Type 2 diabetes treatment

Many people with type 2 diabetes do not require medical treatment to control their blood glucose levels; instead, they are encouraged to make lifestyle changes and impose self-treatment measures to treat their condition; examples of this include:

?      Losing weight

?      Adopting a healthy diet

?      Cutting out salty, fatty and sugary foods

?      Exercising on a regular basis (30 minutes 5 times per week)

If these changes are not sufficient to control blood glucose levels and the individual is still experiencing symptoms, they may be prescribed medication; at first, usually one type of medication may be prescribed but as the conditions often gets gradually worse, other medicines may be introduced and in some cases, insulin injections may be used. Examples of medication used to treat type 2 diabetes include Metformin, Sulphonylureas, Gliptins and Glitazones.

Type 1 diabetes treatment

There is no cure for diabetes but there are treatments available to control blood sugar levels and reduce symptoms. For people with type 1 diabetes, the most common treatment is the insulin injection; patients are taught how to inject themselves and inject insulin at specific times during the day; this replaces the natural insulin which should be produced by the pancreas. Some patients prefer to use insulin pumps; pumps allow patients to control the flow of the insulin and enables patients to get their insulin without having to use injections.

Monitoring

Diabetes increases the risk of serious health problems and conditions and it is therefore important for all patients, from people with childhood and teenage diabetes, to adults, to see their care team on a regular basis. This helps to ensure that their blood sugar levels are being controlled effectively and also means that doctors can identify early warning signs and symptoms of associated health conditions.

What happens if diabetes is left untreated?

If diabetes is left untreated, it can be very dangerous. People with diabetes have a higher risk of developing serious health conditions, including heart attacks, strokes, vision problems and kidney disease and if the condition is not controlled and monitored, it is likely that the individual will experience some of these serious conditions.

If you experience symptoms associated with diabetes, including thirst, frequent urination, weight loss and blurred vision or you have family history, you are overweight or you are over the age of 40 you should consider asking your GP for a diabetes test.

It is important to diagnose diabetes as early as possible so that a suitable treatment plan can be arranged; if diabetes is not diagnosed and subsequently not treated, severe health complications may arise.

Diagnosing diabetes

You should see a doctor as soon as possible if you experience symptoms of diabetes, including:

?      Constant thirst

?      Blurred vision

?      Frequent urinating, especially during the night

?      Fatigue

?      Weight loss

When you go and see your GP they will carry out a urine test; this test is used to determine whether or not glucose is present in the sample. If glucose is present in the urine sample, a blood test will then be ordered; the results of the blood test will be used to confirm the diagnosis. The blood test is carried out in the morning before you have eaten. If the glucose level in the blood sample is not high enough to confirm a diagnosis, the GP order an oral glucose tolerance test; this test involves the patient drinking a glucose drink; their blood sugar levels are then measured at intervals to see how the body deals with glucose.

All patients with diabetes are referred to a specialist care team and their condition is monitored closely; they undergo regular tests and receive advice and information about diet, exercising and administering insulin.

Type 2 diabetes

Type 2 diabetes is becoming increasingly common and doctors are worried that hundreds of people are experiencing symptoms of type 2 diabetes but not doing anything about them; it is estimated that around one million people have type 2 diabetes without knowing it.

If you experience symptoms listed above or you are in an at risk category (if you are aged over 40, you are obese or overweight, you are Asian, African-Caribbean or Middle-Eastern, you have high blood pressure or family history of diabetes) you should see your GP and ask for a diabetes test.

Coping after diagnosis

Type 1 diabetes usually develops in teenagers; people with teenage diabetes may struggle to control their diabetes because the hormonal changes brought about by puberty make it more difficult to regulate blood sugar levels; insulin doses may need to be increased if this is the case.

One thing that you can do is pay off everything that you are doing before you decide to go back home, believe it or not it follows you where ever you go. Things like this is very expensive so our will have to be able to pay something before you even get started with the dentist abroad or surgery procedure.

Money is always an option and it will set everything that you want to do back a few weeks or so if you do not have it all in order at the star, so make sure that all of it is up to date and taking care of so that you can get all the surgery and dental procedures you need to look good and healthy. There are times when you are able to pay later and if that is a fact then try and make a lot of payments so that you are able to still get seen my dentists and other surgeons. Many will not want to see you if they have not been paid or if they are not in the process of being paid.

If you are able to just hold off a lot of surgery work so that you will be all paid up and only have to worry about one bill and not a hundred of them at one time. This makes everything a lot easier and stress free when it comes to bills and paying them.