Comments on: How do you tell if your diabetic?

By: Tim B

Tim B — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 00:15:57 +0000

The only way is to test your blood/sugar level. It only takes a minute.

By: Anti-PeTA

**Anti-PeTA** — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 04:25:19 +0000

Do You Have Diabetes?
Millions of people have diabetes mellitus, commonly called diabetes. You may be surprised to know that many of these people don’t even know they have it.

Diabetes is a serious disease and should not be ignored. If you have it, correct treatment can help you live a long and healthy life.

What Is Diabetes?
If you have diabetes, your body can’t make or use insulin. Insulin helps change sugar into energy to keep you alive.

There are different kinds of diabetes. The main ones are type 1 and type 2.

Type 1 Diabetes
This type of diabetes is mostly found in children and young adults. If you have type 1 diabetes, your body does not make insulin and you must inject insulin daily.

You May:
urinate often
be very thirsty
be very hungry
lose a lot of weight
be very tired
be irritable
have blurred vision
have trouble seeing.
Type 2 Diabetes
Most people with diabetes have this form of the disease. Type 2 is usually found in people over 45, who have diabetes in their family, who are overweight, who don’t exercise, and who have cholesterol problems. It is also common in certain racial and ethnic groups (blacks, American Indians, and Hispanics) and in women who had diabetes when they were pregnant. If you have type 2 diabetes, your body cannot make enough insulin or correctly use it. Treatment is diabetes pills and sometimes insulin injections, as well as diet and exercise.

You May Have:
any of the symptoms of type 1 diabetes
a lot of infections
cuts or bruises that heal slowly
tingling or numbness in the hands or feet
skin, gum, or bladder infections that keep coming back.
Controlling Diabetes
Daily monitoring and careful control of blood sugar levels are the most important steps to take for people with diabetes. If not treated, diabetes can cause:

High blood sugar (which could make you thirsty, tired, lose weight, urinate often, or give you infections that won’t go away)
Many serious health problems (which could hurt your eyes, kidneys, nerves, or heart).
Warning: Low Blood Sugar
People with diabetes may develop low blood sugar because their blood has too much insulin or other blood sugar-lowering medication or from not eating enough food. It is important to follow the eating and medication schedule your doctor has prescribed to avoid low blood sugar.

Low blood sugar could make you shaky, dizzy, sweaty, hungry, have a headache, have pale skin color, have sudden mood or behavior changes, have clumsy or jerky movements, have difficulty paying attention, feel confused, or have tingling sensations around the mouth.

Taking Care of Your Diabetes
The best way to take care of your diabetes is to make sure the levels or amount of sugar in your blood are near the normal range. This will make you feel better and help you stay healthy.

Your doctor will tell you how often to check your blood sugar level. To do this, you will need to take a drop of your blood and place it on a special test strip. Then a device, called a blood glucose meter, reads the strip. This device measures the amount of sugar in your blood.

Writing down this level, along with the time and date, will help you see how well your treatment plan is working.

Remember:
A person’s blood sugar level rises after eating any meal that contains carbohydrates or protein. Table sugar (also called ?sucrose) counts as a carbohydrate. Artificial sweeteners, such as saccharin, aspartame (NutraSweet), and sucralose (Splenda), do not count as carbohydrates or fats. They make food taste sweet. But they do not raise blood sugar levels and have little or no calories.

What Else Can You Do?
Eat well-balanced meals. The right amount of healthy food will keep your weight under control and help manage your diabetes.

Your body needs food from the four main food groups every day:

Fruits and vegetables (oranges, apples, bananas, carrots, and spinach)
Whole grains, cereals, and bread (wheat, rice, oats, bran, and barley)
Dairy products (milk, cheese, and yogurt)
Meats, fish, poultry, eggs, dried beans, and nuts.
Remember:
Too much fat and cholesterol in your diet can be very harmful to people with diabetes. Food that is high in fat includes red meat, dairy products (whole milk, cream, cheese, and ice cream), egg yolks, butter, salad dressings, vegetable oils, and many desserts.

Can You Do Anything Else?
Exercise is important for good diabetes control. It usually lowers blood sugar and may help insulin work better. Exercise and a healthy diet can also help you take off extra pounds if you are overweight.

Warning:
Check with your doctor before starting any exercise program. You may need a snack before or during the activity to avoid having low blood sugar while you exercise.

By: db2byl

db2byl — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 09:29:42 +0000

Going to the doctor and being tested is the most accurate way. And if you are, then you will have to visit him sooner or later, you can’t survive this disease without care, meds and followup. No one likes going but think what it would be like if we didn’t have them. With your family history, you do need to be checked out and watched. Go for it and put your mind at ease and get the question answered now.

By: newfiegirl

newfiegirl — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 09:28:52 +0000

You really should see your doctor if this is a concern of yours, and get tested. However, some symptoms are: excessive thirst, excessive peeing, weight loss, tired, and even a “fruity” smell off your breath. Best advice is to get checked out. Only takes a blood test.

By: Dallas S

Dallas S — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 16:16:49 +0000

If you are a diabetic you well have to go to the Doctor. It better to find out now and do something about it then later.

By: Taci V

Taci V — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 09:04:49 +0000

Diabetes often goes undiagnosed because many of its symptoms seem so harmless. Recent studies indicate that the early detection of diabetes symptoms and treatment can decrease the chance of developing the complications of diabetes.

Some diabetes symptoms include:

Frequent urination
Excessive thirst
Extreme hunger
Unusual weight loss
Increased fatigue
Irritability
Blurry vision

By: Miss D

Miss D — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 19:34:52 +0000

I think your best bet is to just go to the doctor, because if the test turns out positive, you’re going to have to see your doctor about it anyway.

However, there are diabetes screening tests that you can do at home. Here is one I found that is $12.95, but I am sure there are many others:

By: knowssignlanguage

knowssignlanguage — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 23:34:45 +0000

get a tester you can get on at CVS and they have cheap ones like ten dollers but the stips are kinda high and just test yourself ever so offten then you can just call a nurse at a doctors office and say is this high or ask what the surger is supposed to be for a non diabetic person or look it up on the net and go from there.
that is what my husband did bc his family members are diabetic luckily he is not but he test ever so offten just in case reasons.

By: Info_Please

Info_Please — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 02:22:30 +0000

Almost all diabetics have meters to test blood levels. Have one of them test you.

By: bevrossg

bevrossg — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 20:46:28 +0000

A high level of thirst and frequent urination are two of the symptoms of diabetes….it’s so easy to check and so important to manage if you do have it….don’t wait and take the chance of damaging your body by not controlling the sugar levels if they are high.