No time to bury head in the sand on symptoms of diabetes

For such a common condition, diabetes is still cloaked in ignorance, says Caroline Wells

JUST over a month ago National Diabetes Week was in full swing and provided the perfect time to talk about diabetes … or did it?

After careful consideration I concluded yes, the week provides a great opportunity to focus the nation’s attention on our cause, but in reality we can’t think about something as serious as diabetes for one week and then forget about it.

We need to be talking about diabetes as much as we can, because it is surrounded by misconceptions and misunderstanding, which is quite surprising considering how widespread it is.

We need to dispel the myths, we need to rid society of these misconceptions, we need to raise awareness and we need to promote the early detection of diabetes. We need to ensure the care for people with diabetes is timely and we need to support ongoing research.

So much to talk about, so much to do, and we only have one week to do it? It simply doesn’t seem right.

There’s no time like the present to start talking about early detection of diabetes, both type 1 and type 2 diabetes.

Type 1 diabetes doesn’t discriminate and is more common than you think.

Every year around 640 Australians become extremely sick and end up in hospital with dangerously high blood glucose levels because the early signs and symptoms of type 1 diabetes were not recognised in time. Half of these are children and adolescents.

Failure to recognise the early symptoms of type 1 diabetes such as severe fatigue, thirst and weight loss can lead to diabetes ketoacidosis. This is an acute complication which can be life threatening and often requires hospitalisation.

About one in five people who are newly diagnosed with type 1 diabetes only learn they have type 1 diabetes after presenting to hospital with diabetes ketoacidosis. If not diagnosed in time, type 1 diabetes can be fatal.

Part of raising awareness and the importance of early detection is that ever one should know the “4 Ts” of type 1 diabetes: Toilet – are you going to the toilet a lot? Thirsty – are you really thirsty and unable to quench that thirst? Tired – are you more tired than usual? Thinner – have you recently lost weight?

These 4 Ts are pretty simple. By recognising these symptoms, along with providing timely diagnosis and treatment, we can minimise the number of acute complications requiring emergency hospitalisation.

Now let’s think about early detection of type 2 diabetes.

Why does the mention of type 2 diabetes turn so many

of us into ostriches, burying our heads and hope the problem will just disappear? We all know what this means and type 2 diabetes perfectly fits the ostrich scenario, because type 2 diabetes can be very insidious and downright sneaky.

It is estimated there are up to half a million Australians living with type 2 diabetes who do not know it. We refer to this as silent undiagnosed type 2 diabetes. What is of great concern is that many people with type 2 diabetes will live with the condition for up to seven years before it is diagnosed and by this time, as many as half of all people will have already developed at least one serious diabetesrelated complication.

For example, it has been reported that somewhere between one in 10 and one in five people show signs of diabetes retinopathy, leading to blindness. On top of this, at the time of clinical diagnosis of diabetes up to 48 per cent of people can have impaired foot sensitivity – this is an early indicator of the potential for serious foot conditions that can lead to amputation.

We don’t want people developing these complications, they are devastating for the person with diabetes and their families as well as impacting heavily on our health care system. These are just some of the reasons why early diagnosis is so important.

Diabetes can be managed, but like treating all health issues, you need to know what you are dealing with first. If you are over 40 years of age make it a priority to talk to your GP about diabetes and your level of risk. It could be a lifesaving conversation.

Here at Diabetes Tasmania we are keen to hear from you. We have specialist staff and a number of programs and support services all specifically designed to help you to live well with your diabetes.

You are not alone, so call us today. Caroline Wells is chief executive of Diabetes Tasmania.