37,000 North Dakotans are Living with Diagnosed Diabetes
BISMARCK, N.D. - November is National Diabetes Month, and North Dakotans are being urged to learn how to prevent the disease and its complications. Certified diabetes educator Mary Larson at the Family HealthCare Center, Fargo, says the symptoms are not always that detectable, so it is necessary to get a check-up every year.
"We see people who come in with blood sugars high enough to be diagnosed, and they've been walking around with diabetes for five to seven years. The problem with that is that the longer a person goes with untreated high blood sugars, the more likely they are to suffer complications from diabetes."
Larson says those complications are wide-ranging.
"Examples include losing toes and feet. The leading cause of adult blindness is diabetes. They have kidney problems, heart problems - the leading cause of death for someone who has diabetes is a heart attack. It affects every system in the body."
Larson says ways to reduce these effects include eating healthy foods and being physically active, and early detection is key.
"A person might have what's called pre-diabetes. People can, through lifestyle, really effectively prevent the development of diabetes, and there has just been really good evidence of that. There's a lot of hope."
Among the patients at the Family HealthCare Center is Jesse Vargas, who was diagnosed right around the time he was leaving the job market for good.
"All of a sudden, here I am retired, and I don't have insurance anymore. That's how I wound up going to Family HealthCare Center. They more or less treated me and led the way and told me what I could do. The only person who is more or less responsible is yourself."
In North Dakota, more than 37,000 people are living with diagnosed diabetes. Some estimates say by the year 2050, one person in three will have the disease.
More information on diabetes is available at www.diabetesnd.org.
