Diabetes

What is diabetes?

Diabetes is an endocrine system disorder arising from a problem with hormone production in your pancreas. Cells in the pancreas produce a hormone, insulin, that you need to regulate the amount of glucose (sugar) in your blood.

Glucose gives your brain and body energy and is vital at the right levels. However, too much can damage blood vessels, nerves, and organs, leading to diabetes complications like heart disease, neuropathy (nerve damage), and blindness.

Are there different kinds of diabetes?

The two main types of diabetes are:

Type 1 diabetes

People with Type 1 diabetes develop it in their younger years. It’s an autoimmune disorder, meaning a flaw in the immune system makes it attack the cells producing insulin as though they were a threat. 

You can’t regulate your blood sugar without insulin-producing cells, which could lead to a health crisis.

Type 2 diabetes

Type 2 diabetes tends to affect people who have problems with their weight or eat too much fat and carbohydrates. Your body develops insulin resistance, so even if your pancreas is producing insulin, you can’t make use of it.

You can also get prediabetes, where your blood sugar is too high but hasn’t reached dangerous levels. Pregnant women sometimes get gestational diabetes, which usually passes when the baby’s born.

How is diabetes diagnosed?

Diabetes diagnosis only requires a simple blood test that your provider sends to the on-site lab for analysis. You can have this test if you develop any diabetes symptoms, such as:

• Unexplained weight loss
• Chronic fatigue
• Increased thirst
• Frequent urination
• Constant hunger
• Irritability
• Blurred vision
• Frequent infections

Diabetes often causes few or no symptoms, at least until it reaches an advanced stage. Therefore, the Warehouse Primary Care & Specialty Clinic team provides diabetes screening for all patients.

How is diabetes treated?

Patients with Type 1 diabetes need to take supplementary insulin for the rest of their lives. You can inject yourself or use an insulin pump to keep your blood sugar under control.

Patients with Type 2 diabetes might require insulin if their condition is severe. However, most people can control their blood sugar with lifestyle changes and medicines like metformin. 

Losing weight, eating a healthy diet with regular meal times, and quitting smoking can all help you keep your blood sugar at the right level.

Warehouse Primary Care & Specialty Clinic provides chronic disease management for patients with diabetes to ensure your condition causes as few complications as possible.

To find out if you have diabetes and get expert treatment, call Warehouse Primary Care & Specialty Clinic today or book an appointment online.