Diabetes

Most of the food we eat are changed into glucose for our bodies to use for energy. A hormone called Insulin, produced by our pancreas, has a vital role in using the glucose and maintaining the level of glucose in blood. Diabetes mellitus is an endocrine and metabolic disease in which blood glucose levels are above normal. When you have diabetes, your body either doesn’t make enough Insulin or can’t use the insulin well. This leads to an increase in glucose in your blood. Diabetes is broadly classified into type 1 and type 2. In type 1 diabetes, the pancreas cannot make insulin at all. In type 2 diabetes, the insulin produced is not enough or not effective.

Diabetes mellitus is a very common endocrine and metabolic disorder. About 1 in 11 people are affected by diabetes in their lifetime. It’s 7th leading cause of death in the US. People with diabetes can experience symptoms of dry mouth, increased thirst, increased urination, increased hunger, weight loss despite eating a lot, lack of energy, frequent infection of skin & urine, and poor wound healing. Sometimes people are presented with the symptoms & signs of complications of diabetes even before the diagnosis of diabetes.

Diabetes can lead to serious health complications which can be acute or chronic. Acute complications such as diabetes ketoacidosis (DKA) can be life threatening whereas chronic complications develop over a long period of time if diabetes is not controlled. Chronic complications include but are not limited to heart disease, blindness, kidney failure, and peripheral vascular disease leading to amputations of lower extremities.

At Prime Medical Care, LLC, Dr. Bishwakarma screens his patients for diabetes routinely based on their symptoms & risk factors. If he can manage the patient’s diabetes himself, he offers different options of treatments. If blood sugar is very high and difficult to control, he will refer patients to a specialist (endocrinologist). He examines patients and runs tests for complications of diabetes. He refers patients to corresponding specialists based on the findings.