Diabetes

Diabetes is a lifelong disease that causes life-threatening health complications if you don’t control your blood sugar. Even with diabetes, you can enjoy a healthy life with diabetes education, medical care, and support from Deon Middlebrook, MD, and the exceptional team at Detroit Sherwood Urgent Care. They help you prevent Type 2 diabetes if possible and provide high-quality treatment for Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes and diseases they cause like high blood pressure and kidney disease. Call the office in Detroit, Michigan, today, or go online to request an appointment to get diabetes care.

What causes diabetes?

Diabetes develops when your body can’t get excess sugar out of your bloodstream because of problems with insulin. 

Your blood sugar naturally rises above the healthy range when you eat carbohydrates (carbs) like bread, pasta, and sweets. Then your pancreas releases insulin, a hormone that restores normal blood sugar levels by transporting sugar to cells that need it for energy.

Type 1 diabetes usually begins at a young age when an autoimmune disease damages the pancreas. As a result, the organ stops producing insulin.

Type 2 diabetes develops gradually as your body stops responding to insulin (insulin resistance). Though your pancreas still produces insulin, it can’t send sugar into cells and you end up with high blood sugar.

What complications develop due to diabetes? 

High blood sugar damages nerves and small blood vessels, causing:

• High blood pressure
• High cholesterol
• Heart disease
• Chronic kidney disease
• Eye disease and blindness
• Foot wounds that won’t heal

Diabetes dramatically increases your risk for heart attacks and strokes.

Why should African Americans seek diabetes care?

Detroit Sherwood Urgent Care has a caring African-American team that is concerned about the risks diabetes poses for the Black community.

Compared with white people, Black Americans are:

• 60% more likely to be diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes
• Four times more likely to be hospitalized with uncontrolled blood sugar
• Three times more likely to be hospitalized with diabetes complications
• Twice as likely to die from diabetes

Diabetes is also the top cause of chronic kidney disease, another condition that affects more African Americans and leads to kidney failure.

How is diabetes treated?

The experienced Detroit Sherwood Urgent Care team provides customized care for diabetes and hypertension (high blood pressure), including:

Diabetes education

Diabetes education is crucial because your daily habits determine whether your blood sugar stays in the healthy range. Your provider works closely with you, teaching you key practices like:

• Monitoring of blood sugar
• Following a healthy diet
• Choosing the best foods
• Losing weight (excess weight increases insulin resistance)
• Setting weight loss goals and counting calories
• Increasing physical activity (exercise improves cellular response to insulin)

Your provider also recommends lifestyle adjustments as the first line of treatment for high blood pressure. 

Medication

You need medications to control blood sugar and blood pressure if they don’t improve with lifestyle changes.

Call Detroit Sherwood Urgent Care today or request an appointment online for high-quality diabetes testing and treatment.