Diabetes services offered in Troy, MI
Diabetes can affect nearly every part of your body, from your eyes to your kidneys and heart. At Carecore Health Center in Troy, Michigan, board-certified family medicine specialist Gheith Yousif, MD, and the team provide comprehensive prevention and management for all types of diabetes. To learn more about diabetes, call Carecore Health Center or schedule an appointment online today.
Diabetes Q & A
What is diabetes?
Diabetes is a chronic disease in which the pancreas no longer produces the hormone insulin or doesn’t use it efficiently.
Insulin allows your body to convert glucose (sugar) into energy. Without insulin, sugar has no way to make it into your cells. Instead, it builds up in the blood, damaging your blood vessels and, eventually, your eyes, nerves, kidneys, and heart.
Are there different types of diabetes?
There are three main types of diabetes:
Type 1 diabetes
Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease that typically presents during childhood or early adulthood. If you have Type 1 diabetes, your pancreas doesn’t produce insulin at all. That’s why taking regular insulin injections is essential to maintain your blood sugar levels and prevent complications.
Type 2 diabetes
Type 2 diabetes occurs when your pancreas doesn’t make enough insulin, often due to lifestyle factors, such as poor diet, inactivity, or smoking cigarettes. Excess weight can also increase your risk of Type 2 diabetes.
Gestational diabetes
Gestational diabetes happens when your glucose levels are consistently too high during pregnancy. While gestational diabetes tends to resolve after childbirth, it can increase your risk of Type 2 diabetes in the future.
If you have prediabetes, your blood sugar levels are consistently higher than normal but not high enough to qualify as diabetes.
What are the symptoms of diabetes?
Diabetes symptoms can vary depending on the type, but the most common symptoms include:
- Frequent urination
- Increased thirst
- Dry skin
- Unintended weight loss
- Slow-healing sores
- Increased infections
- Increased hunger
- Numbness or tingling in the hands or feet
- Blurred vision
With early intervention, diabetes treatment can alleviate your symptoms and prevent future complications.
What causes diabetes?
Type 1 diabetes tends to run in families. You’re also more likely to develop this chronic disease if you’re white. Type 2 diabetes is far more common than Type 1. Common risk factors for Type 2 diabetes include:
- Carrying excess weight
- Having a family history of diabetes
- Low activity levels
- Poor diet
- Having prediabetes or gestational diabetes
- Being age 45 or older
- Having non-alcoholic fatty liver disease
Many risk factors for Type 2 diabetes are due to your lifestyle. At Carecore Health Center, the team works with you to help you make sustainable healthy choices that prevent and minimize the symptoms of diabetes.
What are the treatments for diabetes?
Treating diabetes involves a multi-modality approach to care that may include one of more of the following:
- Medication
- Weight loss
- Insulin injections
- Blood sugar monitoring
- Exercise
- Smoking cessation
- A healthy diet
The team may also recommend monitoring your foot health to prevent diabetic wounds and manage peripheral neuropathy — a type of nerve damage that causes numbness, tingling, or loss of temperature sensation in the feet.
To learn more about diabetes, call Carecore Health Center or schedule an appointment online today.
