Diabetes Management Specialist
-
- Tweet
Beth and Howard Braver, MD
Internal Medicine located in Aventura, FL & Hollywood, FL
Diabetes is a chronic health condition that affects more than 100 million Americans. To ensure your blood sugar levels are well-controlled, the staff at Beth and Howard Braver, MD, offers comprehensive diabetes management services at their internal medicine offices in Hollywood and Aventura, Florida. Whether you need daily insulin therapy or help making better dietary choices, the board-certified internal medicine doctors customize your care plan to fit your needs. To schedule a diabetes management appointment, call the Beth and Howard Braver, MD, office nearest you or book a consultation online now. You can also visit the office as a walk-in.
Diabetes Management
What is diabetes?
Diabetes is a chronic disease that involves how your body converts the sugar from your diet into the energy you need to function. There are several types of diabetes, but the two most common are:
Type 1 diabetes
Type 1 diabetes is a condition where your body doesn’t make the insulin hormone needed to keep your blood sugar at healthy levels. As a result, blood sugar levels remain dangerously high, which can eventually cause long-term health complications, including heart disease and premature death.
Type 2 diabetes
In Type 2 diabetes, your body doesn’t produce enough insulin to keep blood sugar levels well-controlled or doesn’t use available insulin properly.
You can also have prediabetes, a condition where your blood sugar levels are high, but not high enough to be considered diabetes. Pregnant women are at risk for gestational diabetes, a condition where blood sugar levels are high throughout a pregnancy but usually resolve after childbirth.
What are the risk factors for diabetes?
Type 1 diabetes is typically diagnosed in childhood. It results from an immune system disorder that causes the destruction of cells in the pancreas, the organ responsible for making insulin.
Type 2 diabetes is often the result of a poor diet and other lifestyle factors, such as:
- Age
- Weight
- Family history
- Lack of physical activity
You can also develop Type 2 diabetes if you’re a woman with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), a condition that develops due to a hormone imbalance and causes cysts to grow on the ovaries.
If you have these risk factors for diabetes, the medical team at Beth and Howard Braver, MD, offers onsite blood tests to check your blood sugar levels and screen for diabetes.
How is diabetes treated?
If you have Type 1 diabetes, you need to take daily insulin to keep your blood sugar levels well-controlled. You also need to test your sugar levels at home using a simple blood test several times a day.
Treating Type 2 diabetes initially starts with changes to your diet and lifestyle habits. Your Beth and Howard Braver, MD, doctor discusses healthy food choices and regular exercises that can help lower your blood sugar naturally. If these changes aren’t enough to control your blood sugar, you may need daily medications or insulin therapy to protect your health.
To learn more about available treatments for diabetes, schedule a consultation at Beth and Howard Braver, MD, by calling the office closest to you or requesting an appointment online now.
