Healthcare At The Grove home

Metabolic Disorders Q & A

What are metabolic disorders?

Metabolic disorders are conditions that affect your metabolism. Essentially, they disrupt the process by which you break down food and convert it to energy. Any abnormality in the metabolic process can cause a metabolic disorder. 

There are more than 1,300 metabolic disorders, and most are very rare. Many metabolic disorders are inherited and diagnosed during childhood. But the most common metabolic disorder is mainly diagnosed in adults.

What is the most common metabolic disorder?

The most common metabolic disorder is diabetes, which affects more than 37 million Americans. With diabetes, you don’t create or use insulin correctly the hormone that helps you use sugar for energy. This leads to high blood sugar, which can cause serious complications like nerve damage, kidney disease, and heart damage. 

How are metabolic disorders diagnosed?

Healthcare at the Grove recommends wellness exams once a year for patients of all ages because they include screening tests that detect the signs of metabolic disorders. Blood tests can detect high blood sugar, the main indicator of diabetes. 

About 33% of adults have metabolic syndrome, a group of conditions that mean you’re at risk of diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and other severe health complications. The conditions that indicate metabolic disorder are:

  • Extra weight around your waist
  • High blood pressure (hypertension)
  • Prediabetes: blood sugar is high but not high enough for a diabetes diagnosis 
  • High triglyceride levels
  • Low high-density lipoprotein (HDL, the “good” cholesterol) levels

A comprehensive wellness exam can detect these conditions as well. 

How are metabolic disorders treated?

If you’re diagnosed with metabolic syndrome, the Healthcare at the Grove team can help you take steps to reverse those negative health trends to avoid diabetes and other health threats. Preventive care is extremely effective against prediabetes. 

If you already have diabetes, the team can help you with nutrition, exercise plans, blood sugar monitoring, and, if necessary, oral medication, other injectables, or insulin. With Type 2 diabetes, you may be able to manage your disease without medication. However, Type 1 diabetes always requires daily insulin. 

The practice offers remote patient monitoring (RPM), which keeps track of your blood sugar at home. Your blood sugar monitor sends your readings directly to the practice so the team can monitor changes and provide help whenever needed. 

You can also benefit from weight management if you’re obese or overweight. The team may recommend specific dietary and lifestyle changes in order to help you achieve a healthy weight loss. 

If you have or suspect a metabolic disorder, call Healthcare at the Grove or schedule an appointment online today.