Drug And Alcohol Use With Diabetes
Comprehensive Guide to Research on Risk, Complications and Treatment Substance abuse is described as the excessive use of a substance such as alcohol or drugs that results in significant clinical impairments as well as the loss of ability to function academically, professionally, and socially [1]. An individual who was healthy before the substance abuse began will typically begin to experience serious health problems over time, but extensive damage may be avoided or reversed if effective substance abuse treatment is received. This is not the case, however, for individuals who have been diagnosed with diabetes, and although this is a manageable disease with proper treatment, substance abuse may cause it to become life-threatening. This guide will discuss, in detail, how substance abuse can negatively impact the life and health of a person with diabetes. Diabetes, also referred to as diabetes mellitus, is a condition in which the body is unable to properly regulate blood sugar levels. There are two forms known as type 1 and type 2 diabetes, but in order to better understand the difference between the two types, the role that insulin plays in the regulation of healthy blood sugar levels will be briefly described. During the digestive process, carbohydrates are broken down into glucose, which is a form of sugar that easily enters the bloodstream and is used by the body for energy. The pancreas normally responds to increasing blood sugar levels by initiating the production of the hormone known as insulin. As insulin levels increase, it signals the transfer of glucose into cells throughout the body and it also ensures that excess glucose will be stored in the liver in order to prevent high blood sugar levels. Type 1 diabetes, which is also called juvenile or insulin dependent Continue reading >>
Why Is Diabetes Dangerous?
Diabetes is dangerous for many reasons. For those with diabetes, low-blood sugar levels can cause immediate, life-threatening situations, and a long-term pattern of consistently high sugar levels places you at greater risk for heart disease, strokes and other serious conditions. Diabetes is also the leading cause of new cases of blindness among working-age adults. If you are diagnosed with diabetes, special care should be taken to keep your vision in check. Key steps to taking better control of your diabetes or prediabetes condition involve adopting a healthier diet and starting a regular exercise program. Careful management of blood sugar levels can help you avoid some of the health complications linked to diabetes. The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recently recommended that every American over the age of 45 should be screened for both type 2 diabetes and prediabetes, the common condition of having blood glucose levels higher than normal. As type 2 diabetes continues to spread it is important to do all you can to fight it. If you've got it, reverse it. Type 2 diabetes is a disease you can almost always kick to the curb if you manage it like a pro. If you've got prediabetes, treat it as a warning and adopt a healthier lifestyle. The number one key to preventing diabetes is to lose even a little weight, especially by avoiding added sugars and saturated fats. Diabetes doesn't just do in your body (i.e., eyes, heart, kidneys), it also attacks your brain. It restricts circulation and creates so much damaging inflammation that new studies show your brain shrinks by 15%. The most affected areas are your ability to talk, make decisions, handle tasks and remember what you just said. Diabetes is a serious, sometimes life-threatening disease. Over time it can affect every b Continue reading >>
Diabetes Before And After
The word ‘Diabetes’ comes from the Greek word that means “pipe-like” or “to pass through”. Not many people realize that it is responsible for claiming the lives of people for over thousands of years. In the body of someone with diabetes, they are unable to use the nutrients in the food for energy, this causes extra glucose to collect in the blood as well as the urine. Food them simply just “passes through” their body and does not absorb any nutrients. Before the discovery of insulin, diabetes was a fatal disease. Treatments Throughout History The Egyptians treated people with diabetes by using a combination of water, bones, lead, wheat and ground earth. In the 19th and 20th centuries, opium helped to reduce the pain and despair that was felt by dying patients with diabetes. In the 19th century, doctors also tried other common practices of healing such as cupping, bleeding and blistering. The starvation diet was regularly prescribed to patients with diabetes prior to 1922. The Prognosis of Diabetes Before Insulin Imagine being a doctor, who got into the field of medicine to treat and heal patients, but after countless tries they always failed to treat patients with diabetes. Children began to waste away, suffering to take their next breath right before their very eyes and there was absolutely nothing they could do about it. Before the discovery of insulin, this was the very fate for patients young and old diagnosed with this deadly disease. Adults typically lived under two years, while children rarely lived longer than one years’ time. They suffered greatly with blindness, loss of limbs, stroke, heart attacks, kidney failure and eventually death. Diabetic patients who used the starvation diet as their treatment method were painfully malnourished, and ty Continue reading >>
Study Finds That Heart Failure Is More Fatal In Patients With Type 2 Diabetes
A new study has found that heart failure patients with pre-existing type 2 diabetes have higher hospitalisation and death rates, but that keeping blood sugars balanced can help lower the risk almost to that of heart failure patients without diabetes. The study, led by Keele University researcher Claire Lawson, and in collaboration with the University of Leicester, highlights the complex interplay between type 2 diabetes and heart failure. This is the first and largest study in the general population of newly diagnosed heart failure patients to show the risks associated with type 2 diabetes and drug treatments. The research looked at 49,000 heart patients in the UK and investigated what levels of blood glucose control and drug treatment intensity appeared to confer more risks in those with diabetes. During the 12-year study, heart failure patients with diabetes had their' glycated haemoglobin levels (the amount of glucose that is being carried by the red blood cells in the body) and drug treatment information tracked, six months before hospitalisation, or one year before death, and outcomes were compared between heart failure patients with and without type 2 diabetes. Heart failure patients with type 2 diabetes had higher risk of hospitalisation and death if their glycated haemoglobin levels were greater than 80mmol and lower than 37mmol. But patients who maintained a very good stable glycated haemoglobin level did not present much greater risk for admission or death than those without diabetes. Adult Nursing lecturer at Keele University, Claire Lawson, said: "Pre-existing type 2 diabetes in new heart failure patients conveyed 50 percent increased risk of mortality. Given the already high baseline risk of death in newly diagnosed heart failure patients, this indicates a Continue reading >>
Diabetes Mellitus Type 1
Diabetes mellitus type 1 (also known as type 1 diabetes) is a form of diabetes mellitus in which not enough insulin is produced.[4] This results in high blood sugar levels in the body.[1] The classical symptoms are frequent urination, increased thirst, increased hunger, and weight loss.[4] Additional symptoms may include blurry vision, feeling tired, and poor healing.[2] Symptoms typically develop over a short period of time.[1] The cause of type 1 diabetes is unknown.[4] However, it is believed to involve a combination of genetic and environmental factors.[1] Risk factors include having a family member with the condition.[5] The underlying mechanism involves an autoimmune destruction of the insulin-producing beta cells in the pancreas.[2] Diabetes is diagnosed by testing the level of sugar or A1C in the blood.[5][7] Type 1 diabetes can be distinguished from type 2 by testing for the presence of autoantibodies.[5] There is no known way to prevent type 1 diabetes.[4] Treatment with insulin is required for survival.[1] Insulin therapy is usually given by injection just under the skin but can also be delivered by an insulin pump.[9] A diabetic diet and exercise are an important part of management.[2] Untreated, diabetes can cause many complications.[4] Complications of relatively rapid onset include diabetic ketoacidosis and nonketotic hyperosmolar coma.[5] Long-term complications include heart disease, stroke, kidney failure, foot ulcers and damage to the eyes.[4] Furthermore, complications may arise from low blood sugar caused by excessive dosing of insulin.[5] Type 1 diabetes makes up an estimated 5–10% of all diabetes cases.[8] The number of people affected globally is unknown, although it is estimated that about 80,000 children develop the disease each year.[5] With Continue reading >>
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The Deliberate Lies They Tell About Diabetes
By some estimates, diabetes cases have increased more than 700 percent in the last 50 years. One in four Americans now have either diabetes or pre-diabetes (impaired fasting glucose) Type 2 diabetes is completely preventable and virtually 100 percent reversible, simply by implementing simple, inexpensive lifestyle changes, one of the most important of which is eliminating sugar (especially fructose) and grains from your diet Diabetes is NOT a disease of blood sugar, but rather a disorder of insulin and leptin signaling. Elevated insulin levels are not only symptoms of diabetes, but also heart disease, peripheral vascular disease, stroke, high blood pressure, cancer, and obesity Diabetes drugs are not the answer – most type 2 diabetes medications either raise insulin or lower blood sugar (failing to address the root cause) and many can cause serious side effects Sun exposure shows promise in treating and preventing diabetes, with studies revealing a significant link between high vitamin D levels and a lowered risk of developing type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and metabolic syndrome By Dr. Mercola There is a staggering amount of misinformation on diabetes, a growing epidemic that afflicts more than 29 million people in the United States today. The sad truth is this: it could be your very OWN physician perpetuating this misinformation Most diabetics find themselves in a black hole of helplessness, clueless about how to reverse their condition. The bigger concern is that more than half of those with type 2 diabetes are NOT even aware they have diabetes — and 90 percent of those who have a condition known as prediabetes aren’t aware of their circumstances, either. Diabetes: Symptoms of an Epidemic The latest diabetes statistics1 echo an increase in diabetes ca Continue reading >>
A Deadly Form Of Diabetes That Doctors Sometimes Miss
HealthDay Reporter WEDNESDAY, June 19 (HealthDay News) -- Addie Parker was a happy 4-year-old who appeared to have the flu. But within hours she was in a coma. Tragically, her parents weren't familiar with the signs of type 1 diabetes -- extreme fatigue, thirst and sweet-smelling breath, among others -- in time to save their little girl. Soon after she was diagnosed, Addie's brain hemorrhaged. She died six days later, about a month shy of her fifth birthday. Experts say a lack of awareness of the signs of type 1 diabetes is all too common. Just this month, a Wisconsin toddler died apparently because of undiagnosed type 1 diabetes. "Addie had flu symptoms," recalled her mother, Micki Parker, who works in the operating room at a nearby hospital but was unfamiliar with type 1 diabetes. "By the next morning, she was throwing up every hour," Parker said. Addie didn't have a fever, but later that day, she couldn't get up from the bathroom floor because she was so dizzy. Eventually, the Parkers learned that Addie's blood sugar level was 543 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dL) -- more than four times higher than normal, according to the American Diabetes Association. Most people have heard of type 2 diabetes, but type 1 diabetes is far less common. It can strike at any age -- even though it used to be known as juvenile diabetes -- and it always requires treatment with injected insulin or insulin delivered through a pump. People with type 1 diabetes don't produce insulin, a hormone needed to convert the food you eat into fuel for the body. Without insulin, glucose (blood sugar) rises to unhealthy levels. Untreated, type 1 diabetes causes serious complications and even death. But it's often mistaken for other illnesses -- even by doctors. "There's an underawareness of type 1 diabete Continue reading >>
‘i Was 26 And Most Type 1 Diabetics Are Diagnosed In Childhood': The Deadly Danger Too Many Diabetics Aren't Warned About
Hannah Postles discovered she had type 1 diabetes after going to A&E with blurred vision. It wasn’t her only symptom. For the previous three weeks, she’d been thirsty, drinking two bottles of water at lunch, had lost weight and felt run down. Scroll down for video ‘My boss suggested I might have diabetes after looking up my symptoms online, but my GP seemed to dismiss it because of my age,’ says Hannah, a press officer for the University of Sheffield. ‘I was 26 and most type 1 diabetics are diagnosed in childhood.’ Luckily, Hannah spoke to a doctor friend who told her to go to A&E, where she was tested for diabetes, and immediately put on an insulin drip. Type 1 diabetes occurs when the body doesn’t make insulin, the hormone that regulates glucose levels in the blood. Typically, people with type 1 diabetes are diagnosed around the age of 12 — although occasionally adults are diagnosed in later life. Type 2 diabetes, which can be diagnosed at any age, occurs when the body doesn’t produce enough insulin, or the insulin itself does not work properly. Not only did Hannah have diabetes, her blood sugar levels were so out of control by the time she was diagnosed that she had developed diabetic ketoacidosis, a life-threatening condition when blood glucose levels remain persistently high for days or weeks. The condition can be caused by illness or infection or by the mismanagement of diabetes — which, as Hannah, now 29, discovered, can be the result of not knowing you have it. Symptoms include vomiting, headaches, abdominal pain and, if left too long, coma and even death. Had Hannah not gone to A&E, she might have died. In July 2012, new mother Nicky Rigby, 26, from the Wirral, did die from undiagnosed type 1 diabetes. She’d assumed her chronic tiredness a Continue reading >>
Diabetes And Life Expectancy: What Effect Does Type 2 Diabetes Have?
Diabetes can cause serious health complications and have an impact on life expectancy. How much a person's life is reduced depends on a combination of factors, such as the severity of the case, additional complications, and response to treatment. After being diagnosed, most people with diabetes want to know how the condition will affect the length and quality of their life. Each individual varies, but maintaining healthy blood sugar levels often has the largest influence on life expectancy. Relatively few studies have examined the link between diabetes and life expectancy, especially on a large scale. As a result, doctors aren't entirely sure how diabetes relates to how long people with the condition will live. This article will explore more. Fast facts on diabetes and life expectancy: While some estimates exist, there is no way to know exactly how diabetes will affect life expectancy. Type 2 diabetes is thought to have less of an effect on life expectancy than type 1 because people typically develop the condition much later in life. Generally, anything that helps maintain or contribute to healthy blood sugar levels can reduce the toll diabetes takes. What is the life expectancy of people with type 2 diabetes? A 2010 report by Diabetes UK claims type 2 diabetes reduces life expectancy by roughly 10 years. The same report states that type 1 diabetes may reduce life expectancy by at least 20 years. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the average life expectancy in 2014 for American men was 76.4 years and women 81.2 years. A 2012 Canadian study found that women aged 55 years and over with diabetes lost on average 6 years of life while men lost 5 years. Also, a 2015 study concluded that the risk of death associated with type 2 diabetes could b Continue reading >>
Diabetic Coma
Print Overview A diabetic coma is a life-threatening diabetes complication that causes unconsciousness. If you have diabetes, dangerously high blood sugar (hyperglycemia) or dangerously low blood sugar (hypoglycemia) can lead to a diabetic coma. If you lapse into a diabetic coma, you're alive — but you can't awaken or respond purposefully to sights, sounds or other types of stimulation. Left untreated, a diabetic coma can be fatal. The prospect of a diabetic coma is scary, but fortunately you can take steps to help prevent it. Start by following your diabetes treatment plan. Symptoms Before developing a diabetic coma, you'll usually experience signs and symptoms of high blood sugar or low blood sugar. High blood sugar (hyperglycemia) If your blood sugar level is too high, you may experience: Increased thirst Frequent urination Fatigue Nausea and vomiting Shortness of breath Stomach pain Fruity breath odor A very dry mouth A rapid heartbeat Low blood sugar (hypoglycemia) Signs and symptoms of a low blood sugar level may include: Shakiness or nervousness Anxiety Fatigue Weakness Sweating Hunger Nausea Dizziness or light-headedness Difficulty speaking Confusion Some people, especially those who've had diabetes for a long time, develop a condition known as hypoglycemia unawareness and won't have the warning signs that signal a drop in blood sugar. If you experience any symptoms of high or low blood sugar, test your blood sugar and follow your diabetes treatment plan based on the test results. If you don't start to feel better quickly, or you start to feel worse, call for emergency help. When to see a doctor A diabetic coma is a medical emergency. If you feel extreme high or low blood sugar signs or symptoms and think you might pass out, call 911 or your local emergency nu Continue reading >>
What Happens If Diabetes Goes Untreated?
Diabetes is on the rise. The number of people affected in the U.S. has tripled since 1980, with nearly 26 million Americans affected in 2011, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Diabetes is a metabolic disease that can be managed with a combination of lifestyle changes, diet and medications. Insulin injections are necessary to treat type 1 diabetes and advanced cases of type 2 diabetes. Untreated diabetes can result in life-threatening metabolic crises. Even if emergency situations are avoided, poorly controlled diabetes damages blood vessels and nerves throughout the body, with devastating consequences over time. Video of the Day Untreated diabetes can be fatal. One dangerous short-term complication is diabetic ketoacidosis, a rapidly progressing condition. Low insulin levels cause sugar to build up in the blood. The body breaks down fat for fuel, resulting in a buildup of byproducts called ketones and lowering the blood pH. Classic signs and symptoms of DKA are breathing that sounds like sighs, confusion, nausea, vomiting, lightheadedness, dehydration and a fruity smell on the breath. Trauma, stress and infections raise the risk for DKA. Hyperosmolar hyperglycemic state is another dangerous complication of untreated diabetes. Prominent signs and symptoms include weakness, leg cramps, visual problems, low-grade fever, abdominal bloating and dehydration. HHS is most common in older adults with type 2 diabetes. The condition develops with profoundly high blood sugar levels. Both DKA and HHS are life-threatening medical emergencies. Untreated or poorly controlled diabetes can damage your eyes. Blood vessel leakage and an overgrowth of new vessels can damage the vision-perceiving portion of the eye. These changes -- known as diabetic retinopathy -- Continue reading >>
Diabetes And Heart Disease Can Be Deadly Combination
The combination of type 2 diabetes and coronary artery disease can be deadly. New research from a global study led by a physician from UConn Health has found that patients with Type 2 diabetes admitted into the hospital for congestive heart failure face a one in four chance of dying over the next 18 months. The results were presented on June 11 at the American Diabetes Association’s (ADA) annual meeting in New Orleans, and published online in the ADA journal Diabetes Care. The findings paint a much grimmer picture of the outcome for diabetes patients with severe heart disease than was previously known. “Type 2 diabetes accompanied by an acute coronary syndrome needs much more attention, especially in order to prevent yet another major cardiac event,” says principal investigator Dr. William B. White, a professor in the Pat and Jim Calhoun Cardiology Center at UConn Health. Patients with type 2 diabetes have two to three times the heart disease risk of the general population. This is partly because obesity and other illnesses such as hypertension and elevated cholesterol contribute to both diseases, but there are concerns that some of the medications that help control blood sugar may also damage the heart. Even insulin, a hormone that healthy people make naturally but some patients with type 2 diabetes need as a medication, can contribute to heart disease. Because of the diabetes-heart disease link, all new diabetes drugs are now required by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to undergo formal testing for their impact on heart and stroke outcomes. White, along with colleagues at 898 medical institutions around the world who were investigators in the EXAMINE trial, were testing the diabetes drug alogliptin (Nesina), which is a member of the family of medications k Continue reading >>
Type 1 Diabetes More Deadly For Women Than Men
HealthDay Reporter type 1 diabetes have a nearly 40 percent greater risk of dying from any cause and more than double the risk of dying from heart disease than men with type 1 diabetes, Australian researchers report. In an analysis of 26 studies that included more than 200,000 people, researchers found that women with type 1 diabetes had a 37 percent higher risk of dying from stroke compared to men with type 1 diabetes. The researchers also found that women with type 1 diabetes had a 44 percent greater risk of dying from kidney disease than men with type 1 diabetes. "Type 1 diabetes increases the risk of premature death in both women and men, but type 1 diabetes is much more deadly for women than men with the condition," said lead researcher Rachel Huxley, director of the Queensland Clinical Trials and Biostatistics Center at the University of Queensland in Herston, Australia. The report was published in the Feb. 6 online edition of The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology. Type 1 diabetes an autoimmune disease that destroys insulin-producing cells in the pancreas. Insulin is a hormone needed to convert sugars, starches and other foods into energy. The worldwide incidence of type 1 diabetes in children 14 and younger has risen by 3 percent every year since 1989. In the United States, about 15,000 children and 15,000 adults are diagnosed with type 1 diabetes each year, according to the researchers. Because people with type 1 diabetes don't produce their own insulin, they must replace the hormone through multiple daily injections or with an insulin pump that has a tiny tube inserted underneath the skin to deliver the insulin. However, insulin needs change constantly, depending on foods eaten, activity levels and even stress. This makes it difficult to get the dose just right. Continue reading >>
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Four Cups Of Coffee A Day ‘could Protect Against Deadly Diabetes’
GOOD news for coffee lovers. Drinking four cups of your favourite hot beverage a day could stave off type 2 diabetes. Getty - Contributor US researchers have discovered that a compound found in coffee improves cell function and insulin sensitivity in mice. Type 2 diabetes occurs when the pancreas doesn't produce enough of the hormone insulin or the body's cells don't react to insulin. Insulin is responsible for controlling the amount of glucose in the blood. If the body has problems producing or reacting to insulin then the blood sugar levels become too high. Previous studies have suggested drinking three or four cups of coffee a day can reduce the risk of developing the disease, but until now scientists did not know why. Initially scientists thought the caffeine in coffee was responsible for controlling insulin levels, but lab tests revealed a compound called cafestol was the key. Getty - Contributor Cafestol increased insulin production in the pancreas when they were exposed to glucose (sugar). It also increased the rate at which muscle cells were absorbing glucose as effectively as anti-diabetic drugs. Researchers from the American Chemical Society set out to see if the compound would help prevent or delay the onset of type 2 diabetes. ARE YOU AT RISK? What is diabetes, what’s the difference between types 1 and 2, what are the signs to watch out for and how is it treated? All you need to know In tests on mice given two different doses of cafestol both sets had lower blood sugar levels and improve insulin production after 10 days. Cafestol also didn't cause blood sugar levels to become too low, known as hypoglycemia, which is a possible side effect of some diabetes medication. The researchers hope the compound could one day be used in a drug to prevent diabetes in p Continue reading >>
What It’s Like To Have Uncontrolled Type 2 Diabetes
One of the greatest dangers of type 2 diabetes is that it can be slow and silent. Many people with the condition don’t experience any symptoms at all, even though their unbalanced blood sugar is already affecting their cells and tissue. You might be one of those people. How can you tell if you're at risk for developing type 2 diabetes? You may be more likely to develop the condition if you: Are overweight, with a body mass index (BMI) of 25 or higher Are inactive Are age 45 or older Have a family history of type 2 diabetes Are African-American, Hispanic, American Indian, Asian-American, or a Pacific Islander Have low levels of HDL, or the “good” cholesterol Have high levels of triglycerides (a type of fat) in your blood Although the telltale signs of type 2 diabetes may develop slowly over many years, the condition will cause symptoms for many people. Do any of these sound familiar? Increased thirst Frequent urination Increased hunger Unexplained weight loss Extreme fatigue Irritability Blurred vision Sores that are slow to heal Skin, bladder, or gum infections Whether you're experiencing any of these symptoms or not, uncontrolled levels of high blood sugar over time can lead to tissue damage throughout your body, from your eyes to your toes. Uncontrolled Diabetes Is Scary — and Even Deadly Type 2 diabetes damages essential systems in your body: your blood vessels, nerves, or both. The consequences of uncontrolled diabetes can be very serious, and some can eventually be fatal. They include: Infections Amputations due to infections in the feet These complications sound scary — and they are. Fortunately, controlling your blood-glucose levels can help prevent many of these secondary problems, or at least manage them if they have already developed. Take Action Tod Continue reading >>
