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Understanding Diabetes

Date: 03/01/22

Diabetes is a lifelong condition. When you have diabetes, your body has trouble using a sugar called glucose for energy. When the sugar level in your blood becomes too high, it causes serious health problems if left untreated.

Some signs of diabetes include:

  • Feeling tired all the time
  • Urinating frequent
  • Blurry vision
  • Feeling thirsty or hungry all the time
  • Losing weight for no reason
  • Slow healing cuts and bruises
  • Numbness or tingling in your fingers or toes

Are you at risk of diabetes? People of all backgrounds can get diabetes. But it mainly affects:

  • African Americans
  • Alaskan Natives
  • Native Americans
  • Hispanics
  • Asian Americans
  • Pacific Islanders

Other things can raise your risk. They include:

  • Having a family history of diabetes
  • Being overweight
  • Being over age 40
  • Having diabetes during pregnancy (gestational diabetes)
  • Not getting enough physical activity
  • Taking certain medicines

When you’re in the doctor’s office, you may hear or read some diabetes-related terms that are not familiar. This can lead to confusion.

To avoid that confusion, here are a couple commonly used terms and their definitions:

Term

Definition

Low Blood Sugar (Hypoglycemia)

Having too little sugar (glucose) in your blood.

High Blood Sugar (Hyperglycemia)

Too much sugar (glucose) in your blood.

A1c or eAG

The A1C is a blood test done by your doctor. It measures your average blood sugar level over a few months.

Blood Pressure

Blood pressure measures the force of blood against your artery walls. Lowering your blood pressure and keeping it low can reduce your risk for diabetes complications.

LDL (“bad”) cholesterol

LDL (low-density lipoprotein) cholesterol. This is called “bad” because it can build up in the blood vessels.

HDL (“good”) cholesterol

HDL (high-density lipoprotein) cholesterol. This is called “good” because it helps get rid of excess cholesterol in the bloodstream.

Triglycerides

Your body uses this form of fat to store energy. This fat can cause plaque to build up in the blood vessels.

Urine Albumin

Your urine is checked for protein or albumin, blood, and other signs of problems. A complete 24-hour collection may be used to measure how well your kidneys are working.

Weight

Extra weight makes it harder to control diabetes. If you’re overweight, your doctor can help you create a plan that works for you.

As a Louisiana Healthcare Connections member, you can earn $50 in My Health Pays® rewards for completing your diabetes care screenings. To get your rewards you must complete all of the following once in the calendar year: HbA1c test, kidney screening, and retinopathy screening (dilated eye exam).

To learn more about diabetes visit http://louisianahealthconnect.kramesonline.com/3,S,89509