Diabetes Specialist

What is diabetes?

Diabetes is a condition affecting your blood glucose, or sugar. Your body gets energy from glucose which comes from the food you eat.

Your pancreas makes a hormone called insulin to regulate your blood glucose. When you have diabetes, your pancreas either creates insulin ineffectively or it doesn’t make enough – or any – insulin.

How many types of diabetes are there?

There different types of diabetes, including:

• Type 1: your pancreas doesn’t make insulin; often diagnosed in children
• Type 2: your pancreas doesn’t use or make insulin correctly; usually associated with obesity
• Gestational: blood glucose issues that develop during pregnancy and resolve after childbirth

You can also develop prediabetes, a condition that describes blood glucose being higher than normal but not at diabetic levels. Similar to Type 2 diabetes, prediabetes is usually the result of a sedentary lifestyle, poor diet, and being overweight.

Being diabetic or prediabetic increases your chances of a variety of health complications, like high cholesterol, heart disease, and stroke.

What are the symptoms of diabetes?

It’s possible to have diabetes without displaying any symptoms, so it’s important to discuss your personal risks and family history with your Tri-Valley Medical Center provider.

When you have diabetes symptoms, they’re usually similar with Type 1 and Type 2, but Type 1 symptoms typically appear suddenly and are more severe. These symptoms usually include:

• Itchy skin
• Dry mouth
• Blurry vision
• Chronic yeast infections
• Vomiting and nausea
• Taking a long time to heal
• Increased urination and thirst
• Pain or numbness in your legs or feet

It’s also common to experience unexplained weight loss despite extreme hunger.

How is diabetes treated?

Diabetes is a chronic condition that doesn’t have a cure, but your Tri-Valley Medical Center provider can help you to manage your condition. First, your provider checks your blood sugar through a blood glucose test and conducts a comprehensive physical exam.

Depending on your blood glucose levels, your doctor develops a whole-body approach to managing your condition. Many people with Type 1 diabetes require daily insulin injections or medications, but Type 2 diabetes is sometimes effectively managed through diet and exercise.

An important aspect of your diabetes treatment also involves making healthy lifestyle changes like improving your diet, losing weight, and increasing your regular exercise.

For more information on managing diabetes, call Tri-Valley Medical Center or schedule an appointment online today.