CHRONIC DISEASE MANAGEMENTÂ LOS ANGELES
Diabetes
Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a group of metabolic diseases relating to the body’s ability to use blood sugar (i.e. glucose). Glucose is the body and brain’s main source of energy, and the hormone insulin makes this energy available for the body to use. Having diabetes is a result of your body not being able to produce enough insulin, or fully use the insulin that it makes. This in turn can affect your nerves, eyes, kidneys, heart and other organs.
There are four main forms of diabetes:
Type 1 diabetes: This is caused by the pancreas’ inability to produce insulin.
Type 2 diabetes: When your body becomes resistant to insulin.
Prediabetes: When someone’s blood sugar level is not high enough to be classified as diabetes, but is still higher than average. This condition is potentially reversible if preventative measures are taken.
Gestational diabetes: Pregnancy-related hormones that cause high blood sugar.
Some of the symptoms associated with diabetes include:
Increased hunger and thirst
Weight loss
Frequent urination
Loss of vision
Extreme fatigue
Infections and sores that don’t heal
Once diabetes is diagnosed and treatment begins, you’ll need to follow up with your doctor, and continuously monitor your blood sugar levels.
HYPERTENSION
Hypertension, also known as high blood pressure, is a common medical condition. It occurs when the blood pressure in your arteries is elevated on a consistent basis. High blood pressure can lead to complications such as heart attacks, strokes, aneurysms, and heart failure.
There are two factors that determine your blood pressure: how much blood your heart pumps, and the degree to which your arteries resist that blood flow. Blood pressure is calculated using two numbers:
Systolic pressure: The pressure in your arteries when your heart beats.
Diastolic pressure: The pressure in your arteries between heart beats.
Hypertension doesn’t have a definitive set of symptoms, which makes routine checkups even more important. You can get away with getting a blood pressure reading every other year, unless you’re over forty or at high risk of hypertension. In that case, you should get one every year.
HIGH CHOLESTEROL
Cholesterol is a substance that isn’t bad by default, as it’s a substance in your blood that helps build the cells in your body. But if you have too much cholesterol in your blood, then you may be at risk of heart disease. High cholesterol makes it harder for blood to flow through your arteries. More often than not, an unhealthy lifestyle is to blame for high cholesterol.
Improving your diet, losing weight, exercising, and not smoking, are all easy-to-implement ways to reduce or prevent high cholesterol. Since high cholesterol doesn’t show any symptoms, you should ask your doctor for a blood test to detect it.
DEPRESSION
Depression, also called major depressive disorder or clinical depression, is a mood disorder that is characterized by low energy, low self-esteem, and loss of interest. Since depression isn’t just a temporary feeling, it may require long-term treatment in the form of therapy and/or medication. A wide variety of symptoms have been reported for depression, such as:
Having a sense of hopelessness
Always feeling tired
Not being able to sleep
Loss of appetite
Having suicidal thoughts
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Make sure you come in for regular physical exams so we can catch these conditions before they become serious. Many of these treatments will be considered medically necessary and thus covered by insurance.