Can You Have Diabetes And Not Know

November 23, 2021

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What Can I Do To Prevent Diabetes

Know Your Numbers: Diabetes

Plenty. Studies show that 90% of cases of type 2 diabetes could be prevented — or significantly delayed — simply through a healthier diet and enough physical activity. The big proof of that came in a study of 3,234 people who were overweight and had higher blood glucose levels, putting them in the crosshairs of diabetes risk.

Those who followed a program of exercise and diet geared to losing excess weight — in this case, an average of 15 pounds — lowered their risk of diabetes by 58%. Those in the 60-and-older set cut their risk by 71%. And these were people who already had a high risk of diabetes. Keep your weight in the normal range and stay active, experts say, and you stand an excellent chance of never getting diabetes.

What Are The Four Types Of Eye Problems Caused By Diabetes

Diabetes is one of the worlds biggest epidemics because of living unhealthy lifestyles consisting of unhealthy eating as well as being sedentary. If diabetes runs in your family, you are at risk of being diabetic yourself. Even if there is no history of diabetes in your family, you can still end up with diabetes if you end up living a very unhealthy lifestyle. If you are eating junk food all of the time and sitting on the sofa watching TV all day, that is a huge risk factor. That is even the case if you have a fast metabolism that prevents you from being overweight.

You do not want to end up with diabetes. Type 2 diabetes happens when the insulin you make is not enough to break down the glucose, or the insulin does not respond to it known as insulin resistance. Type 1 is when the pancreas no longer makes insulin which is when you have no choice but to go on insulin. Diabetes type 1 and 2 if not controlled will cause other nerve problems and eye problems as well. There are four different eye conditions that result from uncontrolled diabetes and lets go over those now.

Symptoms Of Type 1 Diabetes

You might notice:

Unplanned weight loss. If your body can’t get energy from your food, it will start burning muscle and fat for energy instead. You may lose weight even though you haven’t changed how you eat.
Nausea and vomiting. When your body resorts to burning fat, it makes ketones. These can build up in your blood to dangerous levels, a possibly life-threatening condition called diabetic ketoacidosis. Ketones can make you feel sick to your stomach.

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How Is Type 1 Diabetes Diagnosed

Doctors can say for sure if a person has diabetes by testing blood samples for glucose. When high blood sugars show that a child has diabetes, other blood tests are usually done to help doctors find out if the child has type 1 or type 2 diabetes, because management and treatment of the diabetes may differ based on type.

If diabetes is suspected or confirmed, the doctor may refer your child to a pediatric endocrinologist, a doctor who specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of kids with diseases of the endocrine system, such as diabetes and growth disorders.

Risk Factors And Symptoms

8 Signs That You Didnt Know Could Mean You Are Diabetic ...

Type 2 diabetes is an illness thats often brought on by lifestyle, environmental, and genetic factors, including:

Carrying excess weight

Sores that are slow to heal
Frequent infections
Fatigue

If you start experiencing one or more of these symptoms, you should come into Essential Medical Clinic as soon as possible. The sooner we can make a diagnosis, the sooner we can aim to halt or reverse the condition.

How To Lower Your Risk

Good habits go a long way toward preventing the other health problems that diabetes can cause. Make these tips part of your regular health routine:

Keep tight control of your blood sugar. Itâs the best way to avoid diabetes complications. Your levels should stay in these healthy ranges as much as possible:

Between 70 and 130 mg/dL before meals
Less than 180 mg/dL 2 hours after you start a meal
Glycated hemoglobin or A1C level around 7%

Watch your blood pressure and cholesterol. If theyâre too high, youâre more likely to get other health problems like heart disease. Try to keep your BP below 140/90 and your total cholesterol at or below 200. Your doctor may prescribe medications to help you do that.

Get regular checkups. Your doctor can check your blood, urine, and do other tests to spot any problems. These visits are especially important, since many diabetes complications donât have clear warning signs.

Donât smoke. Lighting up harms your blood flow and raises blood pressure. If you need help to quit, your doctor can recommend treatments that might work for you.

Protect your eyes. Get a yearly eye exam. Your doctor can look for damage or diseases.

When To See A Dermatologist

Diabetes can cause many other skin problems. Most skin problems are harmless, but even a minor one can become serious in people who have diabetes. A board-certified dermatologist can recognize skin problems due to diabetes and help you manage them.

Are all dermatologists board certified?

No. See what it takes to become board certified.

Images 3, 7, 8, 9: Used with permission of the American Academy of Dermatology National Library of Dermatologic Teaching Slides.

Image 2 from DermNetNZ

Some images used with permission of Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology

ReferencesCohen Sabban, EN. Cutaneous manifestations of diabetes mellitus from A to Z. Focus session presented at: 74th Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Dermatology March 4-8, 2016 Washington D.C.

Duff M, Demidova O, et al. Cutaneous manifestations of diabetes mellitus. Clinical Diabetes. 2015 33:40-8.

Kalus AA, Chien AJ, et al. Diabetes mellitus and other endocrine disorders. In: Wolff K, Goldsmith LA, et al. Fitzpatricks Dermatology in General Medicine . McGraw Hill Medical, New York, 2008:1461-70.

McKinley-Grant L, Warnick M, et al. Cutaneous manifestations of systemic disease. In: Kelly AP and Taylor S. Dermatology for Skin of Color. . The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. China, 2009:481-4.

Morgan AJ and Schwartz RA. Diabetic dermopathy: A subtle sign with grave implications. J Am Acad Dermatol. 2008 58:447-51.

Regular Testing Can Put You In The Know

Often what happens is people minimize the symptoms or rationalize them and they get worse until they become severe enough that they have to see someone, Dr. Pantalone says. They have excessive weight loss or are really tired of peeing all night.

Because symptoms of diabetes are often subtle or nonexistent, especially around the onset, its important to see your doctor regularly for a checkup and testing. This is particularly vital if you are overweight or have risk factors if diabetes runs in your family, for instance.

The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommends screening for type 2 diabetes if you are between the ages of 40 and 70. If results are normal, you should repeat the testing every three years. If you have a risk factor, the task force recommends beginning screening at a younger age and testing more frequently.

What Causes These Symptoms

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These symptoms occur because some or all of the glucose stays in the blood, and isnt being used as fuel for energy. The body tries to reduce blood glucose levels by flushing the excess glucose out of the body in the urine, making you more thirsty. High levels of glucose being passed in the urine are a perfect breeding ground for the fungal infection which causes thrush. But not everyone gets symptoms. In fact, 6 out of 10 people have no symptoms when theyre diagnosed with type 2 diabetes.

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How Is Type 1 Diabetes Treated

Treatment means good diabetes control to minimize symptoms prevent health problems and help kids have normal physical, mental, emotional, and social growth and development. To do this, parents and kids should aim to keep blood sugar levels within the goal range as much as possible.

In general, kids with type 1 diabetes need to:

take insulin as prescribed

The Dangers Of Undiagnosed Diabetes

If diabetes is not properly diagnosed and treated to control blood sugar levels, the disease can cause serious damage to your heart and blood vessels, eyes, kidneys, nerves, gastrointestinal tract, and gums and teeth. That damage can include:

A significantly increased risk of cardiovascular disease, including coronary artery disease, heart attack, stroke, and narrowing of the arteries
Nerve damage, which is also called neuropathy, which causes tingling, numbness, burning sensation, and pain. Neuropathy usually begins in the toes and fingers, then spreads up the limb. Neuropathy can also cause erectile dysfunction.
Kidney damage that can lead to kidney failure and the need for a kidney transplant
Eye damage, which is also called retinopathy, that increases the risk of cataracts, glaucoma, and blindness
Damage to the feet due to poor blood flow. Untreated cuts and injuries to affected feet can cause infections, which are more difficult to heal in people with diabetes. In some cases, these infections can lead to amputation.
Skin problems such as bacterial and fungal infections and slower than normal healing of sores
Impaired hearing
Gastroparesis, which causes the stomach to slow or stop the movement of food to the intestines causing nausea, vomiting, and stomach pain
An increased risk of gum disease and infections in the bones of the jaw

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Why Should You Choose Ucf To Help With Your Diabetes Needs

UCF Health Services are expansive and include the treatment of endocrine disorders. Regardless of the type of diabetes you may be experiencing, our expert doctors can help get you back to optimal health. While there is currently no cure for diabetes, Orlando Endocrinology Services have vast experience in caring for patients with diabetes or other endocrine disorders.

Endocrinology experts at UCF Health spend years studying the bodys delicate endocrine system. They have seen a variety of patients from all walks of life and work with a team of other knowledgeable medical professionals to ensure each patient receives robust, correct health care. Disorders of the pituitary gland are no joke and can severely affect ones quality of life.

To discuss insurance coverage or make an appointment, visit our patient portal today. We make it easy to get our patients the health care access they need.

Who Is At Risk

Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune condition and as yet the triggers for this condition are unknown. However, type 2 diabetes has a number of risk factors, including being overweight or obese, living a sedentary lifestyle, or eating an unhealthy, high-calorie diet. “With type 2 diabetes your body’s still producing at least some insulin but you can’t respond to it – you’ve lost that sensitivity.”

“If the system gets overworked – eating the wrong things, eating too frequently, too much – the system gets worn out and we lose the sensitivity to it,” explains Dr Jenna Macciochi, Doctor of Immunology at the University of Sussex.

What Are Symptoms Of Hypoglycemia

Throughout any given day, a healthy persons blood sugar fluctuates slightly depending on when their last period of exercise or last meal was.

Hypoglycemia is a more severe drop in blood glucose. Medically, hypoglycemia is defined as a drop in blood sugar below 70 mg/dL. When your blood sugars levels drop this far, you will likely experience symptoms even if you have low blood sugar without diabetes.

Each individual may experience symptoms of low blood glucose quite differently from the next. It is not a bad idea to keep a journal if youre having symptoms on a regular basis. If you have diabetes, a recommendation would be to list your symptoms next to results in your blood glucose log, in the comment section.

If blood glucose levels fall too low, you will need to take action to correct them. If blood sugars drop below 40 mg/dL, another individual will have to intervene to provide treatment.

Symptoms can be mild, which is more common. If a blood sugar remains low, or continues to drop, the brain is being starved of glucose. Insufficient energy to the brain can result in seizures or coma, or very rarely, death.

Schedule An Appointment With Dr Monroe

If you are concerned that you might have diabetes, Dr. Monroe can evaluate your symptoms with a physical examination, along with an assessment of your family history. He can then discuss with you some important steps to take care of yourself and prevent the onset of diabetes, or if you test positive, some vital suggestions to help keep it in check.

Schedule your appointment by calling 623-889-3477, or book your appointment online. We look forward to hearing from you.

If You Ignore The Signs Of Diabetes

Its hard to ignore the signs of type 1 diabetes because symptoms can often appear quite quickly. But leaving it untreated can lead to serious health problems, including diabetic ketoacidosis, which can result in a potentially fatal coma.

Although the majority of people with type 1 diabetes are diagnosed in childhood and early adulthood, the symptoms are the same at any age. Adults with type 1 diabetes may not recognise their symptoms as quickly as children, which could mean their diagnosis and treatment may be delayed.

Type 2 diabetes can be easier to miss as it develops more slowly, especially in the early stages when it can be harder to spot the symptoms. But untreated diabetes affects many major organs, including your heart, blood vessels, nerves, eyes and kidneys. Being diagnosed early and managing your blood sugar levels can help prevent these complications. Use our Know Your Risk tool to check your risk of type 2 diabetes.

You Vision Is Impaired

Diabetes Tips : How to Tell If You Have Diabetes

Dont stress as soon as you realize your vision is blurred. This does not mean you are suffering from retinopathy where the blood vessels in the back of the eyes are destroyed. The blurred vision is usually caused by a glucose build-up in the eyes preventing them from focusing properly. It will take about 8 weeks for your eyes to adjust after your blood sugar has been stabilized.

Treating And Managing Diabetes

Lifestyle choices are a great way to help your body learn how to properly use what it makes to metabolize its intake. This includes being active and making healthy food and drink choices.

Another option for managing your prediabetes and type 2 diabetes is bariatric surgery. There are multiple types of bariatric surgery that may be right for you and your body. Because the leading cause of type 2 diabetes is obesity, bariatric surgery to help you lose weight can be your top defense against this chronic condition.

Weight loss is not easy, but with the team at Advanced Laparoscopic Associates, your journey can begin right away. From choosing the right surgery for you, to completing a post-operative nutrition plan, ALA will be here for you every step of the way. Lets tackle type 2 diabetes together. Contact us today to get started.

What You Need To Know About Type 2 Diabetes

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The link between weight and type 2 diabetes

Your risk for type two diabetes can be managed. Recognizing the link between weight and the disease is important as we head into the holiday season.

DETROIT – While you can’t control whether or not you develop type one diabetes, there are precautions you can take to reduce your chances of getting type two diabetes.

Dr. Andrew Scrogin, an endocrinologist with St. Joseph Mercy said type one tends to develop in younger children and people with autoimmune issues, while type two usually impacts people who weigh more who have insulin resistance.

More: Study finds lowering BMI could help prevent or even reverse Type 2 diabetes

“Increasing body weight increases insulin resistance,” he said. “Your pancreas can only make so much insulin. Then blood sugars start to climb.”

Previously, it was recommended that adults get their blood sugar checked at 40. Now, they should start at 35.

Losing weight, eating a healthy diet, and exercising can all help keep blood sugar levels in check, both if you already have diabetes or want to lessen your chances of developing it.

The American Medical Association estimates that one in three adults has prediabetes and 90% of people who have it don’t even know that they do.

It can impact your kidneys, nerves, and other vital organs without you knowing.

“If you have prediabetes now is the time to start changing your life to lower your risk for full-blown diabetes,” Scrogin said.

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Managing Or Reversing Diabetes

If you only have prediabetes, meaning that the illness is in its early stages, then you should be able to reverse it and keep it from progressing to Type 2 diabetes by making a few lifestyle changes, including:

Losing weight
Eating healthier
Managing your stress levels

If you have Type 2 diabetes, well develop a care plan to help you manage your condition, and, if possible, reverse it. Treating Type 2 diabetes could include doing the steps above and also incorporating diabetes medications or insulin therapy.

If you think you might be diabetic and want to get tested, we can help. To learn more, book an appointment online or over the phone with Essential Medical Clinic today.

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Risk Factors For Prediabetes

10 Warning Signs That You May Have Diabetes (and not even ...

Sometimes the symptoms of prediabetes can go away if you take better care of your health, but they can come back if you fall back into an unhealthy lifestyle.

Its important to be aware of prediabetes especially if youre over 45 years of age. Youre also at risk for developing prediabetes if you have any of these medical issues:

Cardiovascular disease

Unusual fatigue
Wounds that wont heal fast

A blood test can tell you if you have prediabetes. There are several different types and they are the same tests that diagnose Type 2 diabetes. Talk with your primary care provider to see if they think you need one of these tests.

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