We wanted to make you aware that November is National Diabetes Awareness Month, but especially to call your attention to a disease that all too frequently is, at best, minimized, and, at worst, ignored.

Why is this the case? Probably for many reasons: 1) Diabetes has been around for a long time, and for many years was not discussed much, so that many people think it is just a “nuisance” disease; 2) Many people remember their parents and grandparents having it, and referring to it as “just a little sugar problem”; 3) Many people do not know of the serious complications that are a direct result of diabetes – such as heart attacks , kidney failure, and stroke; 4) Since diabetics usually die of these complications rather than from the diabetes itself, many people unknowingly think that the diabetes itself isn’t serious or cannot lead to death; and 5) Many people think that the available “treatments” for diabetes – pills or insulin injections – are in fact “curing,” or at least “treating,” the disease itself; in reality the medications simply keep the blood sugar in a normal range, but do nothing to treat the underlying disease.

Think that information about diabetes doesn’t apply to you? Think again. Currently, over 23 million people in the United States (8% of the population) have diabetes – 5.7 million of these are undiagnosed; approximately 57 million people in the US have prediabetes, a condition in which the blood sugar is high and may go on to frank diabetes. Research has shown that some people with prediabetes already have the long term damage to the body – especially to the heart and circulatory system – that most diabetics get. If you have been carrying around some extra pounds, you are risk for diabetes (Type II) and prediabetes. You are even more at risk if there is someone in your family with diabetes, or if you had gestational diabetes when you were pregnant. Remember, early on this is a silent disease; your blood sugar can be elevated without any symptoms.

Since the facts about diabetes are readily available in many places, both in hard copy (like in our book!) and online (see websites below), we will not discuss those here, other than to say that although it is indeed a serious disease with serious consequences if left untreated, it is also a controllable disease, and in many cases, a preventable one. The one thing diabetes is NOT: that “little sugar problem” that your grandmother had.

It is because of the misconceptions mentioned above that the American Diabetes Association (www.diabetes.org/home.jsp) and the National Diabetes Awareness Program, sponsored by the National Institutes of Health (www.ndep.nih.gov), work all year to educate everyone about this disease with excellent programs across the country. Please go these websites, learn the facts, and help yourself and others to avoid or control this disease and its devastating complications.

And once again, please read our blog of November 5, “The Danger Season” as it relates directly to weight gain, obesity and diabetes. And, remember to ask your clinician to check your blood glucose level at your next office visit.