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HEALTH & BEAUTY
diabetes Living with
There are now more than 350 million cases of diabetes diagnosed worldwide, with numbers continuing to rise year on year. To coincide with Diabetes Week (12th to 18th June) we reveal what it’s like living with the condition
This is because your pancreas doesn’t produce any insulin, or not enough insulin, to help glucose enter your body’s cells – or the insulin that is produced does not work properly (known as insulin resistance). There are two main types of diabetes – Type 1 and Type 2.
D
The body’s cells need glucose, which comes from digesting carbohydrate and is also produced by the liver, to use as a fuel, and insulin is required to allow the glucose to enter them. • In the case of Type 1 diabetes, the body’s insulin producing cells have been destroyed and no insulin can be produced, meaning that glucose cannot enter the cells. • With Type 2, the body either does not
iabetes is a condition where the amount of glucose in your blood is too high because the body cannot use it properly.
produce enough insulin, or produces an insulin which doesn’t work properly, and therefore only a limited amount of glucose can enter the cells, leaving an increased level in the bloodstream. Being diagnosed with diabetes and living with diabetes can sometimes feel overwhelming. In the weeks and months after being diagnosed, emotions are often pushed to one side as you try to get to grips with new treatments and changing your lifestyle. Everyone reacts differently when they hear the news. However over time it is likely that you will become more confi dent in your ability to cope with everyday activities, and the initial turmoil you may have felt should start to fade. Effective diabetes care can only be
achieved through working closely with your diabetes healthcare team who are there to support you in self-managing your diabetes.
Taking control
• Get the information you need. The more you know, the more confi dent you will become and the easier it will be to manage your diabetes. • Recognise your role: take some personal responsibility for managing your diabetes day-to-day.
• Be honest: give accurate information about your health and how you are really feeling. • Set goals: put into everyday practice the goals you may have agreed in your care plan. • Examine your feet regularly between reviews, or ask someone you know to check them for you.
• Ask for help if you are ill, and know the ‘sick day rules’. • Carry some form of medical identifi cation about your diabetes.
• Discuss with your diabetes healthcare team if you are pregnant or planning to become pregnant, so that pre- and post-pregnancy advice can be organised with your obstetric team.
If you have any health
concerns, make an appointment to see your GP.
• For more information on diabetes, or how you can get involved in Diabetes Week 2016, visit
www.diabetes.org.uk
The Canterbury INDEX
www.indexmagazine.co.uk
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