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Diabetes
Primary Care & Urgent Care in Tacoma, WA
Diabetes is a life-altering disease, but it doesn’t have to rule your life. At Tacoma Urgent Care and Wellness Center, their team can help you manage your diabetes to avoid complications like nerve damage, vision problems, and heart disease. To learn more about your condition and successful ways to manage it, call the office in Tacoma, Washington, or request an appointment online today.
Diabetes
Preguntas frecuentes
What is diabetes?
Diabetes is a chronic condition affecting the way you process sugar in your blood. The result of having either of the two main types of diabetes is that your blood sugar is too high. Normally, your body converts the sugar in your blood into the energy that it uses to function.
Insulin, a hormone from your pancreas, facilitates this process. If you don’t produce insulin or don’t have enough for the amount of sugar in your blood, your excessive blood sugar can cause an array of health complications.
There are two main types of diabetes with differences in how they work. You might have:
Type 1 diabetes
Type 1 diabetes develops when your body can’t make insulin. It’s an autoimmune disease, so your own immune system attacks and disables the cells in your pancreas that make insulin. The condition can develop at any age, but it’s usually diagnosed during childhood.
Type 2 diabetes
Type 2 diabetes is the most common type of diabetes and develops when your body doesn’t use insulin well or doesn’t make enough of it to process all of the sugar in your blood.
What are some health complications associated with diabetes?
If you don’t manage your diabetes, the condition can lead to an array of health complications, some of which are life-threatening. Over time, you might develop:
- Heart disease
- Kidney disease
- Dental issues
- Vision problems
- Neuropathy
- Foot problems
- Dementia
Your Tacoma Urgent Care and Wellness Center provider can help lower your chances of developing complications like these with expert diabetes management strategies.
How can I manage my diabetes?
The primary goal of diabetes management is to restore your body’s carbohydrate metabolism to its original, healthy state. If you have Type 1 diabetes and don’t make insulin at all, you’ll need to undergo insulin replacement therapy. You deliver the insulin to your body either through injections or with an insulin pump.
If you have type 2 diabetes and resist the insulin in your body, your treatment plan primarily includes modifications to your diet and getting more exercise. These lifestyle changes can help boost your carbohydrate metabolism, and you might not require further treatment.
In either case, it’s important to follow your provider’s instructions for your management plan and check in with them regularly. You’ll also likely need to monitor your blood sugar levels regularly and report problems to the team at Tacoma Urgent Care and Wellness Center.
To find out more about diabetes and develop a successful plan to manage it, call Tacoma Urgent Care and Wellness Center or book an appointment online today.