Diabetes Care
A Team Approach to Care
Whether you're an adult with Type 1, Type 2, or pregnancy-related diabetes, MultiCare's Center for Diabetes Education and Good Samaritan's Center for Diabetes Education can give you the tools to help you make good decisions, answer your questions, and help you better understand and manage your diabetes.Our team of registered nurses and registered dietitians specialize in teaching people like you how to effectively manage diabetes. An exercise physiologist, registered pharmacist, a social worker and a clinical psychologist support these diabetes educators. Our medical director is an endocrinologist specializing in diabetes and oversees all of our programs. We work together to provide you with comprehensive diabetes care, education, and nutrition advice in a supportive atmosphere.
Diabetes at a glance
| Type | Description | Treatment |
| Type I |
Develops in childhood or young adulthood. The body’s immune system destroys pancreatic beta cells, which makes insulin, the hormone that regulates blood glucose (sugar). Risk factors may be autoimmune, genetic or environmental. There is currently no way to prevent type I diabetes. | Insulin, delivered by injection or pump |
| Type II |
Accounts for 90 to 95 percent of all diagnosed cases of diabetes. Typically starts in adulthood as insulin resistance. As the need for insulin rises, the pancreas loses its ability to produce it. Risk factors include, obesity, a family history of diabetes, a history of gestational diabetes, impaired glucose metabolism, physical inactivity and it is more prevalent in some ethnic backgrounds, such as Latino. |
Healthy diet and exercise plan, losing excess weight, and oral medication. Some patients with type II diabetes may also need to take insulin. |
| Gestational (pregnancy) |
Gestational diabetes occurs during pregnancy, particularly among African Americans, Hispanic Americans and Native Americans. Must be managed to lessen the risk of complications for the fetus. | Same as for type II. |
Introducing the Guardian® REAL-Time Continuous Glucose Monitoring System
For Continuous Glucose Monitoring System (CGMS) – this is a glucose monitor that is worn for three days that is able to tell what the blood glucose level is 24 hours per day. This is done to see if there are trends and can be utilized by your physician and diabetes educators to help you manage your food intake and medications to help you take better control of your diabetes.REAL-Time display gives you continuous awareness of your current glucose levels.
The REAL-Time display gives you added protection and confidence 24 hours a day. REAL-Time Trend Graphs, Trend Arrows, and Glucose Readings help you understand the impacts food, exercise, and medication have on your glucose levels, so you can learn to better manage your diabetes.
Three layers of protection give you added peace of mind and confidence.
You can use all or just one of these alerts to protect yourself from oncoming lows and highs. Predictive Alerts can be set to warn you 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, or 30 minutes before glucose limits have been reached.
Rate of Change Alerts let you know when your glucose levels are changing. Low and High Alerts tell you when you've reached the glucose limits you've set.
Get a higher level of protection from dangerous highs and lows than fingerstick testing alone.
By itself, a fingerstick can only tell you what your glucose level is at that moment in time. A high or low that happens between fingersticks can easily be missed — and 60 percent of lows may not be revealed by fingersticks at all.
With the Guardian REAL-Time System, you'll always know what your glucose level is, which way it's heading, and how fast it's heading there. And as you approach your glucose limits, you'll be warned in plenty of time to take action.
Listen to MultiCare's Healthy Connections Radio show Saturdays at 11am on KVI, 570am
May 22, 2010 - Diabetes in adults and children - Dr. Ronald Graf