DIABETES Q&A EXERCISE

Sr Christine Manga, RN, MSc Diabetes Education (South Wales) is a Diabetes Nurse Educator and answers some important questions about diabetes.

1. What is diabetes?

• • This is a condition of high blood glucose levels.

2. What causes diabetes?

• • To answer this question, I need to explain the 2 main types of diabetes:

a) Type 1 Diabetes is an autoimmune condition – this means that the body’s own antibodies have accidentally attacked the cells in the pancreas that produce insulin. This is genetic, it can run in families and is usually triggered (not caused) by a viral infection. Type 1 Diabetes usually occurs in children and young adults. It is not related to diet and lifestyle.

b) Type 2 Diabetes occurs due to a combination of insulin resistance and decreasing function of the insulin producing pancreas cells. This usually occurs in adults and there is often a family history. There is a greater risk of developing Type 2 diabetes if a person is overweight or obese and not exercising regularly.

3. How do I know if I have diabetes?

• • There are 3 blood tests that are used to confirm the diagnosis:

a) A fasting blood glucose of ≥ 7.0mmol/L

b)A 2-hour post glucose challenge of ≥11.1mmol/L

c)HbA1c (the 3-month glucose average test) > 6.5%

4. What happens if I do not treat the diabetes properly?

• •  The high blood glucose levels cause damage to the blood vessels, and this is how the complications of heart disease, stroke, kidney disease, as well as feet and eye complications develop. With good management of diabetes these complications can largely be avoided.

5. Will I need to inject myself?

• • All people with Type 1 diabetes will need to inject insulin from diagnosis as the pancreas no longer makes enough. Most people with Type 2 diabetes can be treated with tablets at diagnosis. There are non-insulin injectable medications which are excellent treatments for Type 2 diabetes. There is a possibility that insulin injections will eventually be required to manage blood glucose levels.