In order to determine if a person has diabetes, there are some blood tests that can be performed.
To perform the fasting glucose test, the doctor will take blood from a vein in the patients arm, but it is important that the patient has not eaten in the last 8 hours. The red blood cells are separated from the sample, and in the remaining plasma it is measured the amount of glucose. Diabetes can be indicated by a plasma level of 7.8 mmol/L or greater. To confirm the results, this test must be taken again in another day.
In postprandial glucose test, the blood must be taken right after the patient has eaten a meal.
In what concerns the oral glucose tolerance test, there are taken blood samples from a vein before and after a patient drinks a thick, sweet syrup of glucose and other sugars. It is known that in a non-diabetic, immediately after the drink the glucose level in the blood goes up, but then decreases gradually, because the insulin is used by the body to metabolize or absorb the sugar. In a diabetic, the things are different: the glucose level in the blood goes up and stays high after drinking the liquid. When it had passed two hours after drinking the syrup, and also at a point during the two-hour test period, a plasma glucose level of 11.1 mmol/L or higher confirms the diagnosis of diabetes.
The doctors can say a patient has diabetes if there are symptoms of diabetes and a plasma glucose level of at least 11.1 mmol/L, a fasting plasma glucose level of at least 7 mmol/L, or a two-hour plasma glucose level of at least 11.1 mmol/L during an oral glucose tolerance test.
Patients with diabetes can monitor their own blood glucose levels with the help of some home blood glucose monitoring kits.
It is known that there is no cure for diabetes, but patients can live a relatively normal life if they are carefully managing the condition. The treatment for diabetes has as main purposes preventing the long-term complications, and keeping blood glucose within normal range.
The use of insulin or oral medications are important in preventing complications of diabetes, but a careful monitored diet and exercise are also important.
In many cases of type II diabetes, loosing weight is important. There must be followed a diet that consists in 50-60% of calories from carbohydrates, approximately 10-20% of calories from protein, and calories from fat should be less than 30%. It is known that the number of calories depends on the age of the patient, but also depends on the activity level and weight.
A nutritionist or dietitian should be consulted, and there can be made a diet plan for each individual.
In order to lower the blood glucose levels in type II diabetes, there can be used oral medications. Usually, the first drugs prescribed for type II diabetes are in a class of compounds called sulfonylureas. We can mention tolbutamide, tolazamide, acetohexamide, and chlorpropamide. Glyburide, glimeperide, and glipizide are some newer drugs, that are included in the same class mentioned before. Seems that the role of these drugs is to stimulate pancreas cells to produce more insulin.
There also appeared some new medications to treat diabetes: metformin, acarbose, and troglitizone. It is known that all drugs have side effects: can stimulate weight gain, cause stomach irritation, or present increased risk in other situations.
It is known that there are made constant advances in the development of new oral medications for patients with diabetes. For example, in 2003 was developed Metaglip, a combination between glipizide and metformin. There was approved another drug, Avandamet, which combines metformin and rosiglitazone.
There exist a lot of drugs nowadays, and the doctor will decide which suits best for every individual.
It is known that patients with type I diabetes need daily insulin injections, to help their body use glucose; the amount and type of insulin depends on every individual. In what concerns the patients having type II diabetes, some of them may need to take insulin injections if they cannot control their diabetes with diet, exercise, and oral medication.
Usually, the most commonly used is the purified human insulin, but there exists also insulin from beef and pork. There can be mixed different types of insulin and given in one dose or split into two or more doses during a day. Also, insulin pump can be used in patients who need multiple injections over a day. Regular insulin is fast-acting, starts to work within 15-30 minutes, has a peak- effect at about 2 hours after it is injected, and the effect lasts 4-6 hours. Neutral protamine Hagedorn and Lente insulin are intermediate-acting, start to work within one to three hours, and last for 18-26 hours; ultra-lente, a long lasting form of insulin starts to work within four to eight hours and lasts 28-36 hours.
Alcohol consumption, too much insulin, too little food or increased exercise can lead to hypoglycemia, and the person having this may be hungry, cranky, confused, and tired. There ca appear other symptoms as well.
In what concerns surgery, the transplantation of a healthy pancreas into a diabetic patient is a successful treatment, but it is not clear if the potential benefits outweigh the risks of the surgery and drug therapy needed.
2007年12月31日星期一
2007年12月18日星期二
Diabetes, The Fact, The Fiction
We grow up hearing so many wives tales that sometimes we have no idea what to believe is true and what is false. Like I had always heard that if you give yourself an injection and there is air in the syringe that you could kill yourself because you would be causing a jump in your heartbeat. Is this Fact or has this been stretched a wee bit beyond to the point of fiction?
I was first diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes when I was 28 years old. I was afraid to give myself shots of insulin because I did not want to take the chance of injecting too much air into my system. Truth be told, it would take a whole lot of air for it to affect you negatively. I was told that if you ever get a low blood sugar that somebody should right away give you something sweet. Do you know how long after eating a chocolate bar for it to affect your blood sugar? Even orange juice, one glass, would take about 15 minutes to just affect your blood sugar by maybe 5 points.
For the first year I had somebody else give me my injections which got to be pretty damn expensive. Insurance would not cover this so I was paying cash for this service. I thought if I ate some candy right before taking a blood sugar test that it would elevate my sugar right away. This is another untruth.
These days I am trying to improve on the types of foods I eat as well as getting enough exercise. Wheat bread is so much better for you than White. Whole grain wheat is even better. Pasta made with white flour is another no no. They have what is labelled as Sugar Free white bread but you need to not look at the sugar but instead look at the Carbohydrates. My wife will get me something that only has 5 grams of sugar and she thinks this is great. But when you look at the carbs and see that it has like 90 carbs something that had 30 grams of sugar would be better for you.
Another item you need to look at which is not on the label of a lot of products is the foods Glycemic value, the lower the number the better it is for you. Look at a bake potato which may have a glycemic value of 90 and then look at a sweet potato which only has a glycemic value of 30. Which one do you think is better for you? Do you think that all sweet potatoes are bad? White potatoes are a definite no-no.
Are you diabetic? Do you want to be almost like a normal person where you can have a hot fudge sundae? I had my doctor prescribe me the insulin pump because as far as being diabetic goes when on the pump this is the closest you can get to being normal unless you clone a healthy body and are able to have your brain transplanted.. Medicare actually pays like 80% of the cost of a pump and if you have a supplement in addition then your cost will be almost nada.
I was first diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes when I was 28 years old. I was afraid to give myself shots of insulin because I did not want to take the chance of injecting too much air into my system. Truth be told, it would take a whole lot of air for it to affect you negatively. I was told that if you ever get a low blood sugar that somebody should right away give you something sweet. Do you know how long after eating a chocolate bar for it to affect your blood sugar? Even orange juice, one glass, would take about 15 minutes to just affect your blood sugar by maybe 5 points.
For the first year I had somebody else give me my injections which got to be pretty damn expensive. Insurance would not cover this so I was paying cash for this service. I thought if I ate some candy right before taking a blood sugar test that it would elevate my sugar right away. This is another untruth.
These days I am trying to improve on the types of foods I eat as well as getting enough exercise. Wheat bread is so much better for you than White. Whole grain wheat is even better. Pasta made with white flour is another no no. They have what is labelled as Sugar Free white bread but you need to not look at the sugar but instead look at the Carbohydrates. My wife will get me something that only has 5 grams of sugar and she thinks this is great. But when you look at the carbs and see that it has like 90 carbs something that had 30 grams of sugar would be better for you.
Another item you need to look at which is not on the label of a lot of products is the foods Glycemic value, the lower the number the better it is for you. Look at a bake potato which may have a glycemic value of 90 and then look at a sweet potato which only has a glycemic value of 30. Which one do you think is better for you? Do you think that all sweet potatoes are bad? White potatoes are a definite no-no.
Are you diabetic? Do you want to be almost like a normal person where you can have a hot fudge sundae? I had my doctor prescribe me the insulin pump because as far as being diabetic goes when on the pump this is the closest you can get to being normal unless you clone a healthy body and are able to have your brain transplanted.. Medicare actually pays like 80% of the cost of a pump and if you have a supplement in addition then your cost will be almost nada.
2007年12月15日星期六
The Most Important Facts About Diabetes
In order to appreciate the cause for the condition known as diabetes, one must first look at what occurs in the body of a healthy individual, particularly after such an individual has recently eaten a food that is high in carbohydrates (sugar or starch). Digestive juices rapidly act on a starch, changing it to a simple sugar. All sugars in digested food mix with all the foods in the stomach. That mix in the stomach then enters the intestines.
The nutrients in the fluid of the intestine must reach the cells of the body. The intestinal wall allows passage of sugar from the intestinal cavity into the bloodstream. That passage takes place in both a healthy individual and in an individual with diabetes.
Once the bloodstream has acquired sugar from the intestines, then special endocrine cells in the pancreas get a signal. That signal tells those cells, located in the Islets of Langerhans, to release insulin (a chemical that acts on the body's cells). The specific pancreatic cells in a healthy individual respond quickly to the "call" for insulin. The Islets' cells in a diabetic do not give the proper response.
If a person has Type 1 Diabetes, then his or her pancreatic cells lack the ability to produce even a drop of insulin. If a person has Type 2 Diabetes, then his or her once well-functioning Islets' cells demonstrate a sharply diminished ability to make insulin. In either case, the body's cells do not receive the chemical message that facilitates the absorption of blood glucose by those same cells.
Because the cells of a diabetic lack the ability to absorb glucose from the blood, the cells of a diabetic become deprived of a needed energy source. Meanwhile, if the diabetic continues to ingest foods high in carbohydrates, then his or her bloodstream will become "flooded" with glucose. Eventually all of that glucose passes through the kidneys, and it leaves the body in the urine.
The physiological changes that take place in a diabetic patient produce certain tell-tale symptoms. The patient might complain about the need for frequent urination. The patient often speaks about having periods of great thirst. The patient experiences repeated periods of unusual and unexpected fatigue.
The above symptoms show up among individuals with both Type 1 and Type 2 Diabetes. A few symptoms are type-specific. For example, in Type 1 Diabetes the patient can experience a rapid weight loss. In Type 2 Diabetes, the patient frequently begins to store more fat, and at the same time that patient could well exhibit a growing desire for sweets and starches.
Type 1 Diabetes is an inherited condition. The treatment for Type 1 Diabetes is insulin. Until recently, that insulin had to come in the form of insulin injections. Newer medical techniques now allow patients to wear an insulin pump.
Health professionals struggle to reverse the alarming rise in the reported cases of Type 2 Diabetes. They encourage the eating of high-fiber foods and foods rich in complex carbohydrates. Such foods do not "flood" the bloodstream with glucose.
The nutrients in the fluid of the intestine must reach the cells of the body. The intestinal wall allows passage of sugar from the intestinal cavity into the bloodstream. That passage takes place in both a healthy individual and in an individual with diabetes.
Once the bloodstream has acquired sugar from the intestines, then special endocrine cells in the pancreas get a signal. That signal tells those cells, located in the Islets of Langerhans, to release insulin (a chemical that acts on the body's cells). The specific pancreatic cells in a healthy individual respond quickly to the "call" for insulin. The Islets' cells in a diabetic do not give the proper response.
If a person has Type 1 Diabetes, then his or her pancreatic cells lack the ability to produce even a drop of insulin. If a person has Type 2 Diabetes, then his or her once well-functioning Islets' cells demonstrate a sharply diminished ability to make insulin. In either case, the body's cells do not receive the chemical message that facilitates the absorption of blood glucose by those same cells.
Because the cells of a diabetic lack the ability to absorb glucose from the blood, the cells of a diabetic become deprived of a needed energy source. Meanwhile, if the diabetic continues to ingest foods high in carbohydrates, then his or her bloodstream will become "flooded" with glucose. Eventually all of that glucose passes through the kidneys, and it leaves the body in the urine.
The physiological changes that take place in a diabetic patient produce certain tell-tale symptoms. The patient might complain about the need for frequent urination. The patient often speaks about having periods of great thirst. The patient experiences repeated periods of unusual and unexpected fatigue.
The above symptoms show up among individuals with both Type 1 and Type 2 Diabetes. A few symptoms are type-specific. For example, in Type 1 Diabetes the patient can experience a rapid weight loss. In Type 2 Diabetes, the patient frequently begins to store more fat, and at the same time that patient could well exhibit a growing desire for sweets and starches.
Type 1 Diabetes is an inherited condition. The treatment for Type 1 Diabetes is insulin. Until recently, that insulin had to come in the form of insulin injections. Newer medical techniques now allow patients to wear an insulin pump.
Health professionals struggle to reverse the alarming rise in the reported cases of Type 2 Diabetes. They encourage the eating of high-fiber foods and foods rich in complex carbohydrates. Such foods do not "flood" the bloodstream with glucose.
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