Community Corner

Diabetes: The Not-So-Silent Killer

Dallas area primary care doctor Kwame Fiakpornoo discusses diabetes.

The Facts 
The incidence of Diabetes, particularly Type II Diabetes, also sometimes called Adult Onset Diabetes, is increasing at a rapid pace all around us, and guess what? It’s not so ADULT Onset anymore. It creeps up on us. So by the time one gets diagnosed based on the symptoms they are having, the disease has been lingering for a good number of years causing havoc to our 
bodies. This sounds grim, but it’s very true. 
 
The Disease 
Diabetes is a condition where our body's ability to utilize the food that we eat, which are converted to sugars, is impaired. These sugars then hang around our system with the resultant harmful effects. The process of utilizing food is mediated by insulin, a hormone made by an organ in our body called the pancreas. In Diabetes, we either don't make enough insulin, or we 
don't make the right insulin, or for some reason, our body has trouble using the insulin it makes. 
 
What It Does To Us 
Unfortunately, untreated diabetes affects practically every part of our bodies. From blindness to strokes, accelerating heart disease and heart attacks, nerve disease causing debilitating pain, kidney failure leading to dialysis, vascular disease leading to loss of limbs and erectile dysfunction, its effects tend to affect our daily lives to the core. 
 
Another Fact 
Though there can be a genetic component to the disease, the spike in Type II Diabetes cases is directly related to our lifestyle, especially what we eat, how we eat, and our weight! These are all modifiable factors in our lives, meaning that we have more control over the disease than we can 
ever imagine! 
 
Tell-Tale Signs 
Weight loss despite eating well, urinating a lot, feeling thirsty all the time, frequent bacterial and fungal infections are all frequently associated with Diabetes. 
 
Diagnosis 
Very simple blood tests can make the diagnosis. A Hemoglobin A1C test provides an average of the blood sugar over a period of three months. 
 
How We Treat
The comprehensive approach requires good patient input to guarantee success. It includes pills, or insulin, or a combination of both, in addition to weight loss, exercise, appropriate diets and a firm understanding of what diabetes does to our bodies. In doing this, we pay close attention to 
the usual associations especially Hypertension, High Cholesterol and Heart Disease. 
 
Dr. Kwame Says 
Get tested, exercise consistently, maintain appropriate weight for your height, reduce dietary starches, eat more fruits and more vegetables. If you already have Diabetes, you should get your annual eye and foot exam, and flu shot among other vaccines. Your doctor will monitor your control with a series of tests while YOU do the same at home with simple finger stick 
glucose tests. If you are on medications, be aware of the symptoms of low blood sugar as that can be fatal. Remember, you wield all the power to guarantee success. 
 
Dr. Kwame Fiakpornoo is a Board Certified Internist/ Primary Care Doctor and Medical Director of CobbWest Internal Medicine Associates located in Dallas GA. Visit http://www.cobbwestim.com or call 678-324-7021 for more information.


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