Diabetics In the US

[fiferoo]

Did you know that there are over 21 million diabetics in the US & half of them don't even know they are diabetic?:( I just found out that my good friend has diabetes....the doctor claims he probably had diabetes for a few years. It is very important to keep your health up and know the symtoms of diabetes.

[rattitude]

It's amazing what people either get used to because it comes on slowly, or donlt face up to because they are scared and in denial.

[Thumperfive]

with the proliferation of juvenile diabetes it's even more important to know what's going on with your own body!

[Bettina]

Also, there are millions of us without health insurance, so knowing we're diabetic can mean a huge financial burden.

[kdarrell]

I think it's very important for everyone to have a yearly check up with a test for diabetes included. This way it would be caught early and wouldn't be so scary for the person.

[jimmys devoted]

Many diabetics are actually not true diabetics and many true diabetics are being lost in teh shuffle for the new thing, to be DXd Diabetic.
It seems with this whole Metabolic syndrome influx going on, many tried and true diabetcs are being told they are merely borderline.. as it were.
Actually I think the actual amount of trrue diabetics to be less.. but with all this whoo hah its hard to tell.
Could being diagnised as Diabetic be the new " yuppy" disease?

j.

[destiny]

These numbers are truly sobering. Maybe the more that it's discussed and kept in the forefront, more people will recognize it and get diagnosed.

[Belfrybat]

Many diabetics are actually not true diabetics and many true diabetics are being lost in teh shuffle for the new thing, to be DXd Diabetic.
It seems with this whole Metabolic syndrome influx going on, many tried and true diabetcs are being told they are merely borderline.. as it were.
Actually I think the actual amount of trrue diabetics to be less.. but with all this whoo hah its hard to tell.
Could being diagnised as Diabetic be the new " yuppy" disease?

j.

Do you mean by this message that those who are diagnosed as insulin resistant or pre-diabetic should not bother to manage their blood sugars until they can "join the club" of true diabetics? Without dietary or med management, my fasting levels are 120-140. Not high enough to be Dx as diabetic, but high enough that I am concerned and am doing something about it.

Then again, perhaps I'm only trying to claim a "yuppy disease"? Please get real -- who in their right mind would want a disease that leads to the kind of impairment seen in diabetes.

I may not be a true member of your exclusive club, but do want good health and am willing to pay the price of dietary restrictions and 2X daily meds to keep my health.

[jimmys devoted]

What I am saying is many trruly in need full blown diabetics ae not getting the trteatments they need becaus eof the overabundancee of metabolic syndroms that ae being called diabetic.
Thee are actually different levels of teh entre diabetes situation. Borderline which is term that fits much better than the new politically correct terms, and type 1 and type 2 and MODY. Many who, like me continued t e over 300 n BRGs during doctors visist were ignored for care because of the new trrends. They said watch your diet.

Its always a good idea to keep tabs, by and far. BUt we have to watch out for is teh actual number of true diabetics v versus those who are prediabetic or borderline.
If we brought that downt o actually diagnisong prcedures instea dof screenings we would have more realistic numbers and better absolute control.

Dctors are not placing prediabtics on a true glucose tolerance test anymore. And that si the key to weeding iut triue diabetics from thsoe who look it. The symptoms are the giveaway not overall imprssion. Too many poeple ae being told they are diabetic, when in fact they are not. And tahst all I am saying on that.

[parise]

wow sometimes I think thatI have it because I carry the symptoms. But I don't like the fact that I go to the doctor for everything. I think I might be a hypo or something.

[Belfrybat]

What I am saying is many trruly in need full blown diabetics ae not getting the trteatments they need becaus eof the overabundancee of metabolic syndroms that ae being called diabetic...

Dctors are not placing prediabtics on a true glucose tolerance test anymore. And that si the key to weeding iut triue diabetics from thsoe who look it. The symptoms are the giveaway not overall imprssion. Too many poeple ae being told they are diabetic, when in fact they are not. And tahst all I am saying on that.


Thank you for clarifying your previous message. I was not aware there are different ways of diagnosing diabetics vs. those who are insulin resistant. I thought the tests were the same.

[parise]

yeah I did also.

[jimmys devoted]

You have an option open to you. You can go to the drugstore. And for about 20 bucks get a glucose meter and strips.
Doing a fasting morning glucose reading. Write this down. then eat a breakfast. At 2 hours after eatng a breakfast test again.
Wait until luch TAke a pre klunch test. Then again after eating lunch take a test.
before dinner take a test. then 2 hours after the emal take a test again. and then last time right before bed.

See if theer is a trend of elevations.
A normal target range is between 70 and 110 fasting
average atfer eating is between 120 and 140.
if you have fasting above 140 thuis is agood indication of a few things:
you are ovulating, you are getting ill or your BGs ae elevated.
If you spoike to say 150-190 then theer is a good chance you are bordrline and can be diet contrtolled. If however your readings are consistant high then go to a doctor.
If they dont fall in these ranges put the meter awaya nd just keep tabs when you noticee symptoms and see what those readings are.
You can even get an A1C test for home use that will give you an indication of overall glucose saturation.
The good thing is you dont need a RX for these kits and meters.
:rolleyes:

[ladygirl99]

That is terrible that so many have this disease and doesn't even know it. That is why I am going to plan on getting me a check up on this as it is becoming very common.

[Writeman]

If you have a family history of diabetes or lead a sedentary life style or eat more carbs and fats, then any diabetic symptom should be checked out. Getting checked for diabetes is not a hypo syndrome.

[parise]

So can a person die from diabetes if they don't know they have it.

[ladygirl99]

That I would like to know if a person can die of diabetes without knowing it.

[ladygirl99]

I do consider to be overweight and I would like to be check out for the disease.

[parise]

But no one has answered my question yet! what is the outcome of not getting treated for diabetes

[Dusty]

But no one has answered my question yet! what is the outcome of not getting treated for diabetes

Diabetes is called the silent killer because it can be present for years before it is diagnosed. High blood glucose levels lead to many complications that will eventually kill you if left untreated. Loss of circulation in the lower extremities leading to amputation, herat disease, kidney failure, loss of vision, etc. It is pretty much stated that anytime your BG goes over 140 you are doing damage to your organs and the damage is cumilative.

There is lots of evidence that with keeping proper control a lot of these things can be prevented or at the least kept to a minimum.

[jimmys devoted]

theer are many results of not being dxd when you are in fact diabetic.
Biologically and physiologically the damage is enormous.
First your cardivascular system suffers because it becomes thinned and clogged at the same time. Excess glucose and fats stick to teh walls and craete an acid that causes thinning and damge. So you have any number of bleedouts.
heart wall damage is expected, brain damage definately. eyesight slowly diminshes as the deliate retina and never endings become damaged.
Gums bleed, wouldn fester and eventually lead to amputation.
neuropathy in the extremities can make one wheelchair bound.

the excessive amount of damage is mind boggling.

julie

[parise]

To read this is like causing me to be scared. Wow I need to do some more research on this because theres a lot i really son't know.

[jimmys devoted]

I am diabetic. I have had it since I was alittle girl and i was officialy put on meds at 39 after a diabetic abscess almost took my leg.
Thats why I wrote a handbook on the disease. It takes the scary out.
It brings it down to simplistic ideas. This is not different than having blueyes, brown hair, one boob bigger than another. or struggeling with weight.
iTs easier to control than menopause!
Its actually easier to dealw ith than some other diseases, simply because you have the ultimate control.. and 85 percent chocolate bars by lindt to help you!
I highly suggest you get the ebook.. not because I worte it but because it is the same tool that diabetes educators are using.

[bra]

Thanks, there are alot of questions I need answering and I believe I will schedule to attend the next diabetes class that is offered for free in our area. I'll try to take some notes and get some questions answered.

[sumediang]

Did you know that there are over 21 million diabetics in the US & half of them don't even know they are diabetic?:( I just found out that my good friend has diabetes....the doctor claims he probably had diabetes for a few years. It is very important to keep your health up and know the symtoms of diabetes.

Same thing happened to my mom. I was surprised by the news, though she wasn't. There's a history of diabetes in my family and my mom has had high blood pressure years, so I guess she kind of expected the news. I definitely plan on getting myself checked on a regular basis.

[Hataish]

Hi, This post is very informative, however there are some queries to ask about some specific topic. If someone can help me then please send me a private message. Thanks,

[skatss]

I became a diabetic in what felt like -- overnight. I felt sick for a week, then I began to get thirsty and that's when I thought I might have it. My mother was a diabetic, the first in her family so we all didn't know that it could happen to more of us in the family.

I was 26 at the time and went to the doctor, I had a blood sugar of 500 and had an extremely high ketone number too.

It's 25 years later now and so much progress has been made with diabetes. Your doctor can take a blood test in his office to see if your blood sugars are normal and that can be your first clue that al might not be well.

It takes a moment to do it, why not just ask for the test to be done if you have the slightest idea you may have it ask for the test.

Diabetes never goes away by itself and it never gets better on its own. The sooner you know about it, the sooner you can stop it from harming you.

Happily with a larger weightloss and emphasis on diet I no longer have to take insulin or any medication for my diabetes. I do check my blood every day to make sure the happy miracle is still going strong.

[faithib]

There aren't type 1's walking around out there not knowing they are diabetic for very long because their pancreas has totally quit making insulin and they get very sick and will die without intervention. They have to have insulin for the rest of their lives to avoid death.
Type 2's can walk around undiagnosed for a long time. The longest I ever heard of was a friend who was told he'd had it for 13 years before diagnosis by his dr. I don't know how the dr came up with that number, maybe because of the amount of damage done by the high blood sugars?

My husband is working on controlling with diet and exercise. He should be diagnosed as prediabetes but the dr wanted him to try and deal with it on his own and get the numbers down before he got the 'label' stuck on him forever.

[skatss]

wow sometimes I think thatI have it because I carry the symptoms. But I don't like the fact that I go to the doctor for everything. I think I might be a hypo or something.

I know what it feels like to worry about having a disease but not wanting to bring it up to a doctor because of the fear that you will sound like a hypochondriac. I think that has to do with people always telling us not to make waves or to call attention to ourselves -- and it can be a deadly thing to do.

Remember that you have every right to worry about your health and you have every right to ask your doctor to look into your concerns! In this day and age when so many people develop so many illnesses, including diabetes and cancer, every concern you have should be looked into.

You have a right to be taken seriously and a right to have the best care you can have.

If you are worried that you might have diabetes, just think of how relieved you will be if your doctor tests you and you don't have it!

And think of what a great job you are doing in helping yourself to live to be a ripe and healthy old age if your doctor finds diabetes and he can help you fight it right away!

Please get tested if you have any worried about any diseases. You have a right to be healthy and take care of yourself.

[craig]

Hypertension has been progress diabetes. Enalapril is used to treat high blood pressure (hypertension).
Lowering high blood pressure helps prevent heart attacks, strokes and kidney problems. Always keep normal blood sugar level.