Diabetes

What is diabetes?

Diabetes is a chronic disease that causes high blood sugar. Your blood sugar naturally rises after you eat carbohydrates, but then your pancreas releases insulin to restore normal sugar levels.

Insulin eliminates excess blood sugar by escorting it into cells that need it for energy or sending it to be stored as fat.

Diabetes develops when your pancreas can't produce insulin, or the cells in your body stop responding to insulin.

What are the different types of diabetes?

There are several types of diabetes, but the two most common are:

Type 1 diabetes

This type begins when your immune system attacks and damages the pancreas. As a result, it stops producing insulin. Type 1 diabetes was originally called juvenile diabetes because it usually occurs in childhood. 

Type 2 diabetes

Type 2 diabetes occurs when cells stop responding to insulin, a condition called insulin resistance. Your pancreas still produces insulin, but it can't do its job properly, so your blood sugar stays too high. This type of diabetes usually appears in adults because it develops gradually over many years.

What symptoms does diabetes cause?

No matter what type of diabetes you have, you experience symptoms such as:

• Excessive thirst
• Frequent urination
• Increased hunger
• Dry, itchy skin
• Blurred vision
• Fatigue
• Unexplained weight loss

In advanced stages of diabetes, you may develop tingling or numbness in your feet.

What complications occur due to diabetes?

Diabetes significantly increases your risk of developing:

• Heart disease
• Diabetic foot ulcers
• Chronic kidney disease
• Peripheral artery disease
• Peripheral nerve damage
• Diabetic retinopathy

These conditions cause heart attacks, strokes, vision loss, kidney failure, and foot amputations.

How is diabetes treated?

Dr. Balasubramanian provides comprehensive adult care for diabetes. He helps you prevent the disease with annual physicals and offers advanced diagnostics such as autonomic nervous system (ANS) testing to detect nerve problems. 

After diabetes develops, he offers chronic disease management, creating a plan to keep your blood sugar levels in the normal range.

Diabetes management includes:

• Diabetes education
• Diet and nutrition management
• Weight loss management
• Medication management
• Glucose monitoring

Following a diet that controls carbohydrates and getting enough exercise may be all you need to lower your blood sugar and keep it in the healthy range.

If you have Type 1 diabetes, you need to take insulin. People with Type 2 diabetes may need insulin or another medication that lowers blood sugar.

Don't wait to get help for diabetes. Call Anand Balasubramanian, MD, PA, or request an appointment online today.