Diabetes – Minimizing Effects of Diabetes
Diabetes can present two main categories of problems, in the form of short term ill-effects and longer term harm. Minimizing both areas requires discipline.
The most common short-term effect is sudden dips and spikes in blood sugar. These can cause dizziness, confusion, upset stomach, and other problems. While some diabetics seldom have this problem, most will occasionally experience mild episodes. Routine self-care can help minimize episodes.
Monitoring is sometimes painful and burdensome, but is an absolute must. Many glucose monitoring devices now reduce or eliminate the need for painful finger pricks.
Some contain tiny, powerful lasers that create a hole through which blood oozes. They produce only a mild tingling sensation. One recent device senses glucose level through the skin using an infrared beam, requiring no blood sample at all.
The aim is to maintain a normal or near normal glucose-insulin balance. A fasting glucose level of under 99mg/dL is normal in non-diabetics. After a heavy meal, glucose may increase to over 200 mg/dL, but in non-diabetics released insulin will bring the level down within two hours. So keeping a proper glucose level means maintaining a balance, rather than keeping the glucose level at a steady number.
Monitoring should include routine physician visits and an A1C test four times a year. The glucose level at a particular time can be measured with various tests. However, the A1C test measures the average level over time. The test name comes the abbreviation for glycated hemoglobin-HbA1c.
Hemoglobin molecules in the red blood cells carry oxygen to tissues. The extra glucose in the bloodstream of a diabetic causes that hemoglobin to get glycated. That effect persists and allows an A1C test to measure the accumulated result.
Long term the effects will accumulate, good or bad. Over 10-15 years or longer, many diabetes patients of the past would endure blindness, kidney damage, nerve damage and other ill health effects. That no longer has to be the case. With contemporary understanding of the disease and modern technology it’s possible to reduce the odds of those effects nearly to those without the disease.
Exercise and diet are two key elements for the overwhelming majority of diabetes sufferers to help achieve the right glucose-insulin balance.
Because diet and exercise help keep body fat low, the effects of diabetes are minimized. Body fat plays a role in hormone production and release and it also interferes with the body’s reaction to glucose levels. Several studies show a definite correlation between the degree of diabetes and the degree of body fat, but the mechanisms for this are unclear.
Proper weight and body fat maintenance will also help keep blood pressure at the right level. Chronic high blood pressure is one of the major elements in increasing the risk of common diabetes problems: heart attack and stroke, eye and nerve damage, and others.
With care the diabetic can lead a fairly normal life. Checking the blood glucose level a few times a day can mean fewer health problems and less worry in the long-run.
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