Taming Type 2 Diabetes

Image by peruisay via Flickr

If you suspect your have type 2 diabetes – e.g., you have symptoms or you just fit the risk profile — it’s really important to find out as early as possible.

I know.  I know.  Just having medical symptoms can be scary.  And then there’s the possibility that if you go to the doctor you might possibly find out that you really do have something wrong. But please don’t let

• Fear that your diagnosis will be life threatening
• Fear of needles and medical testing
• Anxiety about having to make lifestyle changes
• Anxiety about going to the doctor
• The thought that your symptoms aren’t serious enough to warrant a trip to the doctor

stop you from getting tested.

If you’re having symptoms, you need to get answers as soon as possible.  You may find out that you’re free from disease – Yea!  – and your “free and clear.”  However, if you do get diagnosed with diabetes or you’re found to have pre-diabetes, the earlier you know the better.

People who get early treatment for diabetes have a much better health outcome.  You may even be able to reverse the condition with lifestyle changes if you’re willing to make them.  However, if you put off treatment and lifestyle changes, there can be great consequences, because  unmanaged diabetes can lead to major health conditions such as:

• Heart disease
• Stroke
• Limb amputation
• High blood pressure
• Kidney disease
• Kidney failure

Getting tested and finding out early can be a lifesaving decision.  So don’t delay!

To help encourage you to make that appointment, I thought I’d try to help you get past your testing anxieties, so  in the next post, I’m going to talk a little about what’s actually involved with diabetes testing.  It’s just really not that bad, and . . . you have to admit, it’s a whole lot better than having diabetes and not knowing.