Many people don’t think of diabetes as a serious condition. In fact, if diagnosed and properly managed, it doesn’t have to be. The problem is that frequently this isn’t the case, bringing possibly fatal consequences.
75,000 people with diabetes died in 2008/9. Of those, 24,000 deaths were classed as ‘avoidable’ in a recent report by the
NHS Information Centre. With improved health checks, better diets and sensible management of the condition, these annual deaths could be eliminated. This is of particular importance to the elderly, because around three quarters of the excess deaths were in people over 65.
It is estimated that around a third of the people with diabetes in the UK do not even know they have the condition, so it is vital that people are alert to the symptoms, seek proper diagnosis and ensure they manage their diabetes sensibly. With careful management diabetes can be kept in the background of your life, but undiagnosed or neglected it can be a killer.
Diagnosing Diabetes
You can read an explanation of the types of diabetes and the symptoms to look out for in our general article on the subject,
What is Diabetes?
If you suspect you may have diabetes then it is important to be checked by your doctor. Many people are familiar with the idea that urine screening can detect excess sugar, but whilst this technique can provide an indication that an individual may suffer from the condition it is not conclusive proof. A proper blood sample needs to be taken after you have fasted for eight hours. This is then analysed in the laboratory to establish whether there is excessive glucose in your system.
Less commonly you may be given a glucose tolerance test. This also requires eight hours of fasting but you are then given a glucose drink to establish how the body deals with this.
If you are over 45 you should consider being tested for diabetes, especially if you are overweight, inactive, suffering from high blood pressure or with a family history of diabetes. This is important not only to ensure you can be treated for the condition if you are a sufferer. Crucially, you could be diagnosed as ‘pre-diabetes’. This means you are in danger of developing the condition, but with diet and lifestyle changes you could delay the onset or even prevent it from developing at all!
Treating Diabetes
If you are diagnosed with diabetes you will be referred to an NHS diabetic clinic, where you will be advised on managing what is actually a very complex condition. It has been estimated that around 9% of NHS spending is on care for people with diabetes and related complications, so there is a comprehensive support structure available to you.
Treatment of diabetes is all about managing your blood sugar level because if this is high then over time organs such as the kidneys and eyes can be damaged and in extreme cases you may be at risk of falling into a diabetic coma.
Insulin injections are necessary for the more severe type 1 diabetes but for the majority of people with type 2 should not be needed. For most people diabetes can be managed by controlling diet and exercise, regular checks of blood glucose levels and sometimes by oral medication. There is actually a wide range of management options and this will vary from person to person.
In many ways, the lifestyle advice for people with diabetes is similar to the healthy lifestyle advice for everyone, except that for sufferers it is essential to avoid health complications.
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Eat plenty of high-fibre foods and those with a low glycaemic index (meaning energy is released slowly during digestion). Fish, lean meats, vegetables and unsalted nuts are all good choices.
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Take regular exercise. This doesn’t have to mean visits to the gym – just a 20 minute walk five times a week makes an enormous difference. As well as helping with blood sugar management, regular exercise can also increase the body’s sensitivity to insulin, which is very helpful for diabetes sufferers.
In addition, those with diabetes will need to test their blood sugar levels. This involves pricking a finger and testing a drop of blood on a test strip and blood glucose meter. For most diabetics this is the least welcome part of the care regime, but it is essential and keeping a record of your blood sugar levels gradually helps you to improve your lifestyle as you learn what works for controlling your condition.
There are alternatives, however. Currently on the market are wrist watch monitors which use a small electric current to draw glucose into a gel disc for measurement. This avoids the need for pinprick testing.
A Positive Future
Being diagnosed with diabetes can be very upsetting and it certainly means making changes to your life. However, many of those changes are what we should all be doing anyway in order to stay healthy and live longer! With the proper care and support combined with a responsible approach to managing the condition on your part, diabetes need be nothing more than an inconvenience and severe complications can be avoided.
Furthermore, many advances in treatment are under development. Blood monitoring could eventually be handled by microchips, for instance, and improvements in the technique of transplanting healthy insulin-producing cells from non-diabetics are being made all the time.
Nevertheless, the most important improvement if you are not currently a sufferer needs to be in your lifestyle – then you can avoid the condition entirely!
Helpful Advice from Nobilis
Nobilis
in-home care helps people with a wide range of medical conditions as well as the elderly and infirm. We believe in the importance of enabling people to live independently and part of that process involves empowering people with information. If you understand medical problems, treatments and the system then you are in a better place to improve your situation, or that of a loved one.
That’s why we have produced this information library and why we also invite you to get in touch with our friendly support team if you have any questions about helping yourself or a relative deal with living independently. Whether you are interested in using our services or not, we are committed to helping the wider community and will offer any advice we can without any hard sell or obligation.
Call us with any questions on 0845 680 0225.