Diabetes: What You Need to Know

An estimated 21 million people have diabetes in the U.S. And of that number, more than six million cases are still undiagnosed. Diabetes is a serious illness that can affect your heart, kidneys and eyes. It is the number one cause for amputation and blindness.

It’s a disease in which the body has trouble changing food into needed energy. As a result, the levels of sugar in the blood become higher than normal. Diabetes often goes undiagnosed because many of its symptoms seem so harmless, such as:

• frequent urination
• excessive thirst
• extreme hunger
• unusual weight loss
• increased fatigue
• irritability
• blurry vision

If you have one or more of these symptoms, please see your health care provider right away. The early detection of diabetes symptoms and prompt treatment can decrease the chance of developing serious complications of this disease.

There is a blood test, called the A1C test, that can tell the average amount of sugar in your blood over the past three months. It’s the best way to know if your blood sugar is under good control.

Having high blood sugar over a period of time can contribute to a number of complications. Finding and treating diabetes early and receiving regular medical care decreases your chances of eye disease, kidney disease, nerve damage and other complications. Keeping blood sugar as close to normal as possible will help prevent these problems in the future.

Did you know that there are several types of diabetes?

Type 1 diabetes - the body stops making insulin or makes only a very small amount. Insulin is needed for the body to turn the sugar in the food we eat into energy. These sugars can come from the natural sugars in food such as fruits or added sugars in food such as processed food or baked goods. Type 1 diabetes needs to be treated lifelong with insulin, meal planning, and exercise.

Type 2 diabetes - the body does not make enough insulin and the cells are resistant to the effects of insulin. Muscle and fat cells in the body need insulin to take up sugar from the blood.

Type 2 diabetes needs to be treated lifelong with meal planning, exercise, and possibly medication. Type 2 diabetes is the most common type – more than 90 percent of patients with diabetes have this form of the disease. There are risk factors that predispose people to this disease that cannot be changed such as age, race and family history. There are also risk factors that can be changed such as inactivity, poor eating habits, being overweight and obesity. That’s why meal planning and exercise is very important.

There is also “gestational” diabetes and “secondary” diabetes (when high blood sugar occurs as a result of other diseases).

In addition, approximately 57 million people have pre-diabetes, a condition that often evolves into Type 2 diabetes.

Pre-diabetes means that a person’s blood sugar numbers are higher than normal but not high enough to be called diabetes. Millions of people have pre-diabetes, but do not know it. People with pre-diabetes are at an increased risk for heart disease and stroke.  Research shows that people who increase physical activity, improve nutrition and lose weight, even a small amount, may delay or prevent the onset of Type 2 diabetes.

If you are diagnosed with this disease, you need to play an active role in managing this condition by becoming a well informed health care consumer. This includes keeping track of your blood sugar numbers, so you know how well your treatment plan is working.

Blog post contributed by Shubhi Sehgal, M.D., an Endocrinologist at Aurora Wilkinson Medical Clinic in Summit. She can be reached at 262-434-5000.