Wellness Tips… DETECTING DIABETES
Detecting Diabetes
America got fatter during the 1990s, and a parallel increase in diabetes followed.
Today, more than 16 million Americans, or six percent of the population, have diabetes, a disease that occurs when
people have too much sugar in their blood. More disturbing is that five million of those people don't realize that
they have diabetes, researchers at the National Institutes of Health estimate.
Despite the high incidence of diabetes and a mounting public health campaign to educate people about it, the U.S.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention predicts the number of Americans with diabetes will continue to climb
at a rapid rate.
What is diabetes?
When a person who doesn't have diabetes eats, the food breaks down into sugar, which enters the bloodstream and
turns into glucose. The pancreas produces insulin that moves the glucose from the blood to cells where the glucose
changes into energy – the body's main source of fuel.
It doesn't work that way for diabetics.
People with diabetes are unable to produce insulin or don't use insulin properly, so glucose builds up in their blood,
overflows into the urine and exits the body, denying the body its main source of fuel.
There are two basic types of diabetes, type 1 and type 2. Most people with diabetes have type 2 diabetes, which used
to be called adult onset diabetes.
Type 2 diabetes runs in families and certain ethnic groups, and it occurs far more often in overweight people,
research shows. Although scientists still don't completely understand why, the cells of overweight people are much
less responsive to insulin than the cells of thinner people. Doctors call this "insulin resistance" which means that
insulin has less effect on lowering sugar levels in the bloodstream. Insulin resistance is considered to be an
underlying cause of type 2 diabetes.
Diet and exercise can dramatically lower the risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
Either type of diabetes, if undiagnosed and untreated, can lead to blindness, kidney and heart disease, amputations
and death. But it doesn't have to be that way. Diet and exercise can dramatically lower the risk of type 2 diabetes for
people who are on the cusp of developing the disease, according to a recent study released by the National
Institutes of Health.
How do you know if you have diabetes?
People are often shocked when they find out they have diabetes. Unlike type 1 diabetes, which strikes abruptly and,
if left untreated, can be fatal, type 2 diabetes is easy to ignore because symptoms may develop over years. Many
people with type 2 diabetes have few or mild symptoms.
For example, a person who feels tired after eating might blame it on lack of sleep. Similarly, it's easy to miss the
significance of being thirstier than usual or having to go to the bathroom more often.
© 2006 Magellan Health Services, Inc.
Doc#2369—062206
Wellness Tips… DETECTING DIABETES
Classic symptoms of diabetes include:

Feeling very thirsty

Having to urinate often

Losing weight without trying

Feeling hungrier

Unexplained weakness or fatigue

Blurred vision

Skin infections

Slow healing of skin infections, wounds or sores

Genital itching

Numbness in the feet or legs (often the first sign noticed by people with type 2 diabetes)
Anyone can get diabetes, although researchers have debunked two common misconceptions that diabetes can be
caused by emotional stress or eating too much sugar.
However, some people are at greater risk for developing diabetes than others, including people who:

Have close relatives with diabetes

Are older than 40 and overweight

Are African-American, Hispanic or Asian

Are pregnant (gestational diabetes, which usually disappears after pregnancy)
Heed the warning signs
It's wise to call your doctor as soon as you recognize possible symptoms of diabetes, especially if you're very thirsty
and urinating often, because type 1 diabetes needs insulin treatment immediately and type 2 diabetes can be
controlled through diet and exercise.
Taking action can result in lower blood sugar and prevent other health problems from developing.
Good blood sugar control can slow complications that have already developed. Even if you have an early
complication from diabetes, you should continue to work hard to keep your sugars under good control to reduce
further damage.
Still, there's no cure for diabetes. Once you have diabetes, you always have diabetes. Someone may bring blood
sugars into normal range with treatment, but that doesn't mean the underlying disease has gone. Through insulin,
medication, weight loss, exercise and dietary changes, people can control diabetes and decrease the risk of
developing health complications.
© 2006 Magellan Health Services, Inc.
Doc#2369—062206
Wellness Tips… DETECTING DIABETES
If you have diabetes, to be healthy, you need to:

Follow a healthy meal plan

Exercise regularly

Check blood sugars regularly

Regularly see your healthcare team, which usually includes a certified diabetes educator (who is trained to
teach about managing the disease through diet, exercise and medication, if necessary)
If you have type 1 diabetes you also need to take insulin.
If you have type 2 diabetes, you may be able to manage your disease with weight loss, diet and exercise alone.
However, many people with type 2 diabetes also need pills that help them produce more insulin or use insulin more
effectively. Some people with type 2 diabetes eventually need to take insulin injections.
Resources Are Available
Additional information, self-help tools and other resources are available online at
www.MagellanHealth.com/member. Or call us for more information, help and support. Counselors are available 24
hours a day, seven days a week to provide confidential assistance at no cost to you.
© 2006 Magellan Health Services, Inc.
Doc#2369—062206