Early Diagnosis is Key to Diabetes Control
WESSINGTON SPRINGS, S.D. - Getting an early diagnosis of diabetes can lead to better control and a higher quality of life, and November, National Diabetes Month, is a good time to begin.
Diabetes is a chronic, blood-related condition that is approaching epidemic proportions in the United States. The American Diabetes Association estimates that nearly 26 million children and adults have diabetes, and another 79 million are at risk of developing it. There are also projections that one in three adults will have diabetes by 2050 unless more steps are taken to prevent it.
Dr. Keri Orstad with the Jerauld County Clinic in Wessington Springs says that, for many, diabetes lurks silently.
"Most of the people that come in and are first diagnosed with diabetes had no idea that they had it. Unfortunately, you can have it for quite a while without realizing it, without having any symptoms. Some people will come in, if their blood sugars are real high, you know, they can have a little of anything. They just don't feel good, they feel run down, they're tired, they're weak, just kind of general malaise, that sort of thing."
Diabetes can take a toll on health, leading to heart disease or stroke, kidney failure, even blindness or limb amputations. Dr. Orstad tells patients that, while complications can be severe, they also can stay healthy for the long term through proper nutrition, exercise and medication.
"It's something that is scary; it's very frightening to get that diagnosis. But it is definitely controllable, and a lot of those symptoms - like the symptoms in the feet and the blurry vision - a lot of those will go away if we start to get the blood sugars under control."
Dr. Orstad says the most frequent comment she hears from patients is that controlling diabetes was not as bad as they thought it would be.
Information is at www.diabetes.org.
