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Millions of people have diabetes mellitus, commonly called diabetes. You may be surprised to know that many of these people don’t even know they have it.
Diabetes is a serious disease and should not be ignored. If you have it, correct treatment can help you live a long and healthy life.
If you have diabetes, your body can’t make or use insulin. Insulin helps change sugar into energy to keep you alive.
There are different kinds of diabetes. The main ones are type 1 and type 2.
This type of diabetes is mostly found in children and young adults. If you have type 1 diabetes, your body does not make insulin and you must inject insulin daily.
Most people with diabetes have this form of the disease. Type 2 is usually found in people over 45, who have diabetes in their family, who are overweight, who don’t exercise, and who have cholesterol problems. It is also common in certain racial and ethnic groups (blacks, American Indians, and Hispanics) and in women who had diabetes when they were pregnant. If you have type 2 diabetes, your body cannot make enough insulin or correctly use it. Treatment is diabetes pills and sometimes insulin injections, as well as diet and exercise.
Daily monitoring and careful control of blood sugar levels are the most important steps to take for people with diabetes. If not treated, diabetes can cause:
People with diabetes may develop low blood sugar because their blood has too much insulin or other blood sugar-lowering medication or from not eating enough food. It is important to follow the eating and medication schedule your doctor has prescribed to avoid low blood sugar.
Low blood sugar could make you shaky, dizzy, sweaty, hungry, have a headache, have pale skin color, have sudden mood or behavior changes, have clumsy or jerky movements, have difficulty paying attention, feel confused, or have tingling sensations around the mouth.
The best way to take care of your diabetes is to make sure the levels or amount of sugar in your blood are near the normal range. This will make you feel better and help you stay healthy.
Your doctor will tell you how often to check your blood sugar level. To do this, you will need to take a drop of your blood and place it on a special test strip. Then a device, called a blood glucose meter, reads the strip. This device measures the amount of sugar in your blood.
Writing down this level, along with the time and date, will help you see how well your treatment plan is working.
A person’s blood sugar level rises after eating any meal that contains carbohydrates or protein. Table sugar (also called ?sucrose) counts as a carbohydrate. Artificial sweeteners, such as saccharin, aspartame (NutraSweet), and sucralose (Splenda), do not count as carbohydrates or fats. They make food taste sweet. But they do not raise blood sugar levels and have little or no calories.
Eat well-balanced meals. The right amount of healthy food will keep your weight under control and help manage your diabetes.
Your body needs food from the four main food groups every day:
Too much fat and cholesterol in your diet can be very harmful to people with diabetes. Food that is high in fat includes red meat, dairy products (whole milk, cream, cheese, and ice cream), egg yolks, butter, salad dressings, vegetable oils, and many desserts.
Exercise is important for good diabetes control. It usually lowers blood sugar and may help insulin work better. Exercise and a healthy diet can also help you take off extra pounds if you are overweight.
Check with your doctor before starting any exercise program. You may need a snack before or during the activity to avoid having low blood sugar while you exercise.
These groups may be helpful:
American Diabetes Association
National Call Center
1701 N. Beauregard St.
Alexandria, VA 22311
(800) DIABETES (342-2383)
www.diabetes.org
Diabetes Public Health Resource
Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention (CDC)
Division of Diabetes Translation
PO Box 8728
Silver Spring, MD 20910
(877) CDC-DIAB (232-3422)
www.cdc.gov/diabetes
Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation International
120 Wall St.
New York, NY 10005
(800) 533-CURE (533-2873)
www.jdrf.org
National Institute of Diabetes
and Digestive and Kidney Diseases
National Diabetes Information
Clearinghouse
1 Information Way
Bethesda, MD 20892
(800) 860-8747
http://diabetes.niddk.nih.gov
Ask your doctor or other member of your health care team–dietitians, nurse educators, and even family members and friends. You can also call the FDA on its toll-free number, (888) INFO-FDA (463-6332).
Or look on the Internet at www.fda.gov
The Food and Drug Administration is an agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services that makes sure that medicines for diabetes and other illnesses work and are safe.
Department of Health and Human Services
Food and Drug Administration
5600 Fishers Lane (HFI-40)
Rockville, MD 20857
FDA05-1106C