Dr. Kate Walsh
Kate Walsh - studied medicine at St Bartholomews
Hospital , London University and later studied
General Practice on the Essex G.P. Training Scheme.
Once completed her training she worked as a full-
time G.P. until 1996 when she moved to Spain with her
Spanish husband- opthalmologist Dr Francisco Jover.
They have a large modern clinic located in the main
residential area of Jerez.
Dr Walsh offers a full G.P. service directly comparable with that offered by GP's in the U.K.. She also runs well-women and well-men clinics, preventative care programs as well as assistance with communication issues which patients may have with their Spanish doctors.
Health Information Articles
Diabetes Mellitus
Diabetes mellitus is a disorder characterized by raised blood sugar levels. It maybe caused by:_
- Inadequate insulin production
- The bodies cells becoming resistant to the effects of insulin or
- Both.
In the U.K there are over 2.3 million diabetics ( and probably another half a million undiagnosed) and this will double over the next 25 years.
Type 1/ INSULIN DEPENDENT (lO% of diabetics) is seen in young people, average age of onset being 10 to 12 years. It's cause is not completely understood though research suggests that the sufferer has a genetic predisposition and that something triggers it off, possibly a viral infection. In the majority of cases the insulin producing cells of the pancreas are destroyed by the bodies own defense mechanisms (an auto-immune process, where the body appears to turn against it's self).
Type 2/NON INSULIN DEPENDENT (90%) is usually seen in people over 40 that are overweight and is typical in affluent societies. Type 2 is more likely to run in families .Hence the need for those that have a diabetic relative to maintain normal weight and cholesterol and to have an annual blood sugar test.
(There is a particularly worrying new phenomenon of children developing "adult" diabetes, due to the increasing problems of childhood obesity and sedentary life-style.)
The Common Symptoms- Frequent urination
- Thirst
- Weight loss (typically type 1 ,type 2 diabetics are usually overweight)
- LACK OF ENERGY
- Blurred vision
- Itching in the genital area (fungal infections)
Type 1 usually presents over a period of weeks whilst Type 2 diabetes may go undetected for several years or only be detected by chance at a routine blood test. Hence when diagnosed there may already be tissue damage. The diagnosis is made with a simple blood test and only in borderline cases is the more elaborate "glucose tolerance test" required.
- In the past a special low carbohydrate diet was recommended but that is no longer the case. A NORMAL HEALTHY DIET with fiber and carbohydrate but low in fat is ideal. In the overweight a low calorie diet is recommended initially.
- Lifesyle changes:- GIVING UP SMOKING and also blood pressure and cholesterol must be even more strictly controlled in a diabetic than in a normal person because each factor alone produces clogging up of the arteries and the effect is additive.
- Tablet treatment (type 2) may be necessary if diet control is not sufficient . Sometimes more than one type of treatment is required and exceptionally insulin is used as well.
Type 1 patients always need insulin and learn how to inject it themselves. The eagerly awaited insulin inhalers were launched onto the market last year but were later withdrawn for further studies.
What are the long term prospects?
Diabetes may be asymptomatic and the patient is tricked into thinking that it is not causing him any harm. Hence the frequent problems of late diagnosis and reluctance to follow treatment .If the blood glucose level is chronically high it WILL cause progressive damage to the small blood vessels of the eyes, kidneys, feet and also clogging up of the arteries that supply the heart and the brain, increasing the risk of heart attack or stroke
Studies show that good sugar control CAN prevent these problems occurring. Over recent years care of diabetic patients has improved considerably and hopefully the worrying statistics of diabetes being the leading cause of blindness , the leading cause of terminal kidney failure, being the third most common cause of death in women and the seventh in men will soon become a problem of the past.
