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Diabetes

Diabetes

Half of the people who have diabetes don’t even know it, and our chances of developing this serious disease increases with age. Find out what you can do to help prevent and screen for diabetes.

Be Informed

Why You Need To Know About Diabetes

Diabetes is a serious disease. If not diagnosed and treated early, it can have dire con-sequences, causing blindness, heart attack, stroke, kidney failure, birth defects, and amputations. Diabetes kills more than 182,000 Americans every year.

You may not know you have it. Onset is often gradual and difficult to identify—you can have diabetes without any symptoms. In fact, half of those affected don’t even know they have the disease until they seek help for one of its complications.

It’s a growing disease. About 16 million Americans have diabetes—that’s almost 6% of us. As the baby boom population ages, the number is expected to rise even further.

Risky Business

Risk Around The Corner

Risk increases with age. People over 45 should have lab tests every three years to screen for diabetes, since there often aren’t any obvious symptoms. 90% of people with diabetes are over age 40. By age 65, 18.4% of people have diabetes.

Exercising and maintaining a healthy weight may reduce your risk of ever developing the disease.

Early diagnosis is important.

The devastating complications of diabetes can often be prevented with early diagnosis. In fact, some people with the more common type of diabetes can be treated with diet, exercise, and weight loss. Excellent treatment is available. People with diabetes today can live long and productive lives if they take good care of themselves. Mary Tyler Moore, International Chairman of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, is an example.

You are at risk if:

• You are 45 or older
• You have a family history of diabetes
• You are overweight
• You have high blood pressure (at or above 140/90)
• You are inactive
• You are Native American, Hispanic American, African American, Asian American, or Pacific Islander
• You have a history of diabetes during pregnancy
• You are a woman who has had a baby weighing more than nine pounds at birth

It could happen to you...What Is Diabetes?

There are several types of diabetes, all of which are caused by the body’s inability to produce or properly use insulin. Insulin is a hormone that maintains the proper level of sugar in your blood. After eating, your food is broken down into glucose (sugar), which then passes into your bloodstream and to your body’s cells for energy. However, for your cells to receive the sugar, they need insulin to “escort” it in. Diabetes causes excess sugar in the blood, which damages the blood vessels and nerves.

Type 1 Diabetes

Type 1 diabetes is often diagnosed in children and young adults, and may have a sud-den and severe onset requiring emergency medical care.

The body’s immune system attacks and destroys the ability of the pancreas to make insulin, so people with Type 1 must eat a special diet, get regular exercise, and check their blood sugar levels and give themselves shots of insulin repeatedly through the day.

Researchers believe several genes, as well as diet or exposure to certain viruses, may trigger the immune system to destroy insulin-producing beta cells. Some symptoms may not surface for several years, but then seem to emerge suddenly, often after an illness.

Type 2 Diabetes

90 to 95% of people with diabetes have Type 2. It’s usually diagnosed in older adults, although overweight children sometimes develop it as well. More than 5 million people have Type 2 diabetes and don’t know it. It is caused by the pancreas not making enough insulin or the body not using it well. People can have Type 2 diabetes for years without any symptoms, yet the disease is damaging their bodies. That’s why it’s so important to get a screening test if you’re at risk—and if you’re over 45, you are.

Gestational Diabetes

3-5% of pregnant women develop gestational diabetes. It usually goes away after the pregnancy, but almost half of these women will later develop Type 2 diabetes. These women will need to begin treatment immediately, as the disease can damage the growing fetus. Screening for gestational diabetes is part of any good prenatal care program.

People with diabetes may have some, or none, of the following symptoms:

• Frequent urination
• Constant thirst and hunger
• Weight loss
• Sudden vision changes
• Extreme fatigue
• Slow healing of sores
• Recurring bladder, vaginal, and skin infections
• Irritability
• Tingling or loss of feeling in hands or feet
• Very dry skin

Take The TEST Of Your Life

Living With Diabetes

There is no cure for diabetes yet, but we know a lot about managing the disease. If you are diabetic, living a healthy lifestyle that includes a good diet, exercise, and weight control, you can help keep your blood sugar levels at an acceptable range—the most important thing you can do to prevent long-term complications. Good control of blood sugar can reduce your risk of eye, nerve, and kidney complications by 50 to 70 percent and lower your risk for heart attack, stroke, and limb amputation. Depending on the type and severity of your diabetes, you may need to combine these measures with medication to keep your blood sugar under control.

Do you know...What’s Your Risk?

More than 5 million of the 16 million Americans who have diabetes don’t know it. Take the following quiz to determine your risk. Write in the points next to each statement that is true. If a statement is not true, put a zero. Then add up your score.

• My weight is equal to or above that listed in the at-risk weight chart below
  Yes (5) _____
• I am under 65 years of age and I get little or no exercise during a usual day
  Yes (5) _____
• I am between 45-64 years of age
  Yes (5) _____
• I am 65 years of age or older
  Yes (5) _____
• I am a woman who has had a baby weighing more than nine pounds at birth
  Yes (5) _____
• I have a sister/brother with diabetes
  Yes (5) _____
• I have a parent with diabetes
  Yes (5) _____
• TOTAL __________

If you scored 3-9 points: You are probably at low risk for developing diabetes now, but you could be at a higher risk in the future. Exercising regularly and maintaining a healthy weight can help prevent diabetes. The American Diabetes Association recommends everyone be tested for the disease at age 45 and every three years thereafter. Those at increased risk should be tested at a younger age and more frequently.

If you scored 10 points or more: You are at high risk for having diabetes. See a doctor soon and find out for sure. This chart shows unhealthy weights for men and women age 35 or older by height. At-risk weights are lower for individuals under age 35.

Here's Your Chance To TAKE ACTION!

What you can do...Keep Your Diabetes In Control

Weight control

Maintaining your proper weight is a key component in managing Type 2 diabetes and in preventing its onset. 80 to 90% of people with Type 2 diabetes are overweight. Being overweight causes your cells to become more resistant to your own insulin. Losing excess weight will reduce that resistance and in some cases, bring your blood sugar back into the normal range. Exercise and diet can help you control your weight.

A Healthy Diet

A diet containing a variety of high-fiber foods, fresh fruits, vegetables, lean meats, and fish will help you control your blood sugar levels. Some experts believe that slow-acting carbohydrates like dried beans, legumes, peanuts, yogurt, apples, broccoli, oranges, and whole grains are better than fast-acting carbohydrates like sweet drinks and white bread. Others believe it’s the total carbohydrate intake that counts. Talk it over with your doctor.

Small, Regular Meals

Avoid very large meals or skipping meals, which can cause wide glucose swings. Instead, eat smaller servings at regular periods throughout the day.

Exercise

If you’re at risk for developing diabetes, exercise may help prevent it. If you already have diabetes, exercise can reduce or eliminate the need for insulin. Exercise helps control weight, makes cells more sensitive to insulin, uses up blood sugar, increases blood flow, improves circulation throughout the body, and reduces your risk for cardiovascular disease. Try to exercise at the same time each day and check your blood glucose before and after exercising. Talk to your doctor before starting a new exercise program.

Regular Communication With Your Health Care Professionals

Because diabetes is a complex disease, you may need a health care team including your doctor, nurse, dietitian, and possibly an eye or foot doctor or cardiologist. You and your doctor will put together a diabetes care plan that will work with your lifestyle.

You need to stay in touch with your doctor by phone every week—or even daily—when starting a new diabetes care plan or making big changes in your current plan. Thereafter, you should see your doctor two to three times a year. If you take insulin, are having trouble controlling your glucose levels, or are having complications, you’ll need to see your doctor more often.

Ouch! Problems with compliance

It’s estimated that 70% of people with diabetes don’t test their blood sugar levels daily. One reason is that it hurts to prick their fingers to produce blood to test. The Food and Drug Administration has approved a new battery-operated laser that makes a hole in the finger virtually pain free. So far it’s too heavy to carry around, and too expensive for most patients, but a home model is coming. Researchers are working on other, even less invasive testing methods as well.

Be Prepared In Case Of An Emergency

Always carry a fast-acting sugar with you such as juice or candy in case you experience a drop or rise in blood sugar levels. This is particularly important if you exercise. Also, never skip meals or snacks. Consider carrying an ID card which can be obtained from the American Diabetes Association that includes symptoms for high or low sugar levels and actions to take.

Symptoms of high blood sugar levels

• drowsiness
• extreme thirst
• flushed skin
• vomiting
• heavy breathing
• unconsciousness

Action: If possible, check your blood sugar level and take insulin if it’s prescribed. If not better in 15 minutes, go to the emergency room.

Symptoms of Low blood sugar levels

• poor coordination
• anger
• disorientation
• sudden hunger
• sweating
• trembling
• pale color
• unconsciousness

Action: Take a fast-acting sugar such as juice, soft drink (not diet), candy or milk. If not better in 15 minutes, go to the emergency room.

For More Information

American Diabetes Association
www.diabetes.org
National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases
www.niddk.nih.gov

A PUBLICATION OF THE
Wellness Councils of America
9802 Nicholas Street, Suite 315
Omaha, NE 68114-2106
Phone: (402) 827-3590
Fax: (402) 827-3594
www.welcoa.org

©2006 Wellness Councils of America

The information contained in this brochure has been carefully reviewed for accuracy. It is not intended to replace the advice of your physician or health care provider.