Diabetes: Treating every aspect of your condition

Diabetes is a life-long condition marked by high levels of sugar in the blood. If you have diabetes, your pancreas does not make enough insulin (a hormone that controls blood sugar), or your body does not properly respond to insulin. Insulin delivers fuel from the bloodstream into fat, muscle and liver cells.

The diabetes care experts at UW Health treat every aspect of your condition. We look at your health from all angles and help you manage diabetes with exercise, nutrition and medicine. Our classes and support groups teach you how to live with diabetes.

When you digest food:

• A sugar called glucose enters the bloodstream. Glucose fuels the body.

• An organ called the pancreas makes insulin. Insulin moves glucose from the bloodstream into muscle, fat and liver cells.

When your body doesn’t have enough insulin or can’t use it well, blood sugar can’t move into the cells.

There are two major types of diabetes, Type 1 and Type 2.

You can manage your diabetes with:

• Appropriate diet (to control blood sugar levels)

• Exercise (to lower and help your body use blood sugar)

• Regular monitoring of your hemoglobin A1c levels

• The hemoglobin A1c test shows the average amount of sugar in your blood over the last three months. Your results show if your blood sugar levels are under control.

• Testing generally occurs at least twice a year if your blood sugar level is in the target range and stable.

• Testing occurs more frequently if your blood sugar level is unstable.

If you have Type 1 diabetes, you need daily insulin injections to keep your blood sugar level within normal ranges.

Your treatment might also include:

• Pancreas transplant to give your body the ability to make insulin

• Self-monitoring of your blood sugar levels several times a day

• Self-monitoring of ketone levels in your urine several times a day

If you have Type 2 diabetes, you may be able to control your blood sugar levels by losing weight, eating a healthy diet and getting regular exercise. These changes do not work for everyone.

Treatment often includes:

• Insulin replacement therapy

• Oral medicines to control blood sugar

• Regular foot inspections

• Weight control

Your diabetes care team includes experts in endocrinology and nutrition who support your efforts to live well with diabetes. The members of your team include:

• Clinical medical assistant

• Licensed practical nurse

• Pharmacist

• Primary care doctor

• Registered nurse diabetes educator

• Registered nurse

• Registered dietitian

At UW Health, we provide a variety of resources to help you live well with diabetes. They include:

We provide endocrinology, diabetes and metabolism care and treatment at UW Health clinics in Madison, Wis. and Rockford, Ill.