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With the number of individuals who have diabetes rising every day, it is important to do everything possible to manage the disease if you have it.  Controlling diabetes is a major step in reversing it.  Depending on how far the disease has progressed, diabetes can often be controlled by diet and other healthy lifestyle ideas.  Many individuals have controlled their diabetes so well in this manner that they have managed to keep it under control without medication.

All of these issues are important medical issues that should be discussed with your physician.  Also, there are steps you can take to control your diabetes.  Some of them include finding out as much as you can about diabetes by reading information on the internet or through other sources and talking to your doctor.
If you are urinating frequently, very thirsty and tired, talk to your doctor about these symptoms and have him check to see if you possibly have diabetes.

Other ways to manage diabetes if you or someone you know has it is to get regular care from your doctor.  If you are on a limited income and need help with medication, food or other necessities that you need, your doctor will be able to help you with some of those things and connect you with the right organizations to help you with the rest.

In addition to these important ways, it is important that you learn how to control your diabetes by eating right and getting exercise.  Take an active role in controlling your diabetes by keeping track of how you feel every day, keeping track of your blood pressure, testing your blood glucose daily, being active every day by walking, doing some sort of exercises.  Be sure to eat right – your doctor and the American Diabetes Association and various web sites are helpful in providing recipes that are “diabetes smart.”  If you are on medication, take it every day.

There are many things you can do to manage your diabetes, but these are the basics that will help you every day.  Managing your diabetes can help you maintain healthier blood pressure and avoid other health problems and complications from the disease, as well as keeping your diabetes from progressing further and faster.

Pre-Diabetes is a condition that is just what it sounds like.  It is a situation where an individual’s blood glucose level is higher than it should be, but not high enough to actually be Diabetes.  If a person has Pre-Diabetes it is likely that they will develop full-blown Diabetes within the next 10 years from the time they begin Pre-Diabetes symptoms.

There are, however, measures that can be taken to deal with Pre-Diabetes to delay or prevent Type 2 Diabetes.  These measures can also help decrease the risk of heart disease and stroke – both of which are at increased risk with Type 2 Diabetes.

One important measure an individual can take if they have Pre-Diabetes is to control their weight and engage in moderate physical activity.  Increased weight – especially with lack of physical activity – makes the body work harder, creating a situation where blood glucose levels increase, insulin levels become abnormal and your risk for heart issues, high blood pressure, possible stroke or heart attack and other health problems increases dramatically.

If you are not sure whether you have diabetes or Pre-Diabetes, but you are having symptoms such as frequent urination, excessive thirst, sudden weight gain or loss, sores – especially on the feet – that don’t heal quickly, and extreme fatigue, check with your doctor.  Your doctor will then perform tests to see if you have Pre-Diabetes or Diabetes.  These tests include a Fasting Plasma Glucose Test, in which your blood glucose is measured after you have gone at least 8 hours without eating anything.  Another diagnostic test is an Oral Glucose Tolerance Test which measures your blood glucose after you have gone at least 8 hours without eating and 2 hours after you have had a glucose based beverage.  The other test that can be done is a Random Plasma Glucose Test, which is a blood test that is taken by your doctor (or the lab) without regard to when you ate or drank anything last, just to determine along with your other symptoms if you have Diabetes – but not to determine if you have Pre-Diabetes.

It is important that you be aware of any symptoms that you might have and check with your doctor regarding Pre-Diabetes or Type 2 Diabetes.  With proper diet, exercise, care and treatment, you can lower your health risks and strengthen your life.

For Diabetes information contact the American Diabetes Association at 1-800-342-2383 or find them on the web at www.diabetes.org.
 

Childhood Diabetes is also called Type 1 Diabetes.  A child or young person that has diabetes is in a situation where their body does not create enough insulin, and as a result, it needs to be treated by the person taking insulin shots to provide for the insulin not being produced in the body.

The production of insulin, which is an important hormone, happens in the pancreas.  The food a child eats is broken down by the body into a sugar called glucose.  The sugar is carried through the blood and gives the body energy.  Insulin helps the sugar enter the cells in the body and controls the amount of sugar in the blood.

What happens with diabetes is that there ends up being too much sugar in the blood because there is not enough insulin to balance out the sugar.  This can cause many heath problems, and if they are not treated, these problems can end up being fatal.

In childhood diabetes (Type 1 Diabetes), the pancreas cannot create enough insulin because many of the cells in the pancreas are being destroyed, sometimes due to the body’s immune system destroying the cells.  Sometimes Type 1 Diabetes occurs due to hereditary factors, as it can be genetic and run in families.

Some of the main symptoms of Type 1 Diabetes are excessive thirst, urinating a lot and losing weight.  Some of the treatments include learning about the disease and learning about what type of diet can be helpful and healthy for diabetes.  It is important for the family to learn this information.  Another part of treatment is controlling blood sugar through use of a glucose meter to check the levels, but just as importantly, exploring the choices for a good diet and sticking to it.  Keytone tests are also important.  Basically, they test the urine and can tell you if enough insulin is being produced.  Your doctor or pharmacist can tell you how they work.

It is also essential to have continuous treatment and monitoring through your family’s or child’s doctor, not only for the child that is diagnosed with diabetes, but also to have the entire family tested, as well. 

Juvenile, Childhood or Type 1 Diabetes can be managed and controlled in a way that will allow your child to live a normal life, doing the same things that other children do.  There is a lot of information available.  One of the best sources of information is the American Diabetes Association.  You can call them at 1-800-342-2383 or visit the on the web at www.diabetes.org.

With threats of terrorist attacks and many natural disasters happening around the world, our awareness for the need to be prepared if a disaster strikes has recently increased. If you have diabetes it would be a good idea to create an emergency kit. It will only take a few minutes to collect what you need to be prepared for any unexpected event that may happen. The American Diabetes Association has prepared helpful tips on creating an emergency kit for people with diabetes.

They have suggested storing 3 days worth of diabetes supplies, which could include oral medication, insulin, insulin delivery supplies, lancets, extra batteries for your meter and/or pump, and a quick-acting source of glucose. All these items should be kept in an easy-to-identify container, and stored in a location that is easy to get to in an emergency. 

Your emergency supply kit should also contain a list of emergency contacts and, if you are a parent of a child in school or daycare, physician’s orders that may be on file with your child’s school or day care provider.  As always, it is a good idea to wear medical identification that will enable colleagues, school staff members, or emergency medical personnel to identify and address your medical needs.

If you are a parent of a child with diabetes, it is important that your child’s school has clearly identified the school staff members who will assist your child in the event of an emergency evacuation. For those who are away from home, consider informing your colleagues, friends, and family members about your diabetes and where your emergency supply kit is kept. 

An insulin reaction is an excessively low blood sugar level. This condition is also known as hypoglycemia when blood sugar levels are lower than 50 mg/dL. Insulin reactions result from an excess of insulin via an injection or an excess of an insulin-stimulating oral hypoglycemic agent. Insulin reactions are more common in people with severe diabetes.

There are many factors that might bring on an insulin reaction. Some of them are increased activity, late or missed meals, eating fewer carbohydrates than usual, drinking alcohol without eating or errors in insulin dosage. To treat low blood glucose you will need to bring glucose levels back to normal. This requires 10-15 grams of sugar and then keep levels normal with food.

People with diabetes who experience signs and symptoms of an insulin reaction should attempt to raise their blood sugar levels as quickly as possible. Sugar is not absorbed in the stomach so taking forms of sugar that will pass through rapidly and do not need to be digested first is necessary. Some acceptable forms of sugar include fruit juice, milk, 4 ounces of regular soda, glucose tablets, or table sugar with water. Some people with diabetes carry absorbable sugar wafers that contain glucose or dextrose. These are also to be used in an emergency. Sugar wafers dissolve and act quickly when chewed or placed in the cheek.

If you experience repeated episodes of insulin reaction, you should see your doctor to determine if an adjustment in insulin dose is required. This is also true if signs and symptoms suggest hypoglycemia is occurring at night. The inability to control morning glucose values and the worsening of the problem by increasing amounts of evening or long-acting insulin require an urgent visit to the doctor.

Diabetes can damage nerves, kidneys, eyes, and blood vessels. Diabetes can also lead to decreases in the body’s ability to fight infection. When diabetes is not well controlled, damage to the organs and impairment of the immune system is likely. This can cause foot problems and they can quickly become serious. With damage to the nervous system, a person with diabetes may not be able to feel his or her feet properly. Normal sweat secretion and oil production that lubricates the skin of the foot is impaired. These factors together can lead to abnormal pressure on the skin, bones, and joints of the foot during walking and can lead to breakdown of the skin of the foot and sores commonly develop.

Damage to blood vessels and impairment of the immune system from diabetes make it difficult to heal these wounds. Bacterial infection of the skin, connective tissues, muscles, and bones can then occur. These infections can develop into gangrene. Because of the poor blood flow, antibiotics cannot get to the site of the infection easily. Often, the only treatment for this is amputation of the foot or leg. If the infection spreads to the bloodstream, this process can be life threatening.

People with diabetes must be fully aware of how to prevent foot problems before they occur, to recognize problems early, and to seek the right treatment when problems do occur. Good control of blood sugar is the best way to prevent problems.
Diabetics need to learn how to examine their own feet and how to recognize the early signs and symptoms of diabetic foot problems. They should also learn what is reasonable to do at home as far as routine foot care, how to recognize when to call the doctor, and how to recognize when a problem has become serious enough to seek emergency treatment.

Diabetes mellitus is one of the leading causes of irreversible blindness worldwide. It is the most common cause of blindness in people younger than 65 years. Also, diabetic eye disease encompasses a wide range of problems that can affect the eyes. Diabetes mellitus may cause a reversible, temporary blurring of the vision, or it can cause a severe, permanent loss of vision. It can increases the risk of developing cataracts and glaucoma.

Some people may not even realize they have had diabetes mellitus for several years until they begin to experience problems with their eyes or vision. Severe diabetic eye disease most commonly develops in people who have had diabetes mellitus for many years, but they have had little or poor control of their blood sugars over that period of time. It may also result in heart disease, stroke, kidney failure, and circulatory abnormalities of the legs.

There are some important steps you can take to help prevent your development of this disease. You can try to avoid the problems associated with diabetes mellitus by taking care of yourself. Some easy things you can do is watch your diet, maintain a healthy weight, participate in an exercise program and do not smoke.

If you have already been diagnosed with diabetes mellitus there are some things you can do to keep it under control. You need to monitor your blood sugars and your glycosylated hemoglobin carefully and take your diabetes medications as prescribed. Even if you are not experiencing any symptoms due to your diabetes mellitus, you should have an annual eye examination by an ophthalmologist. If you note any significant changes in your vision other than a mild temporary blurring, you should contact your ophthalmologist immediately.

Diabetic ketoacidosis is usually seen in people who have type 1 diabetes. It is a state of inadequate insulin levels resulting in high blood sugar and accumulation of organic acids and ketones in the blood. It is also common to have severe dehydration and significant alterations of the body’s blood chemistry.  

Most often diabetic ketoacidosis happens in diabetics younger than 25 years, but the condition may occur in diabetics of any age. A person with diabetes can enter into a state of diabetic ketoacidosis for many reasons. Some of the most common are infection, missed insulin,  or newly diagnosed or previously unknown diabetes. There are various other causes like a heart attack, stroke, trauma, stress, and surgery. Five to ten percent of the time there is no identifiable cause.

There are several steps you can take to prevent diabetic ketoacidosis. Close monitoring and control of blood sugars, especially during times of infection, stress, trauma, or other serious illness will help. Also by taking insulin injections on time. Always contact your physician when you think it may be needed.

In your the body sugar sticks, particularly to proteins. The red blood cells that circulate in the body live for about 3 months before they die off. When sugar sticks to these cells, it gives us an idea of how much sugar is around for the preceding 3 months. In most labs, the normal range is 4-5.9 %. In poorly controlled diabetes, its 8.0% or above, and in well controlled patients it’s less than 7.0%. The benefits of measuring A1c is that is gives a more reasonable view of what’s happening over the course of time, and the value does not bounce as much as finger stick blood sugar measurements.

Although there are no guidelines to use A1c as a screening tool, it gives the physician a good idea that someone is diabetic if the value is elevated. Right now, it is used as a standard tool to determine blood sugar control in patients known to have diabetes. The American Diabetes Association currently recommends an A1c goal of less than 7.0%.

Studies have shown that there is a 10% decrease in relative risk for every 1 % eduction in A1c. So, if a patients starts off with an A1c of 10.7 and drops to 8.2, though there are not yet at goal, they have managed to decrease their risk of microvascular complications by about 20%. The closer to normal the A1c, the lower the absolute risk for microvascular complications.

Exenatide is an injectable drug that reduces the level of sugar in the blood. It is used for treating type 2 diabetes. Exenatide belongs in a class of drugs called incretin mimetics because these drugs mimic the effects of incretins. Incretins are hormones that are produced and released into the blood by the intestine in response to food. It increases the secretion of insulin from the pancreas, slows absorption of glucose from the gut, and reduces the action of glucagon. Glucagon is a hormone that increases glucose production by the liver. All three of these actions reduce levels of glucose in the blood. In addition, it helps reduce appetite. Exenatide is a synthetic hormone that resembles and acts like incretins. In studies, exenatide-treated patients achieved lower blood glucose levels and experienced weight loss. Exenatide was approved by the FDA in May, 2005.

It is prescribed when patients with type 2 diabetes have not achieved adequate blood glucose reduction while taking metformin or a combination of metformin and a sulfonylurea. Exenatide is not used in patients with type 1 diabetes or as a substitute for insulin in patients who require insulin. There has been some side effects the most common is nausea. Other common side effects include hypoglycemia (excessively low blood glucose), vomiting, diarrhea, headache, nervousness and stomach discomfort. Patients may also experience decreased appetite, acid reflux and increased sweating. Most side effect decreases over time.