More than 14% of adults in Oklahoma have diabetes, a chronic condition that affects how your body uses blood glucose. Too much glucose in your blood may lead to serious health problems, such as neuropathy or heart disease. At The Heart and Medical Center and Urgent Care in Durant, Oklahoma, the board-certified internal medicine team understands the effects diabetes has on your health and offers a comprehensive program to help you gain control over your blood glucose. To schedule an appointment with the patient-focused team, contact the office by phone or online today.
Diabetes Q & A
What is diabetes?
If you have diabetes, it means you have too much glucose in your blood. Glucose is vital to health because it serves as the primary source of energy for all the cells, tissues, and organs in your body.
Diabetes develops due to alterations in the production or function of insulin, which is a hormone made in your pancreas responsible for transporting glucose from your blood into your cells.
Chronic types of diabetes include:
Type 1 diabetes
Type 1 diabetes develops when your immune system attacks and destroys the cells that make insulin. The diagnosis of this chronic disease often occurs during childhood or adolescence. It requires you to have daily insulin injections for survival.
Type 2 diabetes
With type 2 diabetes, your pancreas may produce insulin, but it’s not functioning as it should. This type of diabetes is more common and can occur at any age, but a diagnosis is most often in adults. Being overweight or obese, not getting enough exercise, and a family history of diabetes increases your risk of type 2 diabetes.
Prediabetes is a potentially reversible form of diabetes in which your blood sugars are higher than normal but not high enough for a diabetes diagnosis. Gestational diabetes, which develops in some women during pregnancy, is also a reversible form or diabetes that resolves after the baby is born but increases the risk of developing type 2 diabetes in the future.
What are the symptoms of diabetes?
Diabetes symptoms vary depending on the type of diabetes you have. With prediabetes or type 2 diabetes, you may not experience any symptoms. With type 1 diabetes, the symptoms may develop quickly and be severe.
Symptoms of diabetes include:
- Increase in urination
- Insatiable thirst and hunger
- Unexpected weight loss
- Fatigue
- Poor wound healing
- Blurry vision
- Increase in infections (skin, vaginal, or bladder)
If you’re experiencing these symptoms, contact the team at The Heart and Medical Center and Urgent Care for an evaluation. The team can determine if you have diabetes with a blood test.
What are diabetes treatments?
The board-certified internal medicine team at The Heart and Medical Center and Urgent Care develops individualized treatment plans based on the type of diabetes you have and the severity of your blood glucose levels. Your treatment plan may include diet modification, exercise plan, or diabetes medication.
Being overweight or obese not only increases your risk of type 2 diabetes but also affects blood glucose control. Losing weight may help improve blood glucose levels and your need for diabetes medication. The team at The Heart and Medical Center and Urgent Care offers non-surgical medical weight loss plans, including FDA-approved treatments for weight loss and hCG treatment, to help you lose the pounds.
Contact the experts at The Heart and Medical Center and Urgent Care by calling the office or clicking the online booking button today.