Understanding diabetes - diagnosis and treatment
Your doctor may suspect that you have diabetes, if you have some risk factors for developing diabetes or if you have high blood sugar in your urine. Your blood sugar (also called blood glucose) may be high if your pancreatic gland produces little insulin or does not produce it at all ( type 1 diabetes ), or if the body does not respond normally to insulin ( type 2 diabetes ).
Diagnosis begins with one of three tests. In most cases, your doctor will want to repeat the high level test to confirm the diagnosis:
- Glucose test on an empty stomach - is a test of level sugars в blood, taken in the morning before meals. A level of 126 mg/dl or higher may mean that you have diabetes.
- Oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) involves drinking a drink containing glucose and then checking the glucose level in the blood every 30-60 minutes for 3 hours. If your glucose level is 200 mg/dl or higher after 2 hours, you may have diabetes.
- A1c test - is a simple analysis blood, that shows your average level sugars в blood over the past 2-3 months. Level A1c 6.5% or higher may mean that you have diabetes.
What are the methods of diabetes treatment?
Diabetes is a serious disease that cannot be cured on its own. Your doctor will help you make a diabetes treatment plan that is right for you - and that you can understand. You may also need other medical professionals in your diabetes care team, including a nutritionist, eye doctor, and diabetes specialist (endocrinologist).
Treatment of diabetes mellitus requires careful monitoring of blood sugar levels (and adherence to the target set by your doctor) using a combination of medicines , physical exercises and diet. By paying close attention to what and when you eat, you can minimize or avoid the "swing effect" of rapidly changing blood sugar levels, which may require rapid changes in medication doses, especially insulin.
Back to top ↑Lifestyle changes in diabetes mellitus
- Wear a medical identification tag. It is recommended that you wear a MedicAlert bracelet or tag that says you have diabetes. This will let others know about your condition in case you have a serious hypoglycemic attack and cannot comprehend yourself, or if you are in an accident and need emergency medical attention.
- Take care of your teeth. Be sure to take good care of your teeth and floss regularly. Diabetes can complicate gum disease.
- If you have stressyou may exercise less, drink more and not monitor your diabetes as closely. Stress can also raise blood sugar levels and make you less sensitive to insulin. When you are stressed, your body adopts a "fight or flight" response. This means that it will provide you with enough sugars and fat for energy.
- Quit smoking. Kick the habit. This will allow you to better control blood sugar levels. If you smoke, you are also more likely to have serious health problems, as well as a greater chance of complications from diabetes
- Reduce alcohol consumption. If you are taking insulin or oral diabetes medications, such as sulfonylurea derivatives or meglitinides, the use of alcohol can lower your blood sugar to dangerous levels. When you drink, your liver should work to remove alcohol from the blood, not to regulate blood sugar levels.