If you are concerned about diabetes, make an appointment with your doctor immediately. Type 1 diabetes is caused by the pancreatic cells that make up the islets of Langerhans fail to produce insulin; it is an autoimmune disease that blocks the functioning of these cells. Type 2 diabetes, on the other hand, is related to lifestyle (lack of physical activity and excessive sugar consumption). It is important to know the signs and symptoms of this condition and understand how it is diagnosed in order to treat it as soon as possible.
Steps
Part 1 of 2: Recognizing the Signs and Symptoms of Diabetes
Step 1. Be aware of the signs described below
If you have two or more of these symptoms, you should make an appointment with your doctor for further tests. Common signs and symptoms of type 1 and type 2 diabetes are:
- Excessive thirst
- Excessive hunger;
- Blurred vision;
- Frequent urination (you have to get up three or more times a night to urinate)
- Fatigue (especially after meals)
- Irritability;
- The wounds do not heal or do so very slowly.
Step 2. Observe your lifestyle
People who lead sedentary lives (practicing very little or no physical activity) are at a higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes. type 2 diabetes.
Remember that type 2 diabetes is acquired in the course of life, usually due to poor eating habits, while type 1 is a congenital disease that often occurs in childhood
Step 3. Go to the doctor
The only way to confirm or deny your doubts is to go to the doctor and undergo diagnostic tests (usually blood tests). The results of the tests will allow you to understand if your health conditions are "normal", "prediabetic" (you are at high risk of developing diabetes soon if you do not take action) or if you have "diabetes".
- It is better to understand quickly if you are sick or not, because if you are diabetic it is essential to intervene quickly.
- Long-term damage from diabetes to the body is usually the result of "out of control blood sugar" for too long. This means that if you get treatment early to control your blood sugar levels, you can avoid or "postpone" many health problems related to this condition. This is why rapid diagnosis and treatment are imperative.
Part 2 of 2: Get tested for diabetes
Step 1. Get examined by a doctor
Your family doctor will give you two tests to check your blood sugar. A fasting blood test is usually done, but a urine test can also be done.
- A normal glucose level is between 70 and 100.
- If you are in borderline "prediabetes" conditions, your blood sugar is between 100 and 125.
- If the results of the tests confirm a blood sugar over 125, you are considered diabetic.
Step 2. Run a test for measuring glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c)
This is a new test that some diabetologists use to diagnose and control the disease. In practice, we consider the hemoglobin present in red blood cells and the amount of sugar connected to it. The higher the value, the greater the amount of sugar, which affects the risk of suffering from this disease (after all, diabetes is an increase in the concentration of sugar in the blood).
- Below is a list that helps you understand the relationship between normal values of glycated hemoglobin and blood sugar. If the HbA1c value is 6, then the blood sugar level is 135. A glycemic level of 7 corresponds to a glycemic level of 170, while a result of 8 indicates a sugar level of 205. If HbA1c is equal to 9, then the blood sugar is 240; if it is 10 you will have a blood sugar of 275; if it is 11, the glycemic value is 301 and finally a reading of 12 leads to a glycemic value of 345.
- In most testing laboratories, the glycated hemoglobin range of 4.0 to 5.9% is considered normal. When diabetes is poorly controlled, the subject has an HbA1c value of 8.0% or more, while if it is well controlled the figure drops below 7.0%.
- Considering glycated hemoglobin offers the advantage of having a better view of the development of the disease over time; it reflects the average blood sugar level of the last three months, while the blood sugar test alone offers instantaneous values, relative to the time of blood sampling.
Step 3. Treat diabetes
In this case you will have to undergo insulin injections or take it in pill form every day, you will have to control your diet and exercise.
- Sometimes, in less severe cases of type 2 diabetes, a diet and exercise program is sufficient. Good lifestyle changes can reverse the development of the disease and bring metabolic values back to "normal". This must be a great motivation to push you to make changes!
- You will need to reduce the amount of sugar and carbohydrates you consume and exercise for half an hour a day. If you follow these guidelines, then you will notice an appreciable reduction in blood sugar.
- Patients with type 1 diabetes, on the other hand, need insulin injections, because their disease is autoimmune and their body does not produce this hormone.
- It is vital to treat diabetes. Remember that if you do not treat hyperglycemia, it will cause serious health problems, such as nerve damage (neuropathy) and kidney damage, including kidney failure, blindness, severe circulatory disorders due to difficult-to-treat infections, which in turn lead to gangrene (especially in the lower limbs). In some cases, limb amputation must be used to prevent necrosis from spreading.
Step 4. Undergo control tests
Patients who fall into the "prediabetic" or "diabetic" category need to have blood tests repeated approximately every three months. This is because it is necessary to monitor improvements (for those who have made positive lifestyle changes) or deterioration in health conditions.
- By repeating your blood tests, you help your doctor decide on any insulin dose changes. The goal of the diabetologist is to "bring back" the glycemic levels within a certain range, so it is really essential to have always updated reference values.
- Furthermore, the continuous exams can become a valid motivation to train more, to adopt healthier eating and living habits, since the results of your efforts will be visible and verifiable thanks to the analyzes!
