Meet the Experts

Lois Exelbert

Nurse Diabetes Educator and Patient Care Manager with Baptist Hospital of Miami

Videos

Symptoms of Diabetes

Fatigue is the first symptom of diabetes, affirms Lois Exelbert, Nurse Diabetes Educator and Patient Care Manager with Baptist Hospital, because the body is not getting energy from food. When the body has to excrete the extra sugar, frequent urination becomes the second symptom. Thirst and hunger are the other most common symptoms of diabetes, she explains.

Debunking Diabetes Myths

Lois Exelbert, Nurse Diabetes Educator and Patient Care Manager with Baptist Hospital, clarifies several myths about diabetes. She says new studies indicate that patients who can lose just 5 to 10% of their overall weight goal for improving their diabetes. The expert affirms at least four percent of people who have diabetes don’t know it. Nobody is exempt from having diabetes, she adds.

Risk Factors for Type 2 Diabetes

Diabetes is a genetic disease, but to be a sedentary and overweight, two things combined, also can cause Type 2 diabetes, explains Lois Exelbert, Nurse Diabetes Educator and Patient Care Manager with Baptist Hospital. However, there are other risk factors for Type 2 Diabetes: age, family history, race and ethnicity, pregnancy, low HDL cholesterol and being a smoker. The expert advises parents to be aware of the nutrition of their kids.

Diabetes & Pancreas

The pancreas is in the middle of the stomach, next to the kidneys and underneath the liver. The main culprit of the pancreas is a hormone that produces insulin in it, explains Lois Exelbert, Nurse Diabetes Educator and Patient Care Manager with Baptist Hospital of Miami. She states insulin enables people to break down sugar from food. If there isn’t sufficient insulin, that sugar remains in the bloodstream. In type one diabetes, it has to be replaced completely and it’s important to determine how it is causing the insulin reduction, she says.

Diagnosing Diabetes

With a graphic, Lois Exelbert, Nurse Diabetes Educator and Patient Care Manager with Baptist Hospital, explains the tests which are used to diagnosis diabetes. The expert explains the test called A1C measures the average of what blood sugar there has been over a three-month period. It’s the best tool for finding people with diabetes even if the fasting level is absolutely normal. She advises if a patient doesn’t take insulin, he should test before breakfast and test two hours after various different meals.

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