How is Diabetes Managed?
Before the discovery of insulin in 1921, everyone with type 1 diabetes died within some years after diagnosis. despite the fact insulin is not considered a cure, its discovery was the first radical breakthrough in diabetes remedy.
Today, healthy eating, physical task, and taking insulin are the simple therapies for type 1 diabetes. the number of insulin must be balanced with food intake and daily tasks. Blood glucose levels must be nearly monitored by means of frequent blood glucose checking. diabetic people also monitor blood glucose levels many times a year with a laboratory test called the A1C. Results of the A1C test think of average blood glucose through a 2- to 3-month period.
Healthy eating, physical task, and blood glucose testing are the simple management tools for type 2 diabetes. further, lots people with type 2 diabetes need oral prescription, insulin, or both to conquer their blood glucose levels.
Adults with diabetes are at high risk for cardiovascular disease (CVD). in truth, at least 65 percent of those with diabetes die from heart disease or stroke. coping with diabetes is one step ahed of keeping blood glucose levels under control–it is also crucial to deal with blood stress and cholesterol levels by means of healthy eating, physical task, and utilization of medications (if needed). By doing so, those with diabetes can reduce their risk. Aspirin therapy, if suggested by the health care team, and smoking cessation can in addition help reduce risk.
People with diabetes must take duty for their day-to-day care. Much of the every day care involucres keeping blood glucose levels from going too low or too high. When blood glucose levels drop too low–a situation known as hypoglycemia–a person can become nervous, shaky, and confused. Judgment might be impaired, and if blood glucose falls too low, fainting can happen.
A person can in addition become ill if blood glucose levels rise too high, a situation known as hyperglycemia.
People with diabetes should see a health care provider who will help them learn to deal with their diabetes and who will monitor their diabetes control. Most diabetic people get care from primary care physicians–internists, family practice physicians, or pediatricians. Often, having a team of providers can improve diabetes care. A team can include:
– a primary care provider such as an internist, a family practice physician, or a pediatrician
– an endocrinologist (a specialist in diabetes care)
– a dietitian, a nurse, and other health care providers who are licensed diabetes educators–experts in providing information about coping with diabetes
– a podiatrist (for foot care)
– an ophthalmologist or an optometrist (for eye care)
and other health care providers, such as cardiologists and other specialists. further, the team for a pregnant woman with type 1, type 2, or gestational diabetes should include an obstetrician who specializes in caring for women with diabetes. The team can in addition include a pediatrician or a neonatologist with experience taking care of babies born to women with diabetes.
The aim of diabetes management is to keep levels of blood glucose, blood stress, and cholesterol as more or less the usual range as safely probable. A radical study, the Diabetes Control and difficulties Trial (DCCT), sponsored by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), showed that keeping blood glucose levels more or less normal decreases the risk of establishing major difficulties of type 1 diabetes.
This 10-year study, completed in 1993, included 1,441 people with type 1 diabetes. The study compared the end result of two remedy approaches–intensive management and standard management–on the development and progression of eye, kidney, nerve, and cardiovascular difficulties of diabetes. Intensive remedy aimed to keep A1C levels as more or less normal (6 percent) as probable. Researchers discovered that study participants who maintained reduce levels of blood glucose by means of intensive management had significantly reduce rates of these difficulties. More currently, a follow-up study of DCCT participants showed that the capability of intensive control to reduce the difficulties of diabetes has persisted more than ten years after the trial finished.
The United Kingdom Prospective Diabetes Study, a European study completed in 1998, showed that intensive control of blood glucose and blood pressure decreased the risk of blindness, kidney disease, stroke, and heart attack in people with type 2 diabetes.
