Diabetes
Diabetes is a very common condition. The American Diabetes
Association (ADA) estimates that almost
7 out of 100
Americans have diabetes. About 1/3 of those people don't know
they have diabetes. Diabetes is a disorder in the way your
body produces or uses insulin. Insulin is a hormone that
controls how you metabolize the starches in the food you eat.
There are two main types of diabetes,
Type 1
and
Type 2
. Diabetes, type 2 is the most common and is a result from
your body becoming insensitive to the insulin you have. There
is also an equally serious condition of Pre-diabetes. Take the
Diabetes Risk Test
from the ADA to see if you are likely to have diabetes and if you
score above 10 call 227-6363 to schedule an
appointment for evaluation.
Diabetes is usually diagnosed by doing a Fasting Plasma Glucose
(FPG) test. A FPG test is done after going for 12 - 14 hours without
eating or drinking anything other than water. A resulting blood
glucose level of more than 126 mg/dl means diabetes. If the result is
110 - 125 mg/dl this means Pre-diabetes.
To monitor the success of your diabetes treatment you will need to do
routine Self Monitoring of you blood glucose, commonly referred to as a
finger stick blood sugar test. There are several good blood glucose testers
on the market , such as:
-
Accu-Check brand of meters
-
Free Style meters
Also the doctor will periodically do a Hemoglobin A1c test ( also called
a HgBA1c or A1c test). This test indicates your average level of
glucose over the past 2 - 3 months. The ADA has detailed information
about the
A1c test.
If you have diabetes you need to be a
member of the ADA.
We now have (just starting) a e-mail discussion group dealing with any
aspect of diabetes. You can request membership by using the link box to the
right.