Test your Diabetes IQ

Most people can tell they have diabetes true or false?

1. True
2. False

The answer is false.  Most people cannot tell they have diabetes.  Early on in the disease lots of damage is happening and a person cannot tell.  This is the time when the chance to avoid illness with the least cost is the greatest. Early on daily changes in the kind and amount of food you eat can control diabetes and make you nearly normal.  Exercise early in the disease and at all stages makes diabetes much better controlled without having to spend more money on medication.   Getting testing for the disease before a person feels badly is very important.

Diabetes causes which skin problems?

1. itchy tattoos
2. jock itch
3. Skin tags, dark skin under the arms and thickened skin on the face.

The answer is #2 and #3.  Diabetes makes a person much more likely to have fungal infections like jock itch and ringworm.  It also seems to be more common in people with skin tags, dark skin in the arm pits and neck and thickened skin on the face.  It does not make tattoos itch, but tattoos have their own problems.

What does Hemoglobin A1c mean?

1. A handy way to make things complicated?
2. The best way to diagnosis diabetes.
3. A way to find you average blood sugars over three months.

So many terms in health care are odd. The answer if #3, “Hemoglobin A1c” is just a handy test to tell you what your average blood sugar is over the last 3 months.   For now it isn’t approved to diagnosis diabetes.  This is because the test is a little bit variable from lab to lab.  It can be drawn fasting or non fasting.  

What is the best level for a Hemoglobin A1c?

1. Anywhere above 8
2. 7 is a good number
3. Below 7.

The best numbers are below 7 (number 3).  This is because many studies have shown the complications related to diabetes are cut in half when blood sugars are this low.  This corresponds with average blood sugars that are below 150.    When a person aims for blood sugars of about 100 to 120 they will meet this average.  If they aim for blood sugars of 150, their higher numbers will make their average too high.  To not miss out on a chance to cut your complications in half aim for 100 to 120.  Aiming for these numbers is a great chance to cut in half the number of strokes, heart attacks, blindness, impotence, limb loss and kidney failure that diabetes can cause.

Which of the following are not complications caused by diabetes?

1. Strokes
2. Blindness
3. Kidney failure and dialysis
4. Impotence or decline in sex life
5. Loss of limbs
6. Heart attacks
7. Pneumonia
8. Lock jaw

The answer is lock jaw #8.  Diabetes is a major reason for many diseases.  It is also an opportunity.  So many hospital visits and illness can be decreased by aggressively treating this disease it is mind boggling.

This was a hard test.  If you got 3/5 correct or more you have a good basic knowledge of your disease.   Even if you didn’t get any correct I’ll bet you already know more.  If you got 4/ 5 correct or more super! You are well on your way to knowing a lot.  Now its just time for a short walk to lower those blood sugars and prevent diabetes, it’s good for everyone.