Our Services / Diabetes

What is diabetes?

Diabetes is a condition that affects your body’s ability to control blood sugar, which is in your bloodstream. 

If you have Type 1 diabetes, your body doesn’t make enough insulin, a hormone that moves sugar from your blood into other cells within the body. Type 1 diabetes often appears during childhood.

Type 2 diabetes diminishes your body’s ability to use insulin properly. It usually develops after age 40 due to lifestyle habits.

Gestational diabetes occurs during pregnancy and should go away after delivery.

Type 1.5 diabetes, also referred to as latent autoimmune diabetes in adults (LADA), is a type of diabetes with characteristics of both Type 2 and Type 1 diabetes. However, unlike Type 2 diabetes, LADA isn’t reversible with healthy lifestyle changes.

Maturity-onset diabetes of the young, also known as MODY, includes several conditions that cause high blood sugar. MODY usually begins before age 30 and causes reduced insulin production. 

Prediabetes causes blood sugar levels to increase, but they’re not yet high enough to be classified as Type 2 diabetes.

What are the symptoms of diabetes?

Common symptoms of diabetes include:

• Increased thirst
• Increased urination
• Extreme hunger
• Fatigue
• Weight loss
• Blurry vision
• Irritability
• Frequent infections
• Slow-healing sores

When left untreated, uncontrolled diabetes can cause heart damage, nerve problems, kidney damage, foot issues, eye problems, and dementia, as well as depression.

What are the risk factors for diabetes?

Genetic factors play a large role in developing Type 1 diabetes. Risk factors for developing Type 2 diabetes and prediabetes include:

• Physical inactivity
• Being overweight
• Aging
• Family history of Type 2 diabetes 
• High blood pressure
• High cholesterol
• Polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) in women
• Gestational diabetes in women

Adopting healthy habits is the best way to reduce your risk of diabetes. Getting treatment for diabetes helps prevent complications.

How is diabetes diagnosed?

Dr. Lee diagnoses diabetes using a simple blood test. She also checks your vital signs and completes a physical exam, looking for signs of diabetes-related complications. She may suggest you undergo additional testing to detect or rule out other medical problems.

How is diabetes treated?

Dr. Lee treats diabetes using various methods. She offers health education, teaching you ways to eat healthily, exercise regularly, and lose weight if you’re overweight — Dr. Lee specializes in medical weight loss. 

She offers FDA-approved diabetes medications and insulin pumps, including patch pumps, sensor-augmented pumps, and closed-loop pumps. She also provides insulin pens and continuous glucose monitoring (CGM). 

Dr. Lee personally analyzes CGM and offers personalized insulin prescriptions when necessary. She follows up with you to ensure your diabetes treatment works properly. 

To get screened or treated for diabetes, call the Southlake Endocrinology PLLC: Do-Eun Lee, MD, office or schedule an appointment online today.