Diabetes 

Diabetes

Diabetes is a lifelong condition that causes a person’s blood sugar level to become too high.

There are 2 main types of diabetes:

  • type 1 diabetes – where the body’s immune system attacks and destroys the cells that produce insulin
  • type 2 diabetes – where the body does not produce enough insulin, or the body’s cells do not react to insulin

Type 2 diabetes is far more common than type 1. In the UK, around 90% of all adults with diabetes have type 2.

During pregnancy, some women have such high levels of blood glucose that their body is unable to produce enough insulin to absorb it all. This is known as gestational diabetes. If you have had diabetes in pregnancy you should have an annual blood test to screen for diabetes as you are at higher risk of developing diabetes

Pre-diabetes

Many more people have blood sugar levels above the normal range, but not high enough to be diagnosed as having diabetes.

This is sometimes known as pre-diabetes. If your blood sugar level is above the normal range, your risk of developing full-blown diabetes is increased.

It’s very important for diabetes to be diagnosed as early as possible because it will get progressively worse if left untreated.

We recall patients in this category annually and our staff offer lifestyle advice to help preent progression to diabetes