Diabetes

Reduce your risk of diabetes

Leicester has a high incidence of diabetes with 9.4 per cent of the adult population, registered with a GP, living with diabetes. This is above the national average of 7.1 per cent.

What is diabetes?

Diabetes is where the body doesn’t produce enough insulin to regulate the levels of sugar in your blood. If your blood sugar gets too high then it can cause problems such as damage to blood vessels, nerves, and organs. In severe cases this can lead to organ failure, blindness, and limb amputation.

Most common types of diabetes

• Type 1: when the body doesn’t produce any insulin at all.
• Type 2: when your body doesn’t produce enough insulin. This is more common than type 1.
• Other types of diabetes include gestational diabetes, which some women may go on to develop during pregnancy. And there are many other rarer types of diabetes such as type 3c and Latent Autoimmune Diabetes in Adults (LADA) too. 

Common symptoms of diabetes

• Feeling very thirsty
• Going to the toilet a lot, particularly at night
• Feeling very tired/more tired than is normal for you
• Losing weight without trying to
• Cuts that take a long time to heal
• Genital itching or thrush that keeps coming back
• Blurry vision.

How can I get tested?

If you are concerned or are displaying all or any of the symptoms of diabetes, then it is important to get yourself tested. Diabetes cannot be cured, but good management can keep your blood sugar levels as normal as possible to control your symptoms and minimise health problems developing later. If you have any symptoms, you should contact your GP who will perform a simple finger prick blood test. If you are between 40 and 74 you are eligible for a free NHS health check which also tests for Diabetes. If your doctor thinks you have diabetes, they may refer you to hospital for treatment.

Prediabetes

Some people may have a blood sugar level that is higher than usual, but not high enough to be diagnosed with type 2 diabetes – this is known as prediabetes. Having prediabetes means you are at risk of developing type 2 diabetes.

Am I at risk of developing type 2 diabetes?

You could be at risk of developing type 2 diabetes if you are:

• Overweight or obese
• Related to someone who is diabetic
• A smoker
• Physically inactive
• Over 40 if you’re white, or over 25 if you’re African Caribbean, Black African, or South Asian (Indian, Pakistani, or Bangladeshi)
• Of South Asian, Chinese, African-Caribbean or Black African descent (even if you were born in the UK)
• Have a history of high blood pressure, heart attack, strokes, gestational diabetes, or severe mental illness
• Regularly consuming high amounts of processed foods, sugary drinks and unhealthy fats
• Women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) are also more likely to develop type 2 diabetes.

Gestational diabetes

Gestational diabetes is a type of diabetes that develops during pregnancy. It occurs when the body cannot produce enough insulin to meet the increased insulin needs during pregnancy which leads to high blood sugar levels.

Gestational diabetes usually develops around the 24th week of pregnancy and typically goes away after childbirth. However, women who have had gestational diabetes are at higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes later in life. 

Find out your risk for developing Type 2 Diabetes by completing this tool from Diabetes UK.

How to reduce your risk

Adopting a healthy lifestyle can help to prevent the onset of diabetes.

By maintaining a healthy weight (this will mean losing weight if you are overweight or obese), increasing your activity levels and eating a well-balanced diet, you can reduce your risk of developing type 2 diabetes. You can also:

• Quit smoking
• Cut down or quit drinking alcohol
• Aim to get 7-9 hours of sleep a night
• Work on managing your stress levels

Support for those with diabetes

Diabetes UK is the leading UK charity that cares for, connects with and campaigns on behalf of all people affected by and at risk of diabetes.

Silver Star is a diabetes awareness charity with its headquarters in Leicester.

Leicester Diabetes Centre provides information and support for people with diabetes in Leicester

The Healthy Living for people with Type 2 diabetes is a free online service for people with Type 2 diabetes and gives advice and information on your diagnosis and how to manage the conditionMy Type 1 Diabetes is a public information website for people with Type 1 diabetes and provides an e-learning course to help people understand their condition and how to manage it properly.