Diabetes Management

Diabetes causes multiple problems, ranging from sight loss and nerve damage to poor circulation and kidney disease. E. Leon Thompson, DO, of Thompson Medical Group in Peoria, Arizona, offers comprehensive diabetes management services that help keep you safe and well. You can benefit from diabetic foot exams, blood sugar analysis, help with weight loss, and prescription medications to improve your health and help you live longer. Find out more about diabetes management by calling Thompson Medical Group or booking an in-person or telehealth appointment online today.

Why would I need diabetes management?

Diabetes management helps you live a better life and stay healthy when you have diabetes.

Diabetes is a long-term illness where your body can’t regulate the sugar levels in your blood. People who don’t have diabetes produce enough of the hormone insulin to convert sugar into energy. However, if you have diabetes, your blood sugar levels could rise or fall to dangerous levels.

The main types of diabetes are:

Type 1 diabetes

Type 1 diabetes develops because your body can’t produce insulin. That results from an immune system dysfunction that destroys the cells in your pancreas responsible for making insulin. Type 1 diabetes typically develops in younger people. It’s unpreventable and incurable.

Type 2 diabetes

Type 2 diabetes occurs because your body doesn’t make enough insulin or it becomes resistant to the insulin it produces. The most common cause of this form of diabetes is excess body weight.

Prediabetes

If your blood sugar levels are raised but not so high for a Type 2 diabetes diagnosis, you have prediabetes. Unless you take action, your chances of developing Type 2 diabetes are very high. However, identifying prediabetes allows you to address the problem and reverse it.

What symptoms does diabetes cause?

Possible diabetes symptoms include:

• Blurry vision
• Dry, itchy skin
• Chronic fatigue
• Urinating frequently
• Continual hunger
• Unquenchable thirst
• Peripheral neuropathy

Diabetic peripheral neuropathy results from nerve damage caused by excess blood sugar. It causes tingling, pain, or numbness, most commonly in the feet. The combination of neuropathy and poor circulation due to damaged blood vessels in the legs increases your risk of diabetic ulcers — slow-healing open wounds.

Type 1 diabetes tends to cause noticeable symptoms quite quickly. In contrast, Type 2 diabetes develops so slowly you may not realize anything’s wrong until your condition worsens.

What does diabetes management involve?

Thompson Medical Group helps patients with Type 1 diabetes manage their condition using daily insulin shots or an implanted insulin pump.

People with Type 2 diabetes often manage their condition well by adopting healthier lifestyle choices. Your provider can assist with everything from eating a more nutritious diet and losing weight to quitting smoking and following an exercise program.

People with more severe Type 2 diabetes might need medications like metformin to help regulate their blood sugar. Some may also require insulin therapy.

To arrange a diabetes screening test or find out more about diabetes management, call Thompson Medical Group or schedule a consultation online today.