Diabetes is a chronic condition that primarily affects your blood sugar levels. If left untreated, it may affect your heart, kidneys, vision and much more.
When you are newly diagnosed with diabetes, your physician may prescribe you one or more types of treatment to manage your blood sugar levels and reduce your complications. You can help yourself with simple lifestyle and diet modifications.
Further, your doctor may also provide you with a care plan for diabetes mellitus.
Knowing that you have diabetes may feel overwhelming and you may not know what to do next. The following ideas can help:
1. Understand What is Diabetes and How to Manage It
The good news is that complications from diabetes can be prevented or delayed when handled correctly. All in all, diabetes is all about managing and monitoring blood sugar levels.
2. Lifestyle Changes for Diabetes
Managing diabetes is about maintaining a healthy lifestyle, including a healthy diet, exercise and weight management.
Seek the help of experts like an endocrinologist, diabetes educator and other health specialists to develop the skills to manage your diabetes. Some of the healthy behaviours are:
A person with diabetes mustn’t skip any meals, especially when on medication.
3. Medication for Diabetes
Depending on your medical history and blood sugar levels, your physician may prescribe single or multiple medications to maintain your blood sugar in a healthy range.
One must continue these medications as instructed by their doctor and adopt a healthy lifestyle and diet. If in doubt, always discuss medication options with your diabetologist and they can help you understand the possible risks and advantages associated with them.
4. Blood Sugar Monitoring
Keep a glucometer or blood sugar monitor to check your blood glucose levels at home. Extreme sugar levels can cause health complications. Hence, it is essential to monitor and maintain your blood sugar levels in the target range.
5. Maintain Records
Tracking, recording and maintaining your blood sugar levels, diet plan, medications, prescription and other various reports will help you and your diabetologist understand or recognise patterns in blood sugar fluctuations if any. It is essential to maintain a health journal with details, such as meals, sugar levels and exercise regimen.
Keeping the prescription in the doctor’s file makes it easy for the physician to check your history.
Moreover, keeping records helps the physician determine the progress or regress you have made. It can help the doctor in titrating your treatment plan.
6. Find Support
Knowing that others can relate with you as they have the same problems as you have is comforting. You can share your concerns with people going through the same and get ideas on what has helped them.
You can find support and guidance by joining organisations, forums or groups.
Also Read: What is Milk Thistle Good For? Exploring its Research-Backed Benefits
Getting diagnosed with a new disease may be challenging to accept and handle. Hence, it is essential to understand the severity of the disease and implement the changes advised by the healthcare professional.
The critical aspect of managing diabetes is making lifestyle changes and following them to maintain healthy blood sugar levels. Talking to the experts and following their instructions will surely help you.
It is always beneficial to talk to people going through the same issue as it helps you prepare and prevent complications that may arise due to a misstep.
Also Read: “Diet Alert: Foods To Avoid While Taking Metformin”
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Nearly 62 million Indians have diabetes, a disease that makes the body less able to convert sugar into energy. Most people with uncontrolled type 2 diabetes have too much sugar left in the blood. Over time, this can damage organs, including the brain.
Alzheimer’s disease, on the other hand, is a progressive and fatal brain disorder that gradually destroys a person’s memory and ability to learn, reason, make judgments, communicate and carry out daily activities. As Alzheimer’s progresses, individuals may have changes in personality and behaviour, such as anxiety, suspiciousness or agitation, as well as delusions.
Type 3 diabetes is a term used when Alzheimer’s disease is triggered by insulin resistance in the brain. This condition is most often used to describe people who have type 2 diabetes and are also diagnosed with Alzheimer’s or dementia. Type 3 diabetes occurs when neurons in the brain become unable to respond to insulin, which is essential for basic tasks, including memory and learning. Some researchers believe insulin deficiency is central to the cognitive decline of Alzheimer’s disease.
People who have type 2 diabetes may be up to 60 per cent more likely to develop Alzheimer’s or dementia. One study of over 100,000 subjects with dementia pointed out that women with type 2 diabetes had a higher probability of developing vascular dementia than men.
Alzheimer’s disease is not a normal part of ageing. Memory problems are typically one of the first warning signs of Alzheimer’s disease, decreased or poor judgment, misplacing things and being unable to retrace steps to find them are very early telltale signs to suspect Alzheimer’s disease.
Dr. Ashish Bajaj – M.B.B.S, M.D.
Doctors don’t know yet what causes Alzheimer’s disease or exactly how Alzheimer’s and diabetes are connected. But they do know that high blood sugar or insulin can harm the brain in several ways:
The symptoms of type 3 diabetes are the same as symptoms of dementia or early Alzheimer’s. These symptoms include:
There’s no specific test for Alzheimer’s or type 3 diabetes. Your doctor will ask several questions about your family history and your symptoms along with relevant tests of High Blood Sugar. Brain imaging, like MRIs and CT scans, can give your doctor a picture of how your brain is working. Cerebrospinal fluid tests can also look for indicators of Alzheimer’s.
Also Read: “Diet Alert: Foods To Avoid While Taking Metformin”
There are specific treatment options for people who have type 2 diabetes as well as Alzheimer’s.
Lifestyle changes, such as diet and exercise, maybe a big part of your treatment. If you have both type 2 diabetes and Alzheimer’s, treatment for your type 2 diabetes is important to stop the progression of Alzheimer’s.
Metformin is an anti-diabetic drug that may also help to treat symptoms of dementia. Other symptoms of Alzheimer’s and dementia, like mood swings and depression, may be treated with psychotropic drugs. Antidepressants and anti-anxiety medications are part of treatment in some cases.
Type 3 diabetes is a way of describing Alzheimer’s that may occur due to insulin resistance inside the brain. Your outlook can vary according to several factors, including how well your diabetes is managed and the severity of your dementia.
Dr. M.G. Kartheeka, MBBS, MD
If you can treat your diabetes with diet, exercise and medication, you may be able to slow the progression of Alzheimer’s or dementia. Your outlook will also vary according to how soon your symptoms were discovered, and what your doctor thinks about your specific case. The sooner the treatment begins, the better your outlook will be.
If you already have type 2 diabetes, there are ways that you can lower your risk of developing type 3. Here are some of the proven methods for controlling type 2 diabetes and minimizing organ damage:
Read More About: Different Types of Diabetes
Disclaimer: The above information has been prepared by a qualified medical professional and may not represent the practices followed universally. The suggestions listed in this article constitute relatively common advice given to patients, and since every patient is different, you are advised to consult your physician, if in doubt, before acting upon this information. Lupin Limited has only facilitated the distribution of this information to you in the interest of patient education and welfare.
