Newly Diagnosed
What is diabetes?
Diabetes is a chronic medical condition which has two significant types of diagnosis, type 1 and type 2. There are also other types of diabetes, such as type 3 diabetes and gestational diabetes, which is related to pregnancy.
Diabetes prevents your body converting sugars and starches into energy. This is due to a problem associated with insulin that is needed to do this.
With diabetes, the body can either no longer produce insulin, an important hormone, or the body is resistant to the effects of insulin it does produce.
When we eat food, some special cells in our pancreas should produce insulin. The insulin transports glucose, made from carbohydrates in the food, into the cells, where it can be used by the body to provide energy.
If insulin is not produced, or does not work properly, glucose builds up in the bloodstream instead of getting into the cells.
Diagnosis
At diagnosis you should be given a full explanation of diabetes and a care plan. You should be involved in agreeing goals and targets achievable by you and offered the chance to attend an educational event.
You should have annual reviews for your diabetes including an explanation of blood tests, which, ideally, should be done a week or two prior to the consultation, to allow time for the results to be shared with you.
There is a national programme for eye screening for people with diabetes. You should also, as part of your annual health check, have your feet examined and your blood pressure reviewed.
Top tips to manage diabetes
Diabetes is never mild, but it can be managed:
- Being as physically active as possible improves insulin sensitivity.
- Aiming to keep blood glucose levels at your recommended targets can help
protect the eyes, heart, kidneys and feet. - What is your cholesterol level? If higher than recommended, cholesterol-lowering
treatments (like statins) can help protect the heart. - Regular blood pressure checks are important, as keeping at a recommended
target level can help protect the heart and kidneys. - Smoking is not good for health for several reasons, but adds risk when combined
with diabetes. Both thicken the blood, encourage clot formation, and put a strain
on the heart. - Aiming for a healthy weight, even small amounts of weight loss, can contribute to
improvements in both overall health and diabetes.
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