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The Diabetic's Corner

Welcome! My name is Connie Abbott. I am a registered nurse and a certified diabetes educator or CDE. This section of the Primary Care Associates' Website is dedicated to those people with diabetes. Whether you have diabetes or know someone who does, information is the best weapon a person can have against this disease. It is my pleasure to be able to provide you with information regarding diabetes care. I will do my best to update this section monthly. I plan to address a particular aspect of diabetes each month as well as include a recipe that you can try out. I would like to remind you that the information included in this section is in no way meant to be a replacement for one-on-one care from a healthcare provider. If you have ANY questions regarding any information provided, please contact your provider, or you may contact me via e-mail at cabbott@anmed.com.

What is diabetes?
What better way to begin than with a general discussion of Diabetes? What exactly is it? It's far more than just "high sugar". Diabetes is a disease that afflicts millions of people, children and adults. There are two classifications of diabetes:

Type I - These are children who are afflicted with diabetes. They are usually diagnosed before the age of 20. Their pancreas no longer works, and does not produce any insulin. Therefore, these patients need to be placed on insulin in the form of either shots or an insulin pump.

Type II - These are adults. They are usually diagnosed after age 20. Their pancreas works, perhaps not as well as it could. The main problem that has been discovered is that these people have developed a resistance to their own insulin. This means that their body makes insulin, but it doesn't know how to use it anymore.

How do I know is I have diabetes?
Ideally, everyone should get a yearly physical exam. Women should be getting physical exams including PAP smears from the time they start becoming sexually active. Men should get yearly physical exams starting at age 20. If you have a strong family history of diabetes, your physical exam should include screening bloodwork to determine whether or not you have diabetes.

Other people will have symptoms of diabetes. These include extreme thirst, hunger, frequent urination, blurred vision, fatigue, and/or weight gain or weight loss that is extreme. If you have any of these symptoms occur, see your family healthcare provider to be screened for diabetes, especially if you have a family history of the disease.

Lab tests
The lab test that is done for diabetes is a fasting glucose. This is a blood test that measures your blood sugar after you have had nothing to eat for at least 8 hours. Prior to having the test drawn in the morning, you should have nothing to eat after 9:00pm the night before the test. If your blood sugar is more than 126 milligrams per deciliter, you are diagnosed with diabetes. Another test will be done at that time called a hemoglobin A1C. This tells the doctor how high your blood sugar has been over a 3 month period. If your blood sugar is between 120 and 125 on the fasting test, you will be scheduled for a glucose tolerance test. This test will determine whether or not you have full-blown diabetes or impaired glucose tolerance which is a pre-cursor to diabetes.

What happens once I am diagnosed?
Your doctor will discuss your lab results with you. If you are diagnosed with diabetes, you will then be referred to have diabetes education. The education process includes discussion regarding general diabetes information, complications of diabetes, diet, exercise, and information regarding medications if you are put on any. Not all diabetics are placed on medications, and not all diabetics end up on insulin. Your physician or healthcare provider will also start you on a follow-up schedule involving office visits and labwork. The number of these visits range from weekly to every 3 months to every 6 months depending on your treatment and the extent of your diabetes.

When diagnosed with diabetes, the main way to control it is by controlling blood sugars. Controlling blood sugars is far more than just taking a pill or taking a shot. You have to control what you eat and how much of it you eat. Next month's Diabetic's Corner will feature tips on eating healthy to control blood sugars and prevent diabetic complications.

Thanks for joining us at Primary Care Associates web site and showing interest in the Diabetic's Corner. I hope this information has been helpful to you, and I look forward to providing you with more helpful information in the future issues.

Connie Abbott   RN, BSN, CDE

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Last modified: Tuesday, 29 May 2001 09:13 PM -0400

Disclaimer: All material provided in the Primary Care Associates Web Site is provided for educational purposes only. Consult your own physician, or if you're a patient of Primary Care Associates, consult with us regarding the applicability of any opinions or recommendations with respect to your symptoms or medical conditions. Many of the links and articles you'll read in our site do not necessarily agree with our opinions, but we will provide this information using your own discretion.