Diabetes Awareness Month – November, 2016   American Diabetes Month® 2016: 

November is National Diabetes Awareness Month.

Make it your time to take charge of your type 1 or type 2 diabetes for a longer, healthier life.

Diabetes Awareness Month – Preventive care for people with diabetes—and for the risk factors that cause related health problems—has improved significantly over the past 20 years, and people are living longer and better with the disease. But living longer can mean having other health problems longer, too. Good management over a lifetime is the key, starting with the day you’re told you have diabetes.

Get in the Know

There are three main types of diabetes: type 1, type 2, and gestational diabetes (diabetes while pregnant). With type 1 diabetes, your body can’t make insulin, so you need to take insulin every day. Type 1 diabetes is less common than type 2 diabetes; about 5% of the people who have diabetes have type 1. Currently, no one knows how to prevent type 1 diabetes.

More than 29 million people in the United States have diabetes, but 1 out of 4 don’t know they have it. Most people with diabetes—9 out of 10—have type 2 diabetes. With type 2 diabetes, your body doesn’t use insulin well and is unable to keep blood sugar at normal levels.

If you have any of these risk factors, ask your doctor if you should be tested for diabetes.

The sooner you find out, the sooner you can start making healthy changes that will benefit you now and in the future.

Risk factors include

• Being overweight.
• Being 45 years or older.
• Having a parent or sibling with type 2 diabetes.
• Being physically active less than 3 times a week.
• Ever having gestational diabetes or giving birth to a baby that weighed more than 9 pounds.

Race and ethnicity also affect your risk. African Americans, Hispanic/Latino Americans, American Indians, Pacific Islanders, and some Asian Americans are at particularly high risk for type 2 diabetes.

You’ve Been Diagnosed with Diabetes. Now What?

Learning how to take care of your type 2 diabetes shouldn’t happen only when you’re diagnosed; it should be a lifelong focus. And as you get older, your treatment may need to change. Managing diabetes from the beginning can mean fewer health problems later on.

It’s a balancing act—food, activity, medicine, and blood sugar levels—but one you can master. Manage your diabetes throughout the day by

• Following a healthy eating plan, including eating more fruits and vegetables and less sugar and salt.
• Getting physically active—10 to 20 minutes a day is better than only an hour once a week.
• Taking diabetes medicine as prescribed by your doctor.
• Testing your blood sugar regularly to understand and track how food, activity, and medicine affect your blood sugar levels.

Know Your ABCs

Work with your doctor to manage your diabetes ABCs, and keep a record of your numbers. Results will help determine if your treatment plan is working and you’re able to stay in your target range—for example, an A1C of 7% or less—or if adjustments need to be made. Staying on track will help lower your risk of additional health problems.

• A—the A1C test, which measures average blood sugar over 2 to 3 months.
• B—blood pressure, the force of blood flow inside blood vessels.
• C—cholesterol, a group of blood fats that affect the risk of heart attack or stroke.
• S—stop smoking or don’t start.

Prevent Complications

People with type 1 or type 2 diabetes are at higher risk for serious health complications, including

• Heart disease and stroke: People with diabetes are twice as likely to have heart disease or a stroke as people without diabetes, and at an earlier age.
• Diabetic retinopathy (damage to blood vessels in the retina), cataract (clouding of the lens), and glaucoma (increase in fluid pressure in the eye) can all result in vision loss.
• Kidney disease: High blood sugar levels can damage the kidneys over time, long before you start to feel bad.
• Amputations: This means you could lose a foot or leg. Diabetes causes damage to blood vessels and nerves, particularly in the feet, and can lead to serious, hard-to-treat infections. Amputation may be necessary to keep the infection from spreading.

But good blood sugar control can help you avoid or delay these serious health complications, and treating complications as soon as possible can help prevent them from getting worse.

Get on a Wellness Schedule

Every day: stay active, eat a healthy diet, and take medication; check feet for redness, swelling, pain, or sores.

Each health care visit: (at least 4 times a year): blood pressure check; foot check.

Twice a year: A1C test; dental checkup.

Once a year: cholesterol test; kidney function test; podiatrist (foot doctor) and eye doctor visits; flu shot (and other vaccines as recommended by your doctor).

Pay Attention to Prediabetes

More than a third of American adults—around 86 million—have prediabetes, and 9 out of 10 don’t know it. With prediabetes, blood sugar levels are higher than normal, but not high enough yet to be diagnosed as diabetes.

Prediabetes can put people at increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and stroke. Without lifestyle changes, 15%-30% of people with prediabetes will develop type 2 diabetes within 5 years. Take action now—by eating healthier and getting more physical activity—to help prevent prediabetes from becoming type 2 diabetes and reduce the risk of heart attack and stroke. The CDC-led National Diabetes Prevention Program can help people with prediabetes adopt the healthy lifestyle habits needed to prevent diabetes. Find a program in your community and get started today.

Living with diabetes is challenging, but it’s important to remember that making healthy choices can have a big effect on the course of the disease—and your quality of life.

http://www.cdc.gov/features/livingwithdiabetes/

Resources: 

Diabetic Eye Disease: https://nei.nih.gov/nehep/NDM  Diabetic eye disease, a leading cause of blindness, often has no early warning signs. Early detection, timely treatment and appropriate follow-up care are the only ways to prevent vision loss.

Heart Disease and Stroke:  http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/Conditions/Diabetes/WhyDiabetesMatters/Cardiovascular-Disease-Diabetes_UCM_313865_Article.jsp/#.V-AoRfArL1s

Kidney Disease: https://www.niddk.nih.gov/health-information/health-communication-programs/ndep/partnership-community-outreach/national-diabetes-month/Pages/default.aspx

Amputations: http://www.diabetes.org/living-with-diabetes/complications/foot-complications/?referrer=https://www.google.com/

Best Diabetic Apps: http://www.healthline.com/health/diabetes/top-iphone-android-apps#2