems with
sexual function. But happily, recent clinical research
studies have shown that if people keep their blood
sugars as close to normal as possible, they can reduce
their risk of developing some of these complications by
50 percent or more.
Can diabetes be prevented?
May be someday. Many studies have been conducted at
world premier diabetes centers and they. are screening
the immediate relatives of someone with type 1 diabetes,
because now it is possible to identify those who will
develop this form of the disease as much as five or more
years in advance. common type of diabetes, yet we still
do not understand it very well. But recent research does
suggest the there are some things you can do . to
prevent this form of diabetes particularly if runs in
you family, or if you have had gestational diabetes, or
if you are a member of an high risk group (Hypertension
obesity, high cholesterol level in the blood, smoking,
sedentary executive life style etc), that is more prone
to this disease. Many research studies are now underway
to see if this form of diabetes can be prevented as
well. Changes in lifestyle, (more exercise and weight
loss), and certain medications are being tested to see
if type 2 diabetes can be prevented.
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