The Sugar Diabetes

Some of my older patients tell me they have, "The sugar diabetes".  This always confuses me...is there another kind of diabetes?*  

Diabetes seems benign.  The patient feels pretty normal, so it's easy to ignore.  But consider a diagnosis of diabetes comparable to a diagnosis of cancer.  It's an illness that should be taken VERY seriously. 

If you have diabetes and you aren't controlling your blood sugars religiously, YOU'RE JUST NOT SCARED ENOUGH.

In the USA, diabetes is the #1 cause of blindness, kidney failure and amputation.  Diabetics are two and a half times more likely to have a stroke, and 75% of diabetics die of heart attacks.   

Nurse's Note: I'd take HIV over diabetes.

*Another Nurse's Note:  I am aware of diabetes insipidus and gestational diabetes.