Your Family Doctor Diabetes: Diagnosis and Prevention - Medicines - Self-management

By Dr Vinod Wadhwa

Nearly 19 million people suffer from diabetes but one-third of them are not even aware of their problem.
Are you at risk? Recognising and diagnosing diabetes in time is like winning half the battle against it. A sustained management then can easily control diabetes but control should not be mistaken for cure. Diabetes is a progressive disease and even a slight laxity in its control can prove dangerous. This book will prove to be a potent weapon in your fight to control diabetes.
• Know your blood sugar level.
• Check it regularly.
• Treat diabetes with respect: exercise and weight control to manage it.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Wisdom Tree Publishers
• Release date: Feb 4, 2011
• ISBN: 9788183282390

Dr Vinod Wadhwa

Dr Vinod Wadhwa has a rich experience of over 20 years as a consulting physician. After completing his post-graduation, he has been actively advocating the cause of patient education.

Book preview

© Dr Vinod Wadhwa, 2006

ISBN 81-8328-031-5

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means — electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise — without the prior permission of the publishers.

While every precaution has been taken in the preparation of this book, the publisher and the author assume no responsibility for errors or omissions. Neither is any liability assumed for damages, if any, resulting from the use of information contained herein. No trade-mark infringement is intended upon.

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Published by Shobit Arya for Wisdom Tree; edited by Manju Gupta; designed by Kamal P. Jammual; typeset at Icon Printographics, New Delhi-110018 and printed at Print Perfect, New Delhi-110064

Contents

Preface                   7

Acknowledgement          9 1.   Understanding diabetes    11 2.   Is everyone a suspect?      27 3.   Tools for diagnosis        31 4.   A stitch in time…           37 5.   Managing diabetes         41

Preface

Of all the disease that inflict human beings possibly diabetes is the only disease which causes ill effects on the entire body. The consequences of bad glycaemic control are both immediate and delayed, both of them equally devastating. One disease where the role of intelligent eating practices coupled with physical exercise schedule could be enough to control it; yet the incidence seems to grow rather rapidly. This book is a synopsis of basic care for a diabetic and I guess could answer most of the questions that disturb the diabetic.

Acknowledgement

Acknowledgement are due to a lot of patients who also teach us while they are being treated. Cardiology and Diabetology Today, American Diabetes Association and Quarterly Medical Review Updates have been referred to time and again out this book.

Diabetes is an old-world disease

CHAPTER ONE

Understanding diabetes

Surprisingly, despite man’s best efforts to control all kinds of diseases through all kinds of treatment procedures, newer and more dangerous diseases are raising their heads and posing a danger to man’s life. The old-world diseases like diabetes are still around, growing by the day and which the poor human being is having to face regularly. Here, I’d like to compliment man, as he is truly God’s most-favoured child, taking the onslaught head-on. No matter how daunting the disease, this brat of a creature gets to know the cause and does manage at most times, to discover successful treatment regimes. Hats off to Homo sapiens!

12   Diabetes

I refer to diabetes as the old-world disease as its presence and knowledge have been documented by civilisations that have since vanished from the earth’s surface (and exist only to torment the poor schoolchild in his/her history sessions). It has thus been around for centuries and is gaining from strength to strength.

Let us define diabetes

Like all definitions (which are supposedly meant to simplify the meaning but end up causing more confusion), the definition of diabetes mellitus does cause some problem. Let me simplify.

Diabetes mellitus is a