with PAD had diabetes, but this statistic. probably greatly underestimates the preva with diabetes has been difficult to deter- mine, because most patients are …
What Is Diabetes?
Diabetes di-a-bee-tees is an illness that makes it hard for your body to use the food you eat the right way Some of the food you eat turns into glucose glu-kose Glucose is also called sugar, and is your bodys main source of energy Glucose travels through your body in your blood Insulin in-sa-lin is a substance made in the pancreas pan-cre-us, a small organ behind your stomach Insulin helps get the glucose out of the blood and into your cells Just like a key unlocks a door, insulin is like the key that unlocks the door to the cells in your body, and lets the glucose in to be used as energy
These things make it more likely that you will get diabetes
Having family members with diabetes Being overweight or obese Not being physically active Being over the age of 45 Being a person of color African American, Hispanic, Asian, American Indian Having high blood pressure Having heart disease Having a baby over 9 pounds or having diabetes when you were pregnant also makes it more likely that a woman will get diabetes
These signs may mean that you have diabetes
Being very thirsty Having to urinate a lot Feeling very tired or weak Having wounds or infections
that do not heal Having pain, tingling or numbness in your hands or feet Having blurry vision Losing weight without trying
Talk to your doctor if you have any of these
How do you know if you have diabetes?
A blood test will tell you if you have diabetes The blood test can be a fasting blood test or a random blood test A fasting test means you have had nothing to eat or drink for 8 hours before the test A random test means you have had something to eat or drink within 8 hours of the test
There are 3 types of diabetes
If you have type 1 diabetes, your body does not make any insulin and you must take insulin shots The insulin shots help to get the glucose out of the blood and into the cells of your body You can get type 1 diabetes at any time, but most people get it before they are 30 years old If you have type 2 diabetes, your body makes insulin, but does not make enough or does not use it the right way You may have to take pills or insulin to help get the glucose out of the blood and into the cells of your body You can get type 2 diabetes at any age Women who are pregnant can get gestational jest-a-shun-all diabetes They may have to take insulin shots to help get the glucose out
of the blood and into the cells of their body This type of diabetes usually goes away after the baby is born, but women who had gestational diabetes have a very good chance of getting type 2 diabetes later on Type 1 and type 2 diabetes never go away There is no cure for diabetes Eating the right way, exercising, taking diabetes medicine if needed, and testing your blood sugar will help control diabetes
If you would like to learn more about diabetes, contact the Diabetes Association of Greater Cleveland Ask to talk with an educator
3601 Green Road, 100; Cleveland, OH 44122 216-591-0800 Visit our website at: wwwdagcorg
Diabetes Association of Greater Cleveland 10/2001 rev 9 / 2008
Source:pcna.net
