Diabetes Specialist

What is diabetes?

Diabetes is a chronic disease that affects how your body uses energy from the food you eat. After your body digests and metabolizes food, the nutrients enter the bloodstream, including glucose.

Glucose is the main source of energy for all the cells in your body. When glucose enters your bloodstream, it triggers your pancreas to release insulin, a hormone that helps get the glucose from the blood into the cell.

If you have diabetes, you have too much glucose in your blood because of problems involving your insulin. High blood glucose damages your blood vessels and organs, leading to health problems like neuropathy (nerve damage), heart disease, or kidney disease.

What is prediabetes?

Prediabetes is a reversible condition in which your blood glucose is higher than normal, but not high enough for a diabetes diagnosis. If you have prediabetes, you can make lifestyle changes to improve your blood glucose, potentially preventing diabetes.

Dr. David Zweiback provides prediabetes management, including the lifestyle changes you need to make to improve your health. This might include an exercise program, nutrition therapy, or weight management.

What are the types of diabetes?

There are many types of diabetes. However, some are more common than others. At his practice, Dr. Zweiback manages:

Type 1 diabetes
Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune condition that destroys the insulin-producing cells in the pancreas. People with Type 1 diabetes must take insulin injections to control blood glucose. This type of diabetes most often first appears during childhood or adolescence.

Type 2 diabetes
With Type 2 diabetes, blood glucose is high because the cells no longer respond to the actions of insulin. This is called insulin resistance. You can develop Type 2 diabetes at any age, but it most often occurs during middle age.

Having prediabetes puts you at risk of developing Type 2 diabetes.

What can I expect from diabetes management?

You can expect comprehensive diabetes management from Dr. David Zweiback. The specifics of your plan depend on the type of diabetes you have. Treatment might include:

Insulin injections Oral hypoglycemic medication (Type 2 diabetes only) Nutrition therapy Exercise program Stress management Weight management

Dr. Zweiback also does vascular and neurological evaluations to predict and minimize diabetes-related complications. He follows the latest recommendations in diabetes care and provides ongoing support to help you manage your health.

To find out more about diabetes management at the office of Dr. David Zweiback, call or schedule an appointment online today.