Controlling your diabetes with the Barren River District Health Department

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – For millions of Americans, diabetes can be a daily struggle, and for the state of Kentucky, diabetes has been a challenge that thousands deal with on a daily basis.

Diabetes has many different forms, from type 1 and type 2 to gestational diabetes, each comes with daily challenges and threats to your health. The state of Kentucky ranks eighth amongst U.S. states and sees some of the highest rates of diabetes in the country.

While catching and preventing diabetes can be hard at times, especially as we age, there are warning signs that you should not ignore.

“One in three adults are believed to have prediabetes and don’t even know that they do so. And oftentimes you have symptoms that you may just kind of brush off and think that you’re just getting older. You may have increased thirst. You may have more of a need to use the restroom. You may just feel tired. So you can see how oftentimes these go unnoticed. So that’s why it’s so important to be screened,” said Kimberly Powell, a registered dietician and nutritionist with the Barren Rive District Health Department.

The Barren River District Health Department is looking to get ahead of that disturbing ranking for Kentucky by providing opportunities for those who have diabetes and are pre-diabetic to learn more about their conditions and seek the best ways to control it and live healthier lives with their diabetes prevention program.

“The Diabetes Prevention program, it is an online, self-paced program. You can do it at your convenience. It is a 12-month program. There are 26 modules throughout the year that you can do it from your computer or your phone app,” Powell said.

To qualify for the program you must have diabetes or be pre-diabetic. A simple blood test can determine if you are. If you are looking to sign up for the classes, you can do so by calling the Barren River District Health Department.