Is Diabetes Letting The Parade Pass You By?

Divabetic

Superstar Barbra Streisand sang,“Before the parade passes by,
I’m going to get some life back into my life,
I’m ready to move out in front,
I’ve had enough of just passing by life” in the movie, Hello Dolly!

The song’s message parallels  Divabetic’s reasons for raising awareness for diabetes at street fairs and parades like the Easter Parade on Fifth Avenue.

“We go to parades to interview people with diabetes and capture the wonderful sights and sounds. Our goal is to show why it’s important to take proper care of your diabetes in order to keep your vision,” says Max ‘Mr. Divabetic’ Szadek. “It would have been a shame to miss the creativity on display at this year’s  Easter Parade but that’s the case for millions of adults who lose their sight each year to diabetes complications.”

Diabetic retinopathy causes the most blindness in U.S. adults. It affects the vision of more than half of the 18 million people diagnosed with diabetes age 18 or older.

Too much glucose in the blood for a long time can cause diabetes problems. This high blood glucose, also called blood sugar, can damage many parts of the body, such as the heart, blood vessels, eyes, and kidneys. Heart and blood vessel disease can lead to heart attacks and strokes. You can do a lot to prevent or slow down diabetes problems.

In some people with diabetic retinopathy, blood vessels may swell and leak fluid. In other people, abnormal new blood vessels grow on the surface of the retina. The retina is the light-sensitive tissue at the back of the eye. A healthy retina is necessary for good vision.

If you have diabetic retinopathy, at first you may not notice changes to your vision. But over time, diabetic retinopathy can get worse and cause vision loss. Diabetic retinopathy usually affects both eyes.

The longer someone has diabetes, the more likely he or she will get diabetic retinopathy. Between 40 to 45 percent of Americans diagnosed with diabetes have some stage of diabetic retinopathy. If you have diabetic retinopathy, your doctor can recommend treatment to help prevent its progression.

Don’t get down, get DIVA!’ Let Barbra Streisand in ‘Hello Dolly!’ inspire you to take better care of your diabetes so you can live your best life.

Make sure you have a complete eye exam through dilated pupils at least once a year. Team up with your healthcare entourage to keep your blood sugar levels in a tighter range because better control also reduces the need for sight-saving laser surgery.

The Diabetes Control and Complications Trial (DCCT) showed that better control of blood sugar levels slows the onset and progression of retinopathy.

Diabetic retinopathy is treated with surgery or laser surgery. With timely treatment; adequate control of blood sugar, blood pressure, and cholesterol levels; and regular follow up, 90 percent of all cases of blindness from diabetes can be prevented.

“This year I met a woman who almost lost her sight to diabetes retinopathy,” says Mr. Divabietc. “She was diagnosed with diabetes by her eye doctor. She learned how to manage her diabetes and then had corrected laser surgery to restore her vision. Because of it she was able to enjoy all the Easter Parade hats. Isn’t that’s amazing?!”

Tags: Divabetic videos, Easter Parade, eye problems, mr divabetic, new york, vision loss