Diabetes Management Specialist

As many as 100 million adults in the United States may be living with diabetes or prediabetes. At Advanced Medical and Kidney Institute in Apple Valley, California, Sunil Patel, DO, and his skilled medical team offer comprehensive diabetes management services to keep you healthy and prevent other health complications. In addition to diagnostic testing to confirm diabetes, the staff provides long-term services and insulin management to keep you in control of your blood sugar levels. If you have a family history of diabetes and want to have your blood sugar tested, call Advanced Medical and Kidney Institute or request an appointment online today.

Diabetes Management Q&A

Diabetes is a disease that involves how your body processes the sugar from your diet. Typically, your body uses the hormone insulin to convert the glucose (sugar) you get from food into the energy your cells need to function.

The two primary types of diabetes include:

Type 1 diabetes

Type 1 diabetes develops because your body doesn’t make insulin to regulate blood glucose levels. This results in high levels of glucose remaining in your blood that can lead to serious health complications, including nerve damage, heart disease, and chronic kidney disease.

The root cause of Type 1 diabetes may relate to dysfunction in your immune system that destroys cells in your pancreas that make insulin.

Type 2 diabetes

Type 2 diabetes develops when your body can’t make enough insulin to convert glucose into energy or doesn’t use the insulin it can make properly to maintain healthy blood glucose levels.

You may be at higher risk for Type 2 diabetes if you’re obese, are over 45, or if you have a family history of the disease.

Pregnant women are at risk for gestational diabetes, which causes high blood glucose levels in pregnancy that typically resolve after the baby is born.

You can also have prediabetes, a condition where your blood sugar levels are abnormally high, but not high enough to be considered full-blown diabetes.

What are the symptoms of diabetes?

The symptoms of diabetes can vary between individuals. In the early stages of diabetes, you may not have any symptoms. For this reason, it’s important that you have routine screenings if you have risk factors or a family history of diabetes.
You should also request blood glucose testing if you have symptoms of diabetes such as:
● Blurry vision● Persistent fatigue● Dry, itchy skin● Extreme hunger and thirst● Unexplained weight loss● Slow-healing wounds
If you have tingling or numbness in your hands and feet, it may be an early warning sign that diabetes is causing damage to your nerves.

What diabetes management services are available?

The team at Advanced Medical and Kidney Institute offers comprehensive diabetes management services to keep you in control of your blood glucose levels.

If you have Type 1 diabetes, you can expect to take insulin daily to control your blood glucose levels. Your provider shares the resources you need to make healthy eating choices and incorporate daily exercise into your routine.

With Type 2 diabetes, the team at Advanced Medical and Kidney Institute may initially try to help you control your blood glucose levels through diet changes, exercise, and weight loss. If it’s not enough to lower blood glucose levels naturally, you may need to take medications to help insulin work more efficiently.

The providers also offer routine A1C tests to evaluate your average glucose levels over the past few months to help ensure that your treatment is working well.

If you have diabetes and need help managing your blood sugar, call the specialists at Advanced Medical and Kidney Institute to schedule a consultation or book an appointment online today.