Diabetes prevalent, often ignored problem for many

Diabetes is the fifth leading cause of death in the United States, according to the American Diabetic Association, and yet people still ignore the problem.

Dr. Michael Mitchell, an internist with Florence Diagnostic Associates, said the way diabetes is treated has changed a great deal throughout the years.

“There are newer medications out there,” he said. “Incretins is a classification they have given to hormones released from our intestinal tract. These substances perform multiple functions. They make it easier for the pancreas to secrete insulin.”

Mitchell said for many patients, the physicians’ mantra has been the same for several decades.

“When you’re talking to somebody with diabetes, they are tired, they’re always hungry, and they can’t lose weight,” he said.

He said doctors tell the patients to work harder and eat less to lose the excess pounds, but it’s a much more complicated issue than plain old dieting.

“Its not that simple,” he said. “We’re finding out they are lacking in some of these incretins. Their stomach empties easier so they are always feeling hungry.”

He said that’s just one of the many new strides being made in diabetes awareness.

“That’s led to a lot of new thoughts on how to treat Type 2 diabetes,” he said. “Even if we look at some of the old medicines we use, like Metformin. It has been a mainstay for a number of years.”

But, Mitchell said, those old mainstays should not be tossed out just yet.

“We are still trying to treat diabetes, but it is important to remember that while things are changing quickly, these medications have only been on the market for the last decade,” he said.

And with 23.6 million people living with diabetes in the United States, it is an issue that will continue to be researched for years to come, according to the American Diabetic Association.

“Diabetes, throughout the world, is becoming an epidemic,” Mitchell said. “Just in the U.S., from 2005 to 2025, it is expected to go up 45 percent.”

He said those figures prompt speculation about a correlation between a country’s prosperity and the diabetes rate.

“In developing countries, we are expecting it to rise 150 percent,” he said. “The more prosperous a country is, the more likely they are to be obese, but again that’s just speculation.”

Mitchell said diabetes puts people at risk of several morbidity and mortality issues, such as stroke and heart attack, blindness, kidney failure and non-traumatic amputations.

Those are one aspect of the disease that people such as Barbara Seis are trying to avoid.

Seis attended diabetes self-management education classes at Carolinas Hospital System after being diagnosed with diabetes earlier this year.

“It was plopped down on me on my birthday,” she said. “March 14, 2008. I was 77 years old. I had had a good run.”

But her “good run” was nearing an end if she didn’t take steps to correct the imbalance in her system.

“I’ve learned that you really can eat most things you want,” she said. “Moderation and exercise is the key. You just have to back off on the portions, use some common sense and pay attention to your lifestyle.”