According to the National Health and Morbidity Survey (NHMS) 2023, about 3.6 million adults, or 15.6 percent of Malaysians have diabetes. Alarmingly, two in five adults are unaware of their diabetic status.
Among those who are aware, 56 % do not have good blood sugar control. A whopping 84 per cent of young adults aged 18 to 29 are unaware they have diabetes mellitus.
What is Diabetes?
Diabetes occurs when your body cannot effectively regulate blood sugar levels. This can happen when your pancreas stops producing enough insulin, your cells become resistant to insulin or both.
There are two primary types of diabetes:
Type 1: Occurs when your immune system attacks your pancreas, destroying its ability to produce insulin.
Type 2: Occurs when the pancreas doesn’t make enough insulin or the body becomes resistant to insulin which is the common type and accounts for more than 90 %of diabetes cases. It is primarily triggered by diet and lifestyle factors.
DIABETES: Bubbles should be in your coffee, not your urine!
We all love a cup of foamy coffee as a great way to start the day but a foamy urine? Not loving it.
Foamy urine may be a sign of protein in the urine, which is not normal and may be a complication in patients with long-standing poorly controlled diabetes mellitus, among other known causes.
If you notice foams in your urine that don’t settle away even after a few minutes or after you flush and get more noticeable, then you should see a doctor. Here’s why:
A foamy urine is called proteinuria, which essentially means protein present in your urine, which should not be the case in an otherwise healthy person. When your kidneys are damaged, they can allow protein to pass through into your urine. Kidneys filter waste products and excrete them into the urine, but proteins should not be filtered out into the urine, they should instead stay in the blood.
A simple urine test can confirm if you have protein in your urine, and how much. Remember, not all foamy urine is a sign of kidney disease and there may be various other causes such as dehydration, urinary tract infections, intense exercise and other kidney diseases.
If diabetes is the underlying cause of your proteinuria, your doctor may prescribe oral medications or insulin injections to reduce blood sugar levels, reduce the amount of protein in your urine and prevent you from developing chronic kidney disease.
Diabetes: Do blood sugar swings matter?
Treatment for type 2 diabetes (T2D) no longer focuses exclusively on HbA1c. A haemoglobin A1C (HbA1C) test is a blood test that shows what your average blood sugar (glucose) level was over the past two to three months.
Diabetes medications have benefits beyond glucose control and the latest treatment guidelines recommend choosing therapy according to the presence or absence of coexisting heart and kidney disease, heart failure, and weight.
Glycemic variability refers to swings in blood glucose levels that occur throughout the day. Continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) devices help you manage diabetes with fewer fingerstick checks. A sensor just under your skin measures your glucose levels 24 hours a day. A transmitter sends results to a wearable device or cell phone so you can track changes to your glucose level in real time. These devices can paint a fuller picture for patients of their daily glucose variability and factors affecting it including meals , exercise and medications, including time spent in the normal range for a person with diabetes and any episodes of high and low glucose levels . Talk with your doctor about whether using a CGM could help you manage your diabetes. CGM devices are available at Hospital Pantai Ipoh.
Pantai Hospital- Pantai Hospital Ipoh,
126, Jalan Tambun,
31400 Ipoh, Perak, Malaysia.
Clinic of Dr Tivya A/P Soundarajan
Suite 3B06, 4th Floor, 126, Jalan Tambun, 31400 Ipoh, Perak, Malaysia
05-540 5435
