Seeking Diabetes Treatment and Management in Houston?
If you’re in search of diabetes treatment and management in Houston, look no further than Supreme Medical Center. Our team of physicians and healthcare providers is dedicated to assisting patients of all ages in diagnosing, treating, and managing diabetes.
Our primary goal is to minimize the impact of this chronic illness on your health, allowing you to move forward with confidence. For those with a family history of diabetes, we closely monitor your health to detect early warning signs. If you’ve already been diagnosed, our team works with you to provide the best possible treatments.
Understanding Diabetes
Diabetes is a chronic health condition that affects the body’s ability to convert food into energy. After you eat, most of the food is broken down into sugar (glucose), which enters your bloodstream. In response, your pancreas releases insulin, which acts as a key, allowing the sugar to enter your body’s cells for energy.
In diabetes, either the body doesn’t produce enough insulin or cannot use it effectively, leading to elevated blood sugar levels. Over time, this can result in serious health problems such as heart disease, vision loss, and kidney disease. Although there is no cure for diabetes, adopting a healthy lifestyle, including weight management, proper nutrition, and regular physical activity, can significantly help.
Types of Diabetes
There are three main types of diabetes:
- Type 1 Diabetes: This type is caused by an autoimmune reaction where the body mistakenly attacks itself, resulting in insufficient insulin production. Type 1 diabetes typically develops rapidly and is usually diagnosed in children, teens, and young adults. Daily insulin injections are necessary for survival, and currently, there is no known prevention method.
- Type 2 Diabetes: In type 2 diabetes, the body doesn’t use insulin effectively and cannot maintain normal blood sugar levels. It often develops gradually over time and is commonly diagnosed in adults, but increasingly in children, teens, and young adults as well. Symptoms may not be noticeable, so it’s important to get blood sugar tested if you’re at risk. Healthy lifestyle changes, including weight loss, a balanced diet, and physical activity, can help prevent or delay type 2 diabetes.
- Gestational Diabetes: This form of diabetes occurs in pregnant women who have not previously had diabetes. Although it usually disappears after childbirth, it increases the risk of developing type 2 diabetes later in life for both the mother and the child.
What Is Prediabetes?
Prediabetes is a serious health condition where blood sugar levels are higher than normal, but not high enough yet to be diagnosed as type 2 diabetes. Approximately 96 million American adults—more than 1 in 3—have prediabetes. Of those with prediabetes, more than 80% don’t know they have it. Prediabetes puts you at increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and stroke.
What Causes Prediabetes?
Insulin is a hormone made by your pancreas that acts like a key to let blood sugar into cells for use as energy. If you have prediabetes, the cells in your body don’t respond normally to insulin. Your pancreas makes more insulin to try to get cells to respond. Eventually your pancreas can’t keep up, and your blood sugar rises, setting the stage for prediabetes—and type 2 diabetes down the road.
Signs & Symptoms
You can have prediabetes for years but have no clear symptoms, so it often goes undetected until serious health problems such as type 2 diabetes show up. It’s important to talk to your doctor about getting your blood sugar tested if you have any of the risk factors for prediabetes, which include:
Being overweight
- Being 45 years or older
- Having a parent, brother, or sister with type 2 diabetes
- Being physically active less than 3 times a week
- Ever having gestational diabetes (diabetes during pregnancy) or giving birth to a baby who weighed more than 9 pounds
- Having polycystic ovary syndrome
Diabetes Treatment Options
While diet and exercise play a crucial role in managing diabetes, medication is sometimes necessary for control. Type 1 diabetics require lifelong insulin treatment, while type 2 diabetics often manage their condition with prescription medications. If you’re uncertain about your options or whether you have diabetes, schedule an appointment with the physicians at Supreme Medical Center in Houston. We will work with you to find solutions that suit your needs and lifestyle.
Supreme Medical Center in Houston
When it comes to your health, early intervention is key. At Supreme Medical Center, we prioritize prompt appointments with our physicians at the first sign of illness. Our dedicated doctors collaborate with you to address your symptoms and facilitate a speedy recovery, ensuring you feel like yourself again in no time.
Supreme Medical Center
350 N Sam Houston Pkwy E
Suite B240
Houston, TX 77060
281-809-5470
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