Diabetes Management

Symptoms of diabetes include:

• Blurred vision
• Slow-healing sores
• Feeling tired and weak
• Frequent urination
• Frequent unexplained infections
• Increased thirst
• Numbness or tingling in the hands or feet
• Unplanned weight loss

Diabetes is comorbid or commonly associated with several other serious health conditions:

• Dyslipidemia
• Hypertension
• Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease
• Obesity
• Obstructive sleep apnea

For those with type 1 diabetes, symptoms can develop quickly — over a few weeks or months. Additional symptoms may include nausea, vomiting or stomach pain.

Type 2 diabetes symptoms can take years to develop. Because they can be hard to spot, it’s important to know the signs. See a health care provider if you may be at risk and have the symptoms listed above.

Diabetes is a chronic condition that affects how your body turns food into energy. With diabetes, your body does not make enough insulin or cannot use it as well as it should, resulting in too much blood sugar in your bloodstream.

Without proper management, diabetes may result in heart disease, kidney disease or vision loss.

Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease that prevents your body from making insulin. Five to ten percent of people with diabetes have type 1. Although typically diagnosed in children and young adults, it can develop at any age. Type 1 diabetics need to take insulin every day. Risk factors include:

• A family history of type 1 diabetes.
• Exposure to certain viral illnesses.
• Presence of autoantibodies.

Type 2 diabetes occurs when your body doesn’t produce enough insulin or is not able to fully use the insulin your body produces. This is the most common form of diabetes — 90% to 95% of all people with diabetes have type 2 — and usually occurs in people ages 45 years and older. Risk factors may include:

• A family history (parent or sibling) of type 2 diabetes.
• Gestational diabetes or giving birth to a baby weighing more than nine pounds.
• High blood pressure.
• Low high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol (the “good” cholesterol) and a high triglyceride level.
• Polycystic ovary syndrome.
• Smoking.

You may also be at risk if you are:

• African American, Asian American, Hispanic and/or Pacific Islander.
• Overweight.
• Physically inactive.
• Over 45 years old.