Diabetes–sugar’s bitter half

Diabetes, especially type 2 diabetes, which is also called adult onset diabetes, has begun to affect us more than we could imagine. And, now, diabetes has relinquished age difference as well and people in their twenties are also getting diabetes. “The youngest patient I diagnosed with adult onset diabetes, which normally affects 40-50 year old people, was a 15-year-old obese boy who had all the classic symptoms of diabetes, namely— increased thirst, increased urine, weakness and marked weight loss, says Dr Anoop Mishra, Director and Head, Department of Diabetes at Fortis Hospitals

Red Flags
• Frequent urination
• Excessive thirst
• Unexplained weight loss
• Extreme hunger
• Sudden vision changes
• Tingling or numbness in hands or feet
• Feeling very tired much of the time
• Very dry skin
• Sores that refuse to heal
• More infections including vaginal and skin than usual.
• Erectile dysfunction in men

Why do I need to worry about diabetes?
Almost all of us know someone or the other suffering from this metabolic disorder. Then is there a need to worry about diabetes? “Yes, it is, because diabetes does not give away symptoms until it’s very late. As a result high and uncontrolled blood sugar levels keep corroding nerves, arteries, kidneys and eyes. People with diabetes are two to three times more likely to have a heart attack as compared to non-diabetics. Uncontrolled diabetes predisposes you to complications like—gangrene, blindness, heart attacks and kidney failure. Besides these crippling complications, diabetes is also accompanied by several other dreaded illnesses: hypertension, high cholesterol, infections including tuberculosis, gall bladder stone, and lung disorders,” says Dr Mishra. Moreover, diabetics need to take special care of their feet.

How can I keep diabetes under control?

Managing diabetes is a complex process. Other than medicines, diet and physical activity are the two cornerstones of diabetes management and are applied at each stage of the disease. Drugs are given depending on age, body fatness and level of blood sugar. Dr Mishra advises, “Metformin is an effective first line drug for Indian population. Sometimes, 2-3 types of drugs are added to control blood sugar, and in some patients, especially with long duration of diabetes, insulin is needed.” He is quick to clarify, “Insulin is the most natural therapy for managing diabetes and is not prescribed as a last resort, because insulin is produced by the body and it has no side effects except low blood sugar.”

Keep you blood sugar levels on an even keel

• Eat about the same amount of food each day.
• Space your meals through out the day, instead of having heavy meals once or twice a day
• Eat your meals and snacks at about the same times each day.
• Do not skip meals or snacks.
• Take your medicines at the same time each day.
• Exercise at about the same time each day.

Glucometers

Since, uncontrolled diabetes creates several complications, it’s important to check your blood sugar levels regularly and glucometers used at home can be a huge help in this. However, we sometimes worry if the test results of these are accurate? Dr Ambrish Mithal, senior endocrinologist with Apollo Hospitals says, “Glucometers are fairly reliable, but not as accurate as lab tests. Usual variations should not be more than 10%. Sometimes post meal values can be about 15-20% higher in glucometer than in the lab, since they test capillary/finger prick blood, as compared to labs, which test venous blood. The new generation glucometers, which do not require “coding” and require miniscule amount of blood are very user friendly and accurate.

All said and done, exercise and diet is the mainstay of managing diabetes.

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