Diabetes

Over 18 million Americans have diabetes. Diabetes means that your blood glucose (often called blood sugar) is too high. Your body needs glucose for energy, but too much glucose in the blood is not good for your health.

Find more resources about this and other preventive services on the Helpful Publications page.

Chronic Kidney Disease

While most people are familiar with diabetes, they are unaware that it is a leading risk factor for developing kidney disease. Kidney disease also negatively affects other illnesses that are common among people with diabetes, such as heart disease and stroke. African-Americans and Hispanics have an increased risk for kidney disease as well. On this page, you can learn more about the disease and how to get tested for it. 

Control Your Diabetes for Life

English brochure (1.47MB PDF) / Español (1.64MB PDF)

Taking care of your diabetes is important because diabetes can lead to problems with your eyes, kidneys, nerves, gums and teeth. But the most serious problem from diabetes is heart disease. When you have diabetes you are more than twice as likely as people without diabetes to have heart disease or a stroke. You can reduce your chances of getting heart disease by controlling your blood pressure, blood glucose, and blood fat levels.

Knowing your diabetes cholesterol (lipid panel) and A1c (blood glucose) numbers and getting a dilated eye exam every year will help you manage your diabetes. These tests can detect diabetes complications before they affect your quality of life. To begin managing your diabetes, start with these three steps to good health: 

1. Call an eye doctor in your area to schedule an appointment for a dilated eye exam for people with diabetes. To find an eye doctor that accepts Medicare assignment, you can visit Medicare's Participating Physician Directory. You can also call 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227) to get a list of doctors. 
2. Ask your doctor for an A1c test if you have not received one this year. This test can show you and your doctor the amount of sugar in your blood for the past three months. If your blood sugar has been high each month or different every month, this can help your doctor and you decide how to get your diabetes under control.
3. Ask your doctor for a lipid test, also known as a cholesterol test if you have not received one in the past year. The lipid test can show you and your doctor your risk for heart disease.
4. Ask your doctor for a urine microalbumin test every year. This test checks how well your kidneys are working.

Other Resources

Contact the following resources for information about diabetes, educational materials and local events and activities.

• American Diabetes Association
  1-800-342-2383
  Diabetes information, medical updates and local resources.
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
  1-877-232-3422
  Information regarding trends in diabetes care, national statistics and national programs/initiatives to improve diabetes care.
• National Diabetes Education Program
  1-800-438-5383
  Offers tools and resources for patient management, education and improve outcomes.
• The National Kidney Disease Education Program
  Patients will find extensive information and resources in English and Spanish on this site, including easy-to-read informational brochures and fact sheets.
• The National Kidney Foundation
  This nonprofit organization provides patient and community services for people affected by kidney disease as well as supports preventive initiatives. In the “Patients” section of this website, people affected by kidney disease will find a range of topics related to living with kidney disease as well as supportive message boards frequented by other patients and families dealing with kidney issues.