Diabetes Management

Common Symptoms of Diabetes

• Urinating often
• Increased thirst
• Feeling very hungry
• Extreme fatigue
• Blurry vision
• Cuts/bruises that are slow to heal
• Weight loss
• Tingling, pain or numbness in hands or feet

Diabetes Risk Factors

• Family history
• Obesity
• Age
• High blood pressure
• Ethnicity
• High cholesterol

Type 1 Diabetes

Insulin is a hormone that is needed to convert sugar, starches and other food into energy needed for daily life. In type 1 diabetes, commonly diagnosed in children and young adults, the body does not produce insulin. With the help of insulin therapy and other treatments, even young children can learn to manage their condition and live long, healthy lives. Only give percent of people with diabetes have this form the disease.

Type 2 Diabetes

Type 2 diabetes is the most common form of diabetes. If you have type 2 diabetes, your body does not use insulin properly. This is culled insulin resistance. At first, your pancreas makes extra insulin to make up for it. However, over time, it isn’t able to keep up and can’t make enough insulin to keep your blood glucose at normal levels.

Prediabetes

Prediabetes is a serious health condition where blood sugar levels are higher than normal, but not high enough yet to be diagnosed as type 2 diabetes. If you have prediabetes, you can make lifestyle changes to prevent or delay type 2 diabetes and other serious health problems.

Preventing Diabetes Complications

Diabetes increases your risk for many serious health problems. With the correct treatment and recommended lifestyle changes, many people with diabetes are able to prevent or delay the onset of complications, including: hypoglycemia (low blood glucose) and hyperglycemia (high blood glucose), heart attack, stroke, kidney dialysis, blindness and amputation. Annual eye exams and regular foot checks and dental exams are recommended.