What is diabetes? Diabetes is a metabolic disorder in which the amount of glucose, or sugar, in the bloodstream is too high. There are a couple different types of diabetes. Learning how to manage your diabetes health care is very important if you have been diagnosed.

There are over twenty three million people with diabetes in the United States. It has become an epidemic. There are basically three types of diabetes, type one, or what has been referred to as juvenile diabetes, type two and gestational.

Gestational diabetes is when a woman who is expecting a child develops diabetes during the pregnancy. This form of diabetes can disappear after the child is born. This needs to be watched carefully during the pregnancy by your doctor. A glucose tolerance test is run while pregnant to see if you have diabetes present.

Type one was formally called juvenile diabetes because it was diagnosed mainly during childhood. Type one diabetics are insulin dependent. They produce no insulin at all. With type 2, you do not produce enough insulin or none at all. Type two's usually can take pills and diet with exercise to treat their diabetes.

Your health care team is very important in managing your diabetes. Some people who need to be on your team are your primary care doctor, endocrinologist, dietician, eye doctor as well as your dentist. Diabetics also can develop very serious foot conditions so having a podiatrist is also recommended. With diabetes, some may face emotional and mental symptoms that may help to have a psychologist or psychiatrist on your team.

One test the doctor will run is called an A1C. This test measures an average of you blood glucose levels over the past two to three months. This is important for the doctor to see what your blood glucose is doing. This does not replace your daily testing at home. This helps to see if the daily testing you are doing is accurate or if something is going wrong. This will help your doctor to provide the correct treatment for your diabetes to keep it under control. This should be run at least twice a year.

Keeping your diabetes under control and managed is very important. There can be serious complications such as retinal damage, coma or heart disease that can affect you if not taken care of properly. Always discuss any questions with your health care providers that you may have. Make sure to attend all your appointments and to ask for help when needed.