Comprehensive Care for Diabetes

Diabetes changes how your body turns food into energy. In type 2 diabetes the pancreas still makes insulin, but the body stops responding to it normally, so glucose builds up in the blood. Left unmanaged, that excess glucose quietly damages the small blood vessels of the eyes, kidneys and nerves, and accelerates heart and vascular disease. Managed well, most people with diabetes live full, active lives with no major complications — and that is the work we do with our patients in Apple Valley and Rancho Cucamonga.

How diabetes is diagnosed

Diagnosis rests on objective testing rather than symptoms, because early diabetes is often silent. We confirm it with one or more of the following, per the American Diabetes Association criteria:

• A1c of 6.5% or higher — reflects your average blood sugar over roughly three months
• Fasting plasma glucose of 126 mg/dL or higher
• Two-hour glucose of 200 mg/dL or higher on an oral glucose tolerance test

An A1c of 5.7–6.4%, or a fasting glucose of 100–125 mg/dL, indicates prediabetes. This is the most important window we have: structured changes to diet and activity at this stage prevent or delay progression to type 2 diabetes in a large share of patients. We walk through what those numbers mean, and what to do next, in our guide to understanding your blood sugar.

What your care plan includes

Diabetes care is not a single prescription. Each plan we build is individualised and reviewed at every visit:

• Medication management — chosen with your kidney function, weight, cardiovascular risk and cost in mind, not by default
• An A1c target set with you — under 7% suits most adults, though we loosen it deliberately for older patients or anyone at risk of low blood sugar
• Blood pressure and cholesterol control — the single largest driver of long-term outcomes. We aim for a blood pressure below 130/80 mmHg, and manage it alongside your diabetes rather than separately. See our approach to essential hypertension.
• Annual complication screening — dilated eye exam, urine albumin-to-creatinine ratio with eGFR for kidney health, and a thorough foot and sensation exam
• Nutrition and activity guidance you can actually sustain, built around how you really eat and live
• Vaccinations and preventive care, since diabetes raises the risk of serious infection

Care that stays joined up

Most of our patients with diabetes are managing more than one condition at once. Because we provide their primary care, their diabetes, blood pressure, kidney function and cholesterol are reviewed together by the same physician — part of our broader chronic disease management and preventive and acute care. For older adults, that coordination extends to medication review and fall risk through our senior health care.

Authoritative background reading: the CDC’s diabetes resources and the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.

Start with an appointment

Dr. Tarek Moqattash and Dr. Leonardo Moqattash are both board-certified in internal medicine and see adults at our Apple Valley and Rancho Cucamonga offices, Monday to Friday. We are accepting new patients — request an appointment or call the office that is closer to you.