diabetes — The Diabetic & Diabetes Center

Diabetes and Weight

February 19, 2009 By AnaLise Leave a Comment

A high percentage of individuals that have diabetes are also overweight. They are not just a litte overweight, but substantially overweight. This is a difficult situation for many reasons, however the largest reason it that too many people are under the misconception that being overweight not only doesn’t make diabetes worse, they are under the misconception tht being overweight is actually good for diabetes!

It is unthinkable in this day and time that there is this amount of misinformation that is being taken as correct information. As more and more information becomes available regarding diabetes, the information should help numerous individuals with diabetes by identifying symptoms, by being provided with lists of symptoms and cautions as well as lists of things to be aware of – both good and bad – that affect diabetes.

Since weight can create many health issues including high blood pressure, cardiovascular issues, blood glucose problems and more, it is important that individuals that may be dealing with diabetes take the time to get as much information as possible regardless of the source.

They should speak with their doctors, get information on the internet (just type in “Diabetes” and you will find pages and pages of diabetes information), and get information from your local Diabetes Assciation, health department or senior center.

At any rate, to make the point clear, being overweight is not a good thing when it comes to diabetes. In fact, the more overweight you are, the more complications you are at risk for. There are ways to keep the pounds under control, which will also keep you diabetes symptoms under control as well. Of course, if you are 15 pounds over weight, it will be easier to control those pounds as opposed to being 50 pounds or more over weight. However, 15 pounds or 50 pounds, still can be controlled, helping to keep your diabete in check and keep you healthier.

Filed Under: Diabetes News Tagged With: controlling weight, diabetes, diabetes and overweight, losing weight, overweight

Diabetes and Pain

February 19, 2009 By AnaLise Leave a Comment

I watched her do this well into her fourties. She had her first and only son at age 41. Then everything changed. She developed diabetes during her pregnancy and was never able to control it again. She gave birth to a healthy and beautiful boy who was the love of her life. The problem, however, was that her gynecologist assumed that she overcame her diabetes once she had the baby. She moved to another area shortly after that and started with a new doctor. She let the doctor know about her pregnancy and the diabetes. Told him verbally and filled out the papers.

But at that time, many doctors didn’t connect gestational diabetes with diabetes that would or could continue in life. That is a more recent finding. Unfortunately, this cost my friend her life too early and too soon. By the time her son was 9 the symptoms had reappeared again, worse than during her pregnancy. Again, the doctors weren’t looking for diabetes. When the doctors finally figured out what the problem was – type 2 diabetes – her diabetes was full blown. She had to take insulin shots several times every day. She had cardiovascular and kidney problems.

She was still holding her own in the fight. She couldn’t leave all of us in the dirt, but that didn’ stop her from trying on brisk walks instead of runs. The walks were shorter. She ran out of breath sooner. She got frequent dizziness and headaches. The doctors thought it was because of blood glucose swings.

Early one morning my phone rang and her doctor told me to get to the hospital right away. He said he didn’t have time to explain but he would talk to me when I got there. Upon arrival I found my beloved friend who had just reached age 50 a few months before – now lying in a coma. The complications from her diabetes ended up being an aneurysm that ruptured in her brain.

I went to see her every day, kept her son with me, and in about 40 days she faded into a deep sleep from which she never woke up.

I share this story with you so that you can understand that diabetes is serious, it is insidious and it can be deadly. If you have any symptoms of diabetes, such as frequent urination, extreme thirst, pain and tingling in feet and/of hands or any symptoms you are not sure about including high blood pressure or vision problems talk to your doctor, your local health center, your local diabetes association or look up any information you can on google or any other search engine on the internet. The sooner you deal with diabetes, the beter chance you have of overcoming or at least controlling it and living a longer, healthier life.

Filed Under: Diabetes News Tagged With: diabetes, diabetes pain, feet pain, hand pain, nerve pain, pain and tingling

High Blood Pressure and Diabetes

February 12, 2009 By AnaLise Leave a Comment

It is no secret that Diabetes and High Blood Pressure weem to go hand in hand. Most people that have diabetes struggle with high blood pressure as well. This can be a vey harmul and dangerous pair because both diabetes and high blood pressure have negative effects on the cardiovasclar system. With either diabetes or high blood pressure a person is more susceptible to placque build up in the veins and arteries, blood clots which could start out anywhere in the body and travel to the lungs or heart and burst. There could be a blood clot or aneurysm in the brain which could put a person into a coma or could be fatal if the clot/aneurysm bursts in the brain.

Without being careful about your diabetes and blood pressure you could end up in a situation where you have other issues, as well. You could have a stroke, which delivers too much pressue on your heart and brain, causing serious damage to your brain and body.

1. There are several important signals of a stroke. They include paralysis of the arms or legs, tingling, numbness, confusion, dizziness, double vision, slurred speech, trouble finding words, or weakness, especially on one side of the face or body.

These are signs of stroke — or a “brain attack” — in which arteries that supply oxygen to the brain become blocked or rupture, causing brain tissue to die.

If you have these symptoms, call 911 right away and get to an emergency room that offers clot-busting therapy for strokes due to blocked vessels. Such treatment, which dissolves clots in blocked vessels, needs to be given within the first three hours after symptoms begin, but newer treatments may work within a longer time frame2. Chest pain or discomfort; pain in the arm, jaw, or neck; breaking out in a cold sweat; extreme weakness; nausea; vomiting; feeling faint; or being short of breath.

2. These are signs of heart attack. If you get some of these symptoms, call 911 immediately and go to the emergency room by ambulance. Shulman and Birge also recommend that patients chew one regular, full-strength aspirin (unless they’re allergic to aspirin) to help prevent damage to the heart muscle during a heart attack.

3. Tenderness and pain in the back of your lower leg, chest pain, shortness of breath, or coughing up blood.

These are symptoms of a potentially dangerous blood clot in your leg, especially if they come after you’ve been sitting for a long time, such as on an airplane or during a long car trip. These signs can also surface if you’ve been bedridden after surgery

4. Blood in the urine without accompanying pain.

Anytime you see blood in your urine, call your doctor promptly, even if you have no pain.

These are major symptoms that something has gone wrong and you need medical help right away. always keep a list of your medications and doctor’s name and number with you so that in a serious situation where it might be difficult to have a conversation, you can provide information – that may be lifesaving – to the doctors and other medical professionals who will be trying to help you.

It is essential that you eat a balanced diet, take your medication, get enough rest and take care of yourself so that your high blood pressure and diabetes stay under control, helping you avoid any of the serious complications we have just reviewed.

Filed Under: Diabetes News Tagged With: aneurysm, blood clots, diabetes, fiabetes care, heart attack, high blood pressure, stroke

The Diabetes-Alzheimer’s Disease Link

February 5, 2009 By AnaLise Leave a Comment

In recent studies at Northwestern University, researchers have found that insulin and insulin enhancing drugs can slow, decrease or eliminate the onset of Alzheimer’s Disease.

The hippocampus is the area of the brain that holds the brain/body’s memory cells. If a person has Alzheimer’s Disease, the neurons in this area of the brain are attacked by toxic protein cells called ADDL’s, which are responsible for memory loss.

In a normal situation there is plenty of insulin attached to brain cells, however when the cells are attacked by ADDL’s there is an extremely marked decline in insulin. Researchers also discovered that by treating the hippocampus neurons with new insulin and the insulin sensitizing medication rosiglitizone, which binds to the cells in the hippocampus keeping the insulin with them and keeping them from deteriorating, thus keeping them healthy and keeping the individual’s memory in tact.

It is an amazing discovery that the treatment for diabetes can also be used to treat Alzheimer’s Disease. In fact, researchers are now calling Alzheimer’s Disease a type of brain diabetes. This provides hope that there will be help in the fight against Alzheimer’s, which is such a devastating disease.

Since diabetes affects the entire cardiovascular system, using insulin on its own or with an insulin enhancing drug will help the effects of the brain which has many blood vessels. The fact that insulin is able to slow Alzheimer’s Disease is amazing in and of itself. The fact that insulin can prevent Alzheimer’s Disease altogether is an unexpected miracle.

Filed Under: Diabetes News Tagged With: Alzheimer's Disease, brain diabetes, Cardiovascular system, diabetes, insulin, memory

The Connection Between Diabetes and Eggs

February 5, 2009 By AnaLise Leave a Comment

There are a lot of precautions that individuals must take when it comes to their diet. If the diet is balanced along with exercise and a few other things that are good for you, you should be fine and feeling well.

But just when you thought you knew what could eat safely, here comes another addition to the list of things that aren’t good for you if you have diabetes. We already know about sugar, fried foods and other food that is certainly not good for you if you have diabetes.

So here’s the new addition that you never would have expected: eggs. That’s right, eggs. Ok, we know about the cholesterol thing with eggs, but now we are being told that if we sit down to a breakfast of bacon and eggs every day or even every other day, we have a higher than usual chance of developing type 2 diabetes.

To put it in percentages, researchers have found that if a person eats one egg per day they have a 58 to 77% more likely to develop diabetes than individuals who do not eat eggs, or at least not as many eggs.

The studies regarding eggs do not mean that eating eggs will cause diabetes directly. However, eating a lot of eggs can definitely raise your chances of getting diabetes, so it is definitely a good idea to limit the number of eggs you eat.

A study from Harvard Medical School in Boston stated that it is not necessary to eliminate eggs completely, but you should limit your eggs to 6 or less per week, the less, the better.

The study did not explain how and why eggs are linked to diabetes, but researchers are looking at cholesterol as a cause. Cholesterol is often linked to diabetes.

There is more research being done to determine more specific answers to the connection between eggs and diabetes. Until the answers are found, it’s probably a good idea to limit your egg intake.

Filed Under: Diabetes News Tagged With: diabetes, Diabetes and eggs, Diabetes Care, Diabetes Diet, Diabetes prevention

High Blood Glucose and Various Types of Diabetes

January 29, 2009 By AnaLise Leave a Comment

Many people have impaired glucose tolerance, which means that they are having difficulty getting their blood glucose levels back to normal after they eat.

If you are healthy, your blood glucose (sugar) levels will rise after eating, but they will come down to normal within one to two hours. If you have impaired glucose tolerance it could take up to three hours to lower your glucose levels, which creates a problem with your metabolism.

Doctors often perform a glucose tolerance test or a fasting plasma glucose test to see if you are dealing with high blood glucose or impaired blood glucose.

If you have either of these conditions you very likely at least have pre-diabetes. This means that you will probably end up with diabetes. You are also more likely to have or get heart disease if you have impaired glucose tolerance or impaired fasting glucose. If this is so, your doctor will most likely want to check your blood glucose levels on a regular basis and will discuss ways to lower your chances of getting diabetes.

Another type of diabetes is gestational diabetes which happens when you’re pregnant. Many women who encounter this situation are able to control it by watching their diet and doing some exercise. Some women have to take insulin injections during their pregnancy. If you get gestational diabetes, you have a higher chance of getting type 2 diabetes later on.

If you are pregnant, it is suggested that you have a test for diabetes at your booking appointment especially if you’re over 25, overweight, you have a relative with diabetes, you are in a high-risk group for diabetes, you have had gestational diabetes in the past or your baby ends up weighing 9 lbs. or more.

Usually gestational diabetes will disappear once the pregnancy is over but it is still important to look for signs of type 2 diabetes later. Either way, there are healthy ways to get your glucose under control before it becomes diabetes.

Filed Under: Diabetes News Tagged With: blood glucose, diabetes, diabetes treatment, High Blood Glucose, Impaired blood glucose, Pre-Diabetes

Take Care of Your Diabetes Now

January 29, 2009 By AnaLise Leave a Comment

Diabetes can strike anyone of any age. Because its symptoms can be very insidious and hard to detect in many people often a person’s diabetes has progressed by the time that it is diagnosed.

If diabetes is diagnosed early enough, treatment involving diet, exercise and medication can be started in an effort to control diabetes symptoms and sometimes lessen the symptoms as well.

The most important ways to control diabetes are to follow your regimen from your doctor, nutritionist, endocrinologist, internist or other healthcare professional. If you follow the guidelines you are given, you should be able to control your blood glucose levels and other related health issues, and you should feel better, too.

The consequences of not caring for your diabetes can be devastating. This was shown a few days ago when Larry Miller, owner of the Utah Jazz was hospitalized and had to have emergency surgery to amputate both his legs about 6 inches below the knee. A spokesman said that the surgery went well, but there have been other complications and difficulties due to Mr. Miller’s diabetes, leading up to this situation.

Eight months ago, Mr. Miller had a severe heart attack, keeping him in the hospital for two months. Complications included kidney failure and gastrointestinal bleeding which led to a blood transfusion because he lost nearly eight pints of blood. In addition, last October, Miller ended up with a bone infection and diabetes ulcers on one foot. There was also another nine day stay in the hospital because he was holding water in his legs.

Miller is the sole owner of the Utah Jazz and has been since the early 1980’s. In addition, he has remained active and attended games even with his declining health, proving that you can do all sorts of things as well as lead an active life.

Time will tell how active Larry H. Miller will be in the future. One of the most important things to take from Mr. Miller’s experience is to truly take care of your diabetes – and don’t wait another day.

Filed Under: Diabetes News Tagged With: diabetes, diabetes complications, Diabetes prevention, diabetes treatment

Diabetes Medication Can Create Heart Problems

January 22, 2009 By AnaLise Leave a Comment

One high risk for individuals with diabetes is heart disease. Many individuals that have diabetes, high blood pressure or other vascular complications, could have serious complications including heart disease. In addition, one problem is that many medications are believed to increase the risk of heart disease leading to heart attack. Most of these medications are not being tested for their effects on the heart

Pharmaceutical companies have not been doing much testing for heart problems because it takes longer to get the medications approved if these tests are performed and it costs the pharmaceutical companies more money. As a result, tests and clinical trials are not usually unless problems are reported by users after the fact.

Things have recently changed. A Food and Drug Administration (FDA) advisory panel made up of outside medical experts voted this summer to have the FDA require drug makers to perform long term testing which is critical because heart disease and heart related and other cardiovascular issues are primary causes of death in many people with diabetes. If diabetes medication is causing or contributing to those causes it is critical to find out which medicines – if any – are causing the problems.

Because this is an FDA Advisory Panel and not the Congress recommending long-term studies of medication for diabetes, it is not mandatory at this point. However, the FDA usually follows what the advisory boards suggest to them. In addition, there are steps that the FDA can take to create recommendations that are stronger and guidelines that push medication manufacturers to perform these long-term tests.

Until then is important to be informed about as much as possible – especially the side effects – of your diabetes medication. If you have any doubts or concerns, do your homework. Check the web, ask your doctor. Take care of your diabetes and the rest of your health.

Filed Under: Diabetes News Tagged With: diabetes, diabetes medication, FDA, heart problem

Control Diabetes and Lose Weight, Too

January 22, 2009 By AnaLise Leave a Comment

Diabetes has become an epidemic. Too many people worldwide are struggling with diabetes and with many serious side effects. These side effects include high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, blindness, kidney disease, amputation and more.

Recently there have been new treatments; new medication and other inventions to help individuals with diabetes control their symptoms. Researchers have been looking for ways to control diabetes and limit the ways that the disease ravages the body.

There is a new treatment which does not require surgery and has been found to reduce the blood glucose levels quickly in individuals with diabetes. If this is not enough there is a bonus to this procedure as well – substantial weight loss.
Basically, the procedure produces results similar to bariatric surgery which is used to help people lose weight. The main – and very important – difference is that bariatric surgery is major surgery.

The other exciting information regarding this new procedure is that it involves no surgery. The procedure provides an implantable and removable intestinal liner which can control blood sugar and weight. The liner is inserted into an individual through the mouth in a procedure called an endoscopy. No cutting, no scalpels, no stitches.

The implantable intestinal liner has been tested on patients and all of them experienced substantial blood glucose level drops as well as weight loss. In fact, an extremely promising result was that blood glucose levels in many patients returned to normal in about one week. These results are exciting because they point to the possibility of using the procedure on a more widespread basis to help many of the nearly 24 million individuals with diabetes in the United States.

There is more research is still being conducted regarding the intestinal liner and the procedure to install it. Harvard University Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital Weight Loss Center in Boston are leading the research involving this exciting innovation that could very well become the best and most widely used way to control diabetes and keep people battling the disease living healthier and longer lives with a great deal less complications.

Filed Under: Diabetes News Tagged With: amputation, blindness, blood glucose, control diabetes, diabetes, diabetes and weight loss, high blood pressure, kidney disease, weight loss

Can Chewing Gum Control Diabetes?

January 16, 2009 By AnaLise Leave a Comment

Researchers have been looking for ways to treat and control diabetes for years. Individuals who suffer from diabetes have also been looking for ways to avoid shots and other uncomfortable control measures.

In addition, insulin taken orally does not always break down in the person’s system, and if it does, it often takes a great deal of time. Unfortunately, when a person with diabetes takes insulin they don’t have an indefinite amount of time for it to begin working, nor can they afford for it not to be absorbed at all.

Enter the latest remedy for diabetes: insulin chewing gum. Yes, you heard right. This might just be the most fun that anyone has taking their medicine.

Robert Doyle, a chemist at Syracuse University in New York State, has performed studies and believes that an insulin chewing gum can break down orally-taken insulin by the digestive system.

Studies in the past have shown that oral insulin pills are broken down and that any enzymes that remain are not easily absorbed into the bloodstream from the gut. Doyle points out that the body has specific mechanisms for protecting and absorbing valuable molecules that would usually be damaged by conditions in the gut.

Doyle believes that the insulin can move all the way into the bloodstream, where it is released to do its work. Tests on rats conducted by his team have shown some promising results, according to New Scientist magazine. Even though the study on rats involved a treatment in liquid form, Doyle and his colleagues are sure that chewing gum would be a better delivery method and would work exceptionally well in humans.

The researchers say that chewing would ensure a plentiful supply of saliva, providing the protein needed for the insulin to make its way into the bloodstream.

If this innovative insulin delivery system works, it would help individuals with diabetes absorb more of the insulin they need and enjoy taking their medicine.

Filed Under: Diabetes News Tagged With: chewing gum, diabetes, diabetes control, enzymes, insulin, oral insulin