November is National Diabetes Awareness Month. With diabetes, your body doesn’t make enough insulin or can’t use it as well as it should.  When this happens, too much blood sugar stays in your bloodstream.  Over time, this can cause serious health problems, including heart and kidney disease, vision loss, and stroke. Diabetes is the eighth leading cause of death in the United States (and may be underreported).

In the last 20 years, the number of adults diagnosed with diabetes has more than doubled.  That might include you, and you may not even know it.  More than 37 million people in the United States have diabetes, and 1 in 5 don’t know they have it.  Another 96 million U.S. adults have prediabetes, which increases your risk for diabetes, heart disease, and stroke, yet more than 8 in 10 don’t know it.  So how do you know if you have diabetes?

First, are you at risk?  There are three main types of diabetes; type 1, type 2, and gestational, but over 90% of those diagnosed with diabetes have type 2.  To check your risk of type 2 diabetes, take this 60-second quiz from the CDC.  Second, check for any possible symptoms (thirsty, tired, losing weight, blurred vision, etc.).  Even if you pass the risk and symptom test, the only way to truly know for sure if you have diabetes is to have your blood sugar checked by your primary care physician.  It is a simple blood test.

If you are diagnosed with diabetes, your health care team will guide you.  If you are at a high risk for diabetes, you can lower your risk for type 2 diabetes today by staying at (or getting to) a healthy weight, eating a healthy diet, and being active.

For those on Drake’s health plan, inpatient and outpatient training, and education for the self-management of all types of diabetes is covered. All covered training or education must be prescribed by a licensed physician and outpatient training, or education must be provided by a state certified program.  You can go to Wellmark.com, click “Find a facility”, “Places by type”, and then type in “diabetic education” to find a list of in-network facilities that offer this education.

The steps you take today can make all the difference tomorrow.

— Linda Feiden, Human Resources