Learning How to Manage/Live With Diabetes

By Dorothea Lever, PhD
St. Luke’s Cornwall Hospital Certified Diabetes Educator

NEWBURGH – According to the Center for Disease Control, 23.1 million Americans have been diagnosed with diabetes. Perhaps even more alarming is the CDC’s estimate that 7.2 million people are living with diabetes, but are undiagnosed. That means that nearly a quarter of the population suffering from diabetes do not know how to manage this disease which can result in a staggering number of complications throughout the body.

Diabetes is the seventh leading cause of death in the United states, and the number of adults diagnosed with diabetes has more than tripled during the last two decades. There are several factors contributing to this epidemic. With improvements in medical care, we are living longer than ever, and the risk for diabetes increases with age. The other significant development is the rapid increase in obesity rates, particularly in the younger population. The number of fat cells in the body increases the likelihood of developing diabetes. This has caused a spike in the number of young people, including children, who are living with this disease.

Diabetes is the inability to properly produce or use insulin efficiently. This can lead to increased blood sugar levels. If a person has been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, learning to manage the disease and make the appropriate lifestyle choices is critical in preventing complications. Over time, increased blood sugar can cause serious health concerns, including heart disease, vision loss, kidney disease and circulatory problems. While there is not currently a cure for diabetes, successful blood sugar control can help reduce the effects.

Lifestyle management is crucial for those living with type 2 diabetes. While careful monitoring and certain adjustments are necessary, many diabetics lead fun and active lifestyles. Access to these resources is available in our community, including the American Diabetes Association self-management class offered by St. Luke’s Cornwall Hospital.

The program, which along with nutritional counseling is covered by most insurances, is designed to help people learn how to monitor their blood sugar, properly use medications, manage their stress, develop healthier eating habits, prevent and treat acute blood sugar reactions, reduce the risk of complications, cope with minor illnesses that can affect the condition, and manage travel issues. As part of the SLCH program, patients work with our team of certified diabetes educators, certified physical trainers, licensed social workers and the hospitals Care Transitions team to teach everything that goes into the day-to-day realties of living with diabetes. For more information on the self-management program, or if you have any diabetes related question, you can call the St. Luke’s Cornwall diabetes hotline at (845) 568-2878.

Before it can be managed, diabetes must be diagnosed. Recognition of type 2 diabetes can be challenging due to the gradual nature of its onset. However, there are certain symptoms that indicate the need for getting checked. Frequent urination and extreme thirst are very common symptoms that patients describe. Patients have often expressed they feel like they, “can drink a whole swimming pool.” Other red flags include fatigue, particularly after meals, blurred vision, feeling unsatisfied after eating, and craving sweets.

Once these symptoms are recognized, it is critical to follow up with the proper testing to confirm a diabetes or prediabetes diagnosis. There are two tests primarily used – fasting blood sugar and hemoglobin A1C. Fasting blood sugar is a common measurement in any blood panel ordered by a physician. Blood sugar levels are considered elevated when the number exceeds 100 and requires further examination. The second test, hemoglobin A1C, is a three-month average of a patient’s blood sugar. This is important because some people have issues metabolizing carbohydrates, which would not show up in a fasting blood sugar test. Utilizing both tests gives the physician a multidimensional look at a patient’s blood sugar during a three-month period.

Prediabetes is a relatively new diagnosis that has started being treated in the last 10 years. The goal is to completely prevent, or at least significantly delay, the full-blown onset of type 2 diabetes. The longer diabetes can be postponed, the less likely a patient is to develop complications. Prediabetes treatment is done through diet and exercise, which research shows is effective in delaying or preventing the onset of type 2 diabetes. The CDC has developed a prevention program, which we are implementing at St. Luke’s Cornwall Hospital in 2018, targeted at people who have either been diagnosed with prediabetes or are at a high risk for developing type 2 diabetes. This program focuses on improving eating habits, increasing activity and making other healthy choices to prevent or delay the potential development of diabetes.

We have learned that when patients know how to take care of their diabetes, they do well. Patients are in charge of their diabetes; it does not have to be managed for them. While a definite challenge, a person who takes charge and understands how to identify how to regulate their blood sugar will reduce their risk for complications and have the opportunity to lead a fulfilling life.