Diabetes Specialist

What is diabetes?

Diabetes is a chronic health condition that affects how your body converts sugar from your diet into the energy you need to sustain life. A healthy body produces the hormone insulin to help with the conversion process. When you have diabetes, you aren’t able to synthesize or use insulin properly, resulting in chronically high sugar levels.

The types of diabetes include:

Type 1 diabetes

Type 1 diabetes develops when your body can’t produce insulin to convert sugar due to dysfunction in your pancreas, possibly caused by genetics or environmental factors. A type 1 diagnosis most often occurs in childhood.

Type 2 diabetes

Type 2 diabetes results when your body produces insulin, but not enough to control blood sugar levels. This variant of diabetes also occurs when your body cannot adequately use the insulin it creates. Type 2 diabetes is often the result of a sedentary lifestyle and a poor diet, and commonly affects those who are overweight or obese.

Gestational diabetes

Gestational diabetes affects women during their pregnancy and often resolves on its own after childbirth. It does, though, increase the risk of developing type 2 diabetes later in life.

Prediabetes is a condition where your blood sugar levels are high but not high enough to be considered diabetes. Being prediabetic increases your risk of developing type 2 diabetes.

When blood sugar levels remain high because of uncontrolled diabetes, you are at increased risk for long-term health complications, including heart disease and permanent nerve damage.

How is diabetes diagnosed?

A simple blood test diagnoses diabetes. Dr. Koney can order blood work if you have symptoms of diabetes like:

• Blurry vision
• Chronic fatigue
• Slow-healing sores
• Increased thirst and hunger
• Unexplained weight changes

Dr. Koney may also request routine diabetes screenings if you have risk factors for diabetes, such as a family history of the disease, if you’re overweight, or when you follow a poor diet and lead a sedentary lifestyle. 

Screenings identify diabetes in the earliest stages, so you can receive the treatment you need as soon as possible. Dr. Koney focuses on the latest evidence-based technologies to keep your diabetes well-controlled.

How is diabetes treated?

If you have type 1 diabetes, you will need daily insulin therapy to keep blood sugar in a healthy range. Dr. Koney prescribes and monitors your use of diabetic medication and focuses on preventive care to reduce your risk of long-term health complications.

Treating type 2 diabetes often starts with lifestyle changes, such as eating a low-sugar, low-fat diet, and getting daily exercise. By maintaining a healthy weight and staying active, you may be able to lower your blood sugar levels naturally. You can also make these changes if you have prediabetes to reduce your risk of type 2 diabetes.

If lifestyle changes aren’t enough to control blood sugar, Dr. Koney can prescribe medications. She also offers resources to support testing your blood sugar levels at home several times a day if you have type 1 or type 2 diabetes.

If you have diabetes or a family history of the condition, schedule an evaluation with Aruna Koney, MD, online or by phone today.