What is diabetes?
The term diabetes refers to a group of chronic diseases characterized by high blood glucose (sugar). Everyone needs some blood sugar to survive. It provides your brain with energy and fuels your muscles and soft tissues.
However, if your blood sugar levels are too high for a long time, it puts you at risk of other serious health problems, including heart attack, stroke, and slow-healing wounds.
What are the symptoms of diabetes?
The effects of diabetes vary depending on the severity and type. You might have diabetes if you regularly experience:
- Frequent urination
- Extreme thirst
- Increased hunger
- Blurred vision
- Fatigue
- Frequent infections
As your diabetes gets worse, you might also experience significant, unexplained weight loss.
Is there more than one type of diabetes?
At Kudos Medical, the providers diagnose and treat all types of diabetes, including:
Type 1 diabetes
Type 1 diabetes usually begins in childhood and adolescence and requires insulin therapy. It occurs when your pancreas doesn’t produce insulin, a protein responsible for regulating blood sugar throughout your body.
Type 2 diabetes
If you have type 2 diabetes, it means your body has become resistant to insulin. This means your pancreas still produces insulin, but the rest of your body fails to respond. Ultimately, this allows your blood sugar levels to spike over time.
Prediabetes
If you have prediabetes, it means your blood sugar is at elevated levels. Fortunately, it’s possible to stop prediabetes from progressing. Healthy lifestyle changes such as exercise and weight loss can support your pancreas and the production of insulin.
Gestational diabetes
Gestational diabetes affects expecting women. When you’re pregnant, your body releases extra hormones to protect the health and growth of your baby. Sometimes, these excess hormones cause insulin resistance and in turn, gestational diabetes.
What is the process for diagnosing diabetes?
To diagnose diabetes, your Kudos Medical provider conducts a glycated hemoglobin or A1C test. This test measures the percentage of blood sugar attached to the oxygen-carrying protein in your red blood cells (hemoglobin).
Two or more test results of 6.5% or higher, indicate you have diabetes. If your results aren’t consistent, your provider might recommend a fasting blood sugar test, random blood sugar test, or an oral glucose tolerance test.
What is the process for treating diabetes?
If you have Type 1 diabetes, you’ll need to participate in insulin therapy and regular checkups. If you have Type 2 diabetes, gestational diabetes, or prediabetes, eating a balanced diet, losing weight, and exercising regularly may relieve or even reverse your condition.
To request your diabetes consultation at Kudos Medical, call the office or book online today.
