Diabetes Medicine At Unger Primary Care

Unger Primary Care Concierge Diabetes Treatment
Diabetes is a chronic disease, for which there is no known cure, save in very specific situations. It is also increasingly common. Estimates are that nearly 400 million adults suffer from diabetes. Factors such as our modern diet and our increasingly sedentary lifestyle are accelerating the growth of the population with diabetes. It is an affliction that’s familiar to many Americans. It is also a condition that Dr. Unger has dedicated much of his career researching, educating on and combating. Patients with diabetes come to the Unger Primary Care Concierge to benefit from one of the foremost international minds in the field of diabetes research – diabetology – and the related disciplines of metabolic disorders and endocrinology. To receive diabetes treatment from Dr. Unger is to place your disease in the hands of an expert who has grasped the subject for decades.

Diabetes Symptoms
An understanding of diabetes begins with an understanding of the metabolism. Your metabolism is the system that sustains your life, helps you grow and regulates your response to your environment. Diabetes is a condition that exhibits high blood sugar levels and the body’s confused response to them. High blood sugar over a prolonged period creates imbalance in your system. Symptoms of that imbalance include increase in thirst, hunger and urination. These are just the beginning. As diabetes gets more serious, diabetes symptoms proliferate. The list of the symptoms of diabetes is long. At the onset, they can include blurry vision, headache, fatigue, slow healing of cuts and itchy skin. This is because many of your body’s functions are beginning to suffer the effects of the disease.

Severe Diabetes Symptoms
Severe diabetes symptoms can develop rapidly or over the period of many years. That development is dependent on many factors, especially whether it is type 1 diabetes or type 2 diabetes. Regardless of the nature of the disease or its speed of development, the symptoms of severe diabetes are varied. Many derive from low blood sugar. These effects may range from feelings of unease, sweating, trembling and increased appetite, all the way to confusion, changes in behavior, seizures, unconsciousness and – in rare instances – permanent brain damage or death. If untreated, diabetes can afflict long-term complications. The areas of your body that are most likely to suffer damage are those closely connected to the metabolism and circulatory system. This means that frequent complications related to diabetes include damage to the eyes, foot ulcers, chronic kidney failure, stroke and cardiovascular disease. This is why studies show that diabetes at least doubles a person’s risk of death. The economic price of diabetes last year alone was estimated at $612 billion globally, and at $245 billion in the United States in 2012.

Type 1 Diabetes and Type 2 Diabetes
This complex and costly disease may be on the rise in our modern world, but medicine has been aware of it since ancient times. The word “diabetes” itself directly means “a siphon” in Latin, referring to the body’s tendency to consume more fluids and solids, and to pass more urine. However, the distinction of diabetes into type 1 diabetes and type 2 diabetes has been evolving along with our knowledge of the body. It used to be that type 1 diabetes was known as “juvenile diabetes,” as it usually develops from an inability of the pancreas to produce sufficient insulin and arrives early in life. Now our understanding of type 1 diabetes has become more sophisticated and we understand that it can, in rare cases, develop in adults. Type 2 diabetes begins with insulin resistance. This is a condition in which cells fail to respond to insulin properly. Provided that the disease progresses, this metabolic disorder can include a lack of insulin. There’s even a third type of diabetes – gestational diabetes – that occurs when pregnant women develop a high blood sugar level. Unlike the more common type 1 diabetes and type 2 diabetes, gestational diabetes usually resolves after pregnancy.

Diabetes Treatment
Diabetes treatment is as variable as the disease itself. Of the two types, type 2 diabetes is by far the more common. It’s primarily caused by excessive body weight and a lack of exercise, and the many metabolic dysfunctions that those conditions lead to. As such, prevention and treatment of type 2 diabetes best involves a healthier diet, physical exercise, avoidance of tobacco and an effort to attain and maintain a normal body weight. It’s also important to attend to blood pressure control and foot care, given that those aspects of the body often suffer the brunt of some of diabetes’ most insidious effects – namely, damage to the circulatory system. It’s that damage, among other effects of diabetes, that leads to foot ulcers and harm to the eyes. Type 2 diabetes may also be mitigated by certain medications. These courses of medication can include insulin. In the case of type 1 diabetes, the type that’s caused directly by insulin deficiency, insulin is almost always involved in the course of treatment. Whenever insulin is involved, it’s wise to watch for low blood sugar closely. For many patients with serious diabetes, management of the disease involves close observation of their blood sugar levels.

Harm Caused by Diabetes
The consequences of failing to manage diabetes are severely harmful to one’s quality of life. Diabetes can worsen many other serious health conditions – most notably cardiovascular disease – and lead to fatality. It also erodes related systems of the body, directly leading to conditions defined as harm caused by diabetes. Damage to the eyes that is caused by diabetes’ effects on blood vessels in the retina is known as diabetic retinopathy. Diabetic nephropathy is damage to the kidneys, which may involve tissue scarring, urine protein loss, and eventually chronic kidney disease, requiring dialysis or kidney transplant. Diabetes can even afflict the nerves of the body. This is the most common complication, known as diabetic neuropathy. Its symptoms may include altered pain sensation, tingling and numbness. All of that may contribute to damage to the skin. There’s also an effect on the mind. Compared to people without diabetes, diabetics show up to a 1.5-fold greater rate of cognitive decline.

Unger Primary Care Concierge – Effective Diabetes Medicine in San Bernardino
As serious as the harm diabetes causes may be, it’s a challenge many of us face. The understanding of the disease is evolving along with the cultural that’s fostering its advance. As such, a specialist such as Dr. Unger is crucial in helping a patient combat the development of their diabetes. His knowledge is their power. Also, the variable nature of diabetes’ causes and effects demands an individualized approach. This isn’t a disease with one problem and one solution. It requires a comprehensive and customized course of care. At Unger Primary Care Medical Center, that is just the kind of care our concierge medicine proudly offers.

If you’re seeking effective diabetes medicine in San Bernardino, CA, or anywhere in southern California, give us a call. We will be happy and honored to care for you in the personal way you need to feel well.