The city of Toronto is world famous for it’s ties to the illness of diabetes. Medical history was made in Toronto, Ontario in 1921 when two men revolutionized diabetes treatment by discovering insulin. Though there have been further advancements in diabetes treatment since, insulin therapy remains a vital treatment for this serious disease. The function of insulin is to tell your body’s fat and muscle cells to take sugar out of the bloodstream.
The first insulin used to treat diabetes was called Toronto insulin.
Both men and women, in Toronto and elsewhere in Canada, commonly develop diabetes. There are 2 types of diabetes, Type 1 and Type 2. They are very different diseases.
People with Type 2 diabetes, have lots of insulin in their system, but their body cells are resistant to it so the blood levels of sugar rise. This usually comes on later in life, often as adults gain weight, thus it’s nickname adult-onset diabetes. Luckily, improved pills for Type 2 diabetes allow many Toronto diabetics to delay or even avoid having to take insulin, which involves injections.
Type 1 diabetes is an illness that involves a failure of the insulin producing cells in the pancreas to make insulin. This typically affects children and adolescents, and is a lifelong illness. These people are dependent on insulin injections or pumps to maintain a healthy blood sugar. Most Toronto patients with diabetes will now tell you though, that with improved insulin types and schedules, the disease is managed better than ever and patients are living healthy normal lives.
Diet and Exercise remain vital components to any treatment plan for diabetes. In fact, numerous diabetes patients frequent Toronto health clubs and are seen running and biking on Toronto streets. Many of these patients with type 2 diabetes who exercise regularly and adhere to a good diet can avoid medication altogether to control their sugar. And those with type 1 diabetes can improve their sugar levels and lessen the amount of insulin they need.
Unfortunately, complications from diabetes continue to be a major health issue, and accounts for a large amount of health care services provided in Toronto and the province of Ontario. Heart Disease, stroke, peripheral vascular disease, kidney failure and blindness all are much more common in people with diabetes.
Men with diabetes, Toronto doctors and therapists will affirm, also suffer a much higher incidence of sexual problems such as erectile dysfunction and low sex drive.
Luckily, diabetes is not a barrier to effective therapy for sexual problems, and at Ontario Men’s Health, a Toronto clinic specializing in the treatment of erectile dysfunction and low sex drive, we welcome men of all ages with diabetes for evaluation and treatment.