Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases of the National with diabetes will give you the opportunity to make …
Managing diabetes
Your healthcare professionals will help you to find ways to keep your blood glucose levels under control Exercising regularly will help to use up the sugar in your blood You can make healthy food choices too Talk to them about any changes you should make to your diet and ask about the sort of exercise that is best for you In addition, you will probably be given medical treatment: If you have type 2 diabetes you may be given tablets which either: Make your cells more sensitive to the insulin you naturally produce Or stimulate your pancreas to produce more insulin If you have type 2 diabetes and tablets are not enough your doctor may recommend insulin However your diabetes is treated, you need to know how much glucose is in your blood and what affects your levels You may be asked to: Test your blood glucose levels regularly Or, test at the same times each day and look for patterns in your results Your healthcare professionals will explain when you should test your blood glucose levels and will help you understand what the patterns mean You should be taught how you can use this information to help to smooth out your blood glucose levels
Leaflet produced by
Abbott Diabetes Care, manufacturer of
What is diabetes?
Customer Care Line
Country Australia Customer Care Line 1-800-801478 Operating Hours Mon-Fri 800-1800
Ask your healthcare professional how Optium Omega, Optium Xceed or FreeStyle Lite blood glucose meters may assist you, always read the label and use only as directed
If you are a user of an ADC meter in Australia, call Customer Service on 1800 801 478, or register on line at wwwabbottdiabetescarecomau to activate your lifetime meter warranty
References: 1 Joslins Diabetes Mellitus, 14th Edition 2005, New York Ovid Technologies 2 National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases of the National Institutes of Health Bethesda, Mol NIDOK 3 Kronenberg: Williams Textbook of Endocrinology 11th Edition 2008 Please consult your healthcare professional before making any changes Abbott Diabetes Care, 666 Doncaster Road, Doncaster, Victoria 3108, Australia wwwabbottdiabetescarecomau ABN 95 000 180 389 MSE080304103729 24203
What is diabetes?
Diabetes is a condition affecting the endocrine system your glands and the hormones that they produce, whereby the pancreas stops producing insulin or produces too little; or where
the cells in your body are resistant to the insulin that your pancreas produces Insulin is the hormone which unlocks the cells in your body and allows the sugar glucose in your blood to be used for immediate 
energy needs, or it is stored away to be used later on Blood glucose comes mainly from carbohydrates in the food you eat These are broken down in your digestive system and then transported around your body to be used as fuel for the energy we need in everyday life Unless you have enough insulin the glucose in your blood cannot be used efficiently, hence causing your blood glucose levels to rise If left untreated, high blood glucose levels can cause long-term health problems Being diagnosed with diabetes will give you the opportunity to make the necessary changes to your lifestyle, therefore enabling you to avoid some of the risks associated with diabetes
There are two main types of diabetes, type 1 and type 2 But pregnant women sometimes develop a 3rd type of diabetes, called gestational diabetes
Each type of diabetes has different causes so they are treated differently As the causes are closely related the symptoms are also very similar You may experience they following
symptoms: Dehydration and excessive thirst A need to frequently go to the toilet Excessive tiredness Weight loss Itching in the genital area or frequent episodes of thrush Cuts and wounds may be very slow to heal Recurrent infections such as boils
Type 1 diabetes
Type 1 diabetes occurs when the insulin producing cells in the pancreas are damaged Thus the pancreas eventually stops producing any insulin at all It usually affects young people, although it can occur at any age and can develop very quickly over a short space of time It is controlled with insulin injections The amount of insulin you need is balanced against the levels of glucose in your blood
Type 2 diabetes
Type 2 diabetes occurs when: The cells in your body are resistant to the effects of insulin Your pancreas doesnt produce enough insulin Or a combination of the two It develops slowly and gradually over a long period of time, so the symptoms may not be noticed and the condition often goes undiagnosed Type 2 diabetes is usually found in middle aged or elderly people, but it is increasingly being diagnosed in early adulthood and sometimes in childhood It generally runs in families and is particularly
prevalent in certain ethnic groups Almost one in five people of South Asian descent is likely to get type 2 diabetes It can sometimes be treated with diet and exercise If that is not enough to control it, you will be given tablets, or you may need to move on to insulin injections
Diabetes in the UK 2004:A report from Diabetes UK: October 2004
Source:ama-assn.org
