Download DIABETES - Pearl Medical Practice

DIABETES
Educational session for patients
at
PEARL MEDICAL PRACTICE
Dr P Mehta
2nd July 2013
It’s a big problem!
Diabetes is an important medical condition
that causes a lot of illness and deaths
Around 3.75 million people have it and
approximately 7 million people are at a
high risk of getting it.
Lots of people don’t know they have it.
In the UK about 1 in 5 people over 65
have diabetes
What is diabetes?
Diabetes is when the level of sugar in your
blood becomes higher than what is
considered normal.
Mainly 2 types of diabetes
Type 1: Less common, diagnosed mostly when
young, need insulin injections
Type 2: More common, normally occurs later in
life, treated with tablets or insulin
Why does the sugar level go up?
The body makes a hormone called
INSULIN. Insulin helps to keep our
glucose levels within a safe range by
making cells in the body take up glucose
in the blood
In diabetes the following happens
Type 1: The body doesn’t produced any insulin
Type 2: The body doesn’t produce enough
insulin or the insulin doesn’t work properly.
Taken from www.humanillnesses.com
Type 2 Diabetes
More common
Onset is usually later in life (after 40) but
can happen at any time
The body doesn’t make enough insulin or
the insulin it makes doesn’t work properly
(insulin resistance).
Lots of risk factors that are in your control
so you can do something to help reduce
your risk.
Risk factors for Diabetes
Non-modifiable risk factors (things that are
not in your control)
Genetics: increased risk if a 1st degree relative
has diabetes
Ethnicity: more common in people from S.Asian
and Afro-carribean backgrounds.
Risk factors continued
Modifiable risk factors (things that you can
do something about)
Weight; being overweight increased your risk
as does carrying weight around your middle
Lack of exercise and physical inactivity
Other medical problems like high blood
pressure, high cholesterol, previous heart
attack or stroke
How would I know if I have diabetes?

Taken from made4all.com
Other symptoms
Blurry vision
Recurrent skin infections
Wounds/cuts that are slow to heal
Unexpected weight loss
Loss of feeling or burning in the feet
Some people will have NO symptoms
Testing for Diabetes
Normally we do a fasting blood sugar
level.
If the level is borderline you would be
asked to do a glucose tolerance test to
see if you are
1. Normal
2. Borderline (impaired fasting glucose)
3. Diabetic
Why must
you get
treatment?

Taken from reversediabetes2.com
Treatment
Depending on how severe your diabetes is
when it is picked up
Diet only; if you diabetes is ‘mild’, then you
can have a trial of trying to control your
sugars by addressing your diet, doing
more exercise and making lifestyle
changes
Medications: If your diabetes is significant
you will need to take medications
Medications
Medications
There are many medications around which
work on the insulin that you still have in your
body to try and make it more effective at
controlling your sugar levels
Not everyone needs insulin, but if after
maximising all oral treatments then insulin may
be the only next best option
Monitoring
 If you are diabetic we monitor you diabetes
control by checking something call HBa1c. This
gives us an indication of well your sugar control
has been in the last 3 months.
 If you do not have diabetes but were deemed to
be borderline we would check this on a yearly
basis unless you had symptoms in which case
we would do it sooner.
Annual checks for diabetes
 Bloods – check your sugar control, cholesterol and
kidneys
 Eye check – to see if there is any damage to the back of
the eyes
 Feet check – check that the blood supply and nerves to
the feet are in tact
 General health check; medications, lifestyle, diet, how
you are coping
 Urine check – to see if there is any sign of kidney
disease
 Must take the flu vaccination as you would be high risk of
infections.
What can I do?
 Eat well
Cut down on fatty foods, sugary foods and drinks, fried
foods, foods high in fat content
Eat more fruit and veg, pulses, lentils, fish, wholegrain
pasta’s and rice
 More exercise
Helps reduce blood glucose levels
Aim for 20-30mins a day 5 times a week
 Stop smoking
Don’t add to the problems that you have. Smoking and
diabetes increase your risk of many serious problems
like heart attacks, stroke.
Ive already got diabetes so theres no
point?!
NO! Its never too late to make changes
Even if you have diabetes, eating better,
increasing your physical activity levels,
stopping smoking, taking medications and
attending your check ups will
- Help control your diabetes and stop it getting
worse and worse
- Help prevent serious complications
References
Diabetes UK: www.diabetes.org.uk
Patient.co.uk
THANK YOU
NOTES
NOTES