The NJ Police Chief Magazine Volume 23, Number 9 | Page 26

The New Jersey Police Chief Magazine | November 2017
Ask the Physician
My brother’s doctor just told him he has “diabetes” and that he has to lose some of his belly
and watch what he eats—but what’s the big deal about it? You see commercials about drugs for
diabetes and hear a lot of bad stuff about it, but, he looks and sounds just the same as ever!
Mike O. – Pomona
Mike, you’ve asked a question that I hear from many patients who have been recently diagnosed with this
condition. Type 2 diabetes is a chronic disease resulting in too much sugar in the blood, or “high blood
glucose.” People with type 2 diabetes make insulin—which helps your cells turn glucose from the food you
eat into energy—but their cells don’t use it as well as they should, which is called insulin resistance.
Type 2 diabetes really is a big deal, which, without proper medical treatment and consistent monitoring,
can lead to serious health issues, such as:
 Heart attack
 Stroke
 Blindness
 Kidney failure
 Loss of toes, feet, or legs
If your brother lives in the area, I would be more than happy to see him—just contact my office at 609-
621-2075.
Jenine Vecchio, MD, FACE
Attending Endocrinologist
Deborah Specialty Physicians Diabetes Center
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