Diabetes

What is diabetes?

Diabetes is a chronic disease that interferes with how your body uses blood sugar, or glucose. Glucose is the primary source of energy for all the cells in your body and comes from the food you eat.

With diabetes, your blood glucose levels are higher than normal. Too much glucose in your blood damages your blood vessels and organs, increasing your risk of heart disease, foot problems, and kidney disease.

Diabetes develops because of problems with insulin, which is a hormone that helps get the glucose from your blood into your cells.

Type 1 diabetes

If you have Type 1 diabetes, your pancreas can’t produce insulin. You must give yourself daily insulin injections. Type 1 diabetes is usually diagnosed during childhood.

Type 2 diabetes

If you have Type 2 diabetes, the insulin produced by your pancreas isn’t working like it should. Type 2 diabetes is more common than Type 1 diabetes, and it’s most often diagnosed in adults. 

What are the symptoms of diabetes?

Diabetes symptoms vary in type and severity. With Type 1 diabetes, symptoms are severe and develop quickly. With Type 2 diabetes, symptoms are less obvious and may go unnoticed. 

Common diabetes symptoms include:

• Excessive thirst and hunger
• Increase in urination
• Unexplained weight loss
• Fatigue
• Tingling in the fingers or toes
• Blurry vision
• Poor-healing wounds
• Increase in infections

If you have these symptoms or other concerns about diabetes, the team at Quality Primary Care can help.

How is diabetes diagnosed?

When you visit Quality Primary Care with concerns about diabetes, the team conducts an in-depth clinical evaluation so you get an accurate diagnosis and effective treatment plan.

During your consultation, your practitioner reviews your symptoms, asks you about your medical history, and performs a physical. 

To diagnose diabetes, they run blood tests, such as:

• Glycated hemoglobin (A1C) test
• Random blood sugar test
• Fasting blood sugar
• Oral glucose tolerance test

The team at Quality Primary Care may run more than one test or repeat your blood tests at another point in time before diagnosing diabetes.

How is diabetes treated?

The team develops an individualized diabetes treatment plan for you based on the type of diabetes you have, your blood sugar numbers, and your overall health.

Your treatment plan may include:

• Insulin injections (for Type 1 diabetes and sometimes Type 2 diabetes)
• Oral hypoglycemic medication (for Type 2 diabetes)
• Diet modification
• An exercise program
• Stress management
• Weight loss

The team also teaches you about monitoring your blood glucose levels at home, which helps you better understand how various factors, such as diet, exercise, stress, and infection, affect your numbers. 

To schedule your diabetes consultation at Quality Primary Care, call the office or book online today.