Diabetes is a serious disease where your blood glucose (blood sugar) is too high. Our bodies get glucose or sugar from the food we eat and use it for energy. Insulin helps the body use the glucose from food for energy.
Take Action to Manage Your Diabetes!
You can take action to protect your health and manage your diabetes.
- Living well with diabetes manual and lifestyle guidebook (PDF)
- What is diabetes? (PDF)
- Blood glucose tracker (PDF)
Type 1 Diabetes
- In type 1 diabetes the body does not make insulin.
- People with type 1 diabetes need to take insulin on a regular basis to keep glucose levels under control.
- Diabulimia is an eating disorder that affects people with type 1 diabetes. The term refers to the manipulation of insulin to induce weight loss in people with type 1 diabetes. For more information about this, see the following links:
- Learn more about type 1 diabetes.
Prediabetes
- Prediabetes is a condition in which people have blood glucose (blood sugar) levels higher than normal but not high enough to be diagnosed as diabetes.
- People with pre-diabetes have an increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and stroke.
- Take an online risk test to find out if you are at risk for prediabetes or diabetes.
- Learn more about prediabetes.
Type 2 Diabetes
- In type 2 diabetes the body does not make or use insulin well.
- People with type 2 often need to take pills or insulin.
- Type 2 is the most common form of diabetes.
- Learn more about type 2 diabetes.
Gestational Diabetes
- Gestational diabetes may occur when a woman is pregnant.
- Gestational diabetes raises a woman's risk of getting type 2 diabetes over the course of her life.
- It raises her child's risk of being overweight and getting diabetes.
- American Diabetes Association recommends all pregnant women who have not been previously diagnosed with diabetes get tested for gestational diabetes between 24-48 weeks.
- For women who have risk factors for type 2 diabetes, American Diabetes Association recommends testing for undiagnosed type 2 diabetes at the first prenatal visit.
- Learn more about gestational diabetes.
Diabetes Complications
Diabetes can cause serious health complications including:
- Heart disease.
- Blindness.
- Kidney failure.
- Amputations of the foot or leg.
Risk Factors for Diabetes
Risks You Can't Change
- Age
- Gender
- Family history with diabetes
- Race and ethnicity
- Having a baby weighing 9 pounds or greater
- History of gestational diabetes during pregnancy
- History of Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome
Risks You Can Change
- High blood pressure (hypertension)
- Using tobacco or being exposed to tobacco smoke
- Weight gain, especially in the abdominal area
- Being overweight or obese
- High cholesterol numbers that are not in the healthy range, including total cholesterol, LDL (bad cholesterol), and triglycerides
- Sedentary lifestyle, not enough physical activity
Signs and Symptoms of Diabetes
- Urinating often
- Feeling very thirsty
- Feeling very hungry—even though you are eating
- Extreme fatigue
- Blurry vision
- Cuts/bruises that are slow to heal
- Weight loss—even though you are eating more (type 1)
- Tingling, pain, or numbness in the hands/feet (type 2)
Diabetes Prevention, Management, and Education
It is important that people with diabetes make healthy food choices, stay at a healthy weight, and be physically active every day.
- For resources on making lifestyle changes now, such as eating healthier foods and getting more physical activity, that can prevent type 2 diabetes, visit our Diabetes Prevention and Management page.