I have been more than just a little critical of doctors who keep poor records, don’t tell their patients all they deserve to know, and don’t educate their patients about their medical situation. I need to be fair, or at least I’m feeling that need momentarily. There are a lot of fine doctors out there that do a great job on all of these issues. But, I think that the majority of doctors, my own included, fail miserably in at least one, if not all three, of these areas.

This makes life and the chance of getting life insurance at fair prices far more of a challenge than it needs to be. I have screamed from the blog tops about all of the collateral health issues that can be caused by type 2 diabetes and about how doctors somehow keep missing the boat in educating their patients on the big picture of diabetes.

There is an old misconception that the killer in diabetes is out of control blood sugar. I am guessing that most people, if asked what a person with diabetes dies from most commonly, would say something like diabetes induced coma or shock.

The biggest killer of people with type 2 diabetes is heart disease. Is it any wonder that life insurance underwriters are hard pressed to make good offers when a person with diabetes has also had cardiac issues.

And, I believe, it could all be so different if a newly diagnosed case of diabetes was given the whole story and not just a piece of it. The risks go far beyond glucose levels and it you don’t monitor and, if need be, treat the other health issues such as cholesterol, blood pressure, heart disease and kidney function, you are headed for trouble. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, only about 7% of people with diabetes are getting all the treatment that they really need. 93’% are at risk of being permanently damaged by their own doctor.

Bottom line. If you are diagnosed with diabetes, don’t assume your doctor will do all you need done. Educate yourself. The American Diabetes Association is a great source of up to date medical information and educational materials that can help you know what to ask and where to go. I have also found many of the diabetes blogs to be very helpful. Blogs like www.thediabetesblog.com are written by people who know the disease personally and offer not only good advice, but good support.

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