Understand Diabetes

Without proper treatment, diabetes can have negative short-term and long-term health effects. With care it is possible to nearly avoid most effects.

Ups and downs in blood sugar can be unpleasant, resulting in nausea, muscle weakness, disorientation, dizziness, and other effects. Some diabetics have trouble keeping their blood glucose always steady. Certain practices can help minimize the chance of sudden changes in blood glucose.

Monitoring is sometimes painful and burdensome, but is an absolute must. Many glucose monitoring devices now reduce or eliminate the need for painful finger pricks.

Newer devices may use a tiny laser to make an opening for the blood. This causes a mild tingling feeling. Monitors are available which require no blood; they test the glucose level through your skin via an infrared beam.

The intent of monitoring is to keep the glucose-insulin balance near normal. In people without diabetes, the fasting blood glucose level is under 99 mg/dL. Eating a big meal may cause the level to rise to above 200 mg/dL, but normal functioning releases enough insulin to bring the level down within a few hours. So a little variation in the glucose reading is normal; keeping the proper balance is the goal.

Part of a long-term glucose monitoring strategy should encompass regular physician visits with a quarterly A1C test. Several tests exist to measure blood glucose level at a given time. The A1C test provides a picture averaged over a period of months. The name comes from HbA1c, an abbreviation for glycated hemoglobin.

Hemoglobin’s role is to carry oxygen from the red blood cells to the tissues. Hemoglobin is glycated when there is extra glucose in the blood. The A1C test can give an average glucose level, because glycated hemoglobin remains.

The effects of diabetes accumulate over time. Once the diagnosis of diabetes meant kidney damage, blindness, nerve damage, and other ills within ten to fifteen years of the condition’s onset. Fortunately, diabetics no longer must suffer these problems. It is now possible to manage diabetes, so that it has few or no ill effects.

Most diabetics can achieve a proper glucose-insulin balance with the help of diet and exercise.

This is possible because the lowering of body fat with exercise and diet helps the body maintain a better balance on its own. Body fat affects hormone production and release and it affects how the body responds to glucose levels. There is a definite correlation between body fat and the degree of diabetes, although researchers don’t understand all the factors involved.

Lowering body fat also has the positive effect of lowering the blood pressure. Long-term high blood pressure contributes to many of the ills experienced by diabetics: eye and nerve damage, heart attacks and strokes.

With care the diabetic can lead a fairly normal life. Checking the blood glucose level a few times a day can mean fewer health problems and less worry in the long-run.