Diabetes is a disease that affects how your body process or produce insulin. Insulin, a hormone, is used by the body to convert sugar, called glucose, and other foods into energy. There are currently around 24 million Americans who have diabetes and among those over a million are over the age of 65.

Diabetes can in many cases be treated, but there are some factors that can make this more difficult for seniors. Some of the factors are not necessarily specific to diabetes. This includes things like transportation, which is often difficult for those that can not drive any longer, or isolation, which can be as a result of a minimal family network. Exercise, which is an important part of treating diabetes, is also sometimes harder for those who have arthritis, so this can also interfere with treatment.

These factors can make treating any medical condition difficult, but because treating diabetes requires constantly monitoring your blood glucose level, not being able to consistently make it to the doctor, or not having someone to help with the tests can make successful treatment of the diabetes much more difficult.

Another very large part of treatment is maintaining a proper diet. Often diabetes can, in large part, be controlled by eating properly. However, eating the wrong foods can have very detrimental effects on an individual’s health. Due to the need for a strict and well regulated diet, many people use services like Meals on Wheels, which can deliver a proper diabetic meal to the senior.

Many times the cost of the treatment of diabetes can add up quickly. With seniors, it is necessary for more frequent trips to the doctor’s office. The lack of transportation is often overcome with public services that are offered by the local municipality, but the cost of the visits and medicine is not as easy for some to deal with. In many cases private insurance is very expensive, so Medicare is often used. In addition to Medicare, which is a federally funded insurance program, many states also offer health programs for the elderly. Using Medicare and other publicly funded health programs can help to greatly reduce the cost of treatment.

In addition to these factors, often the actual diagnosis of diabetes is more difficult among seniors. Many of the signs of diabetes are also things that are common among seniors. For instance blurry vision is one sign of diabetes, but for many seniors, the blurry vision might be attributed to age-related problems. Some of the other symptoms, like fatigue, constant thirst, and weakness, are also factors which come with age, so they might not be reported by the senior.

Seniors also have an increased risk of complications as a result of diabetes or its treatment. In instances where the symptoms of diabetes where not immediately noticed, the kidneys and heart are at much increased risk. Diabetes also affects the rate at which wounds heal, so if the individual hurts themselves it can be very serious.

Diabetes is something that, if properly diagnosed and treated, can in large part be controlled. Treatment and control is often more difficult for those over 65.

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