All About Needles Used For Diabetes | Ask D'Mine

All About Needles Used for Diabetes | Ask D'Mine

Written by Wil Dubois on September 16, 2017
Hey, All -- Got questions about life with diabetes? Then you've come to the right place! That would be our weekly diabetes advice column, Ask D'Mine, hosted by longtime type 1 and diabetes author W il Dubois in New Mexico, who spent many years working as a clinical specialist helping those with diabetes.
This week, he takes on a trio of questions about needles and injection-related therapy. Here's Wil, "taking a stab" at this theme...
{Got your own questions? Email us at [email protected] }
Natsu, type 1 from Japan, asks: Is it possible to hit an organ when inserting a diabetic cannula on the stomach?
Wil@Ask DMine answers: Nope! Your innards are fully safe and secure. OK, in point of fact, most cannulas are worn on the stomach, so your worry is common. In fact, before my own diagnosis one of my wifes aunts had type 2 requiring insulin, and I knew she took shots in the stomach. I ignorantly assumed she used some giant six-inch needle and had to insert this medieval torture device all the way into her stomach. Every day.
Under the circumstances, I found her to be a remarkably jolly person.
Later, when my own doctor calmly told me that I needed to take shots in my stomach, I nearly fainted. Of course, the truth is we take our shots into the insulating fat layer below the skin -- a layer of fat that even skinny people have, and is thicker than youd think. Oh, and below that fat is a layer of muscle. The organs are below the muscle. So you can see youve got quite a bit of issue between the top of the skin an your inte Continue reading

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Why is My Blood Sugar High After Meals?

For people suffering from high blood sugar , the level spiking after a meal is quite frequent. Now, the question that strikes in your mind is that why the level rises? Lets have a look and analyze the situation which brings such radical change.
What activities should I do to avoid diabetes?
What makes my blood sugar level rise after meals?
After a meal, the carbohydrate is broken down into simpler substances. Glucose is the basic unit to get absorbed into the bloodstream. Its natural for the blood sugar level to rise after a meal. For ordinary people, the blood sugar to come back to normalcy after a certain level. But for a person who is affected with diabetes, it stays high for a more extended period. The reason is that the insulin that is supposed to get released from pancreas does not work reasonably or else it is very slow. Insulin is responsible for absorbing glucose from your bloodstream.
What immediate effects you have after your blood sugar level spikes?
You think the difficulty in concentrating and remembering.
It affects your athletic performance. It affects your strength, flexibility, and endurance.
It affects your irritability or mood shifts
What should I do so that I do not face sugar spikes after meals?
Break down your meals into smaller ones. It gives enough time, and the glucose level in the blood does not shoot up. It also provides enough time for absorption of glucose and the insulin works on the carbohydrate.
Check on your GI ( glycemic index ) and have food based on it. Diet with higher glycemic index results in higher blood level after meals Continue reading

HEALTH MATTERS: Comedian learns pre-diabetes is no laughing matter

You probably recognize actress and comedian Cocoa Brown from Tyler Perry’s critically acclaimed comedy series “For Better or Worse” on Oprah Winfrey’s OWN network or from the feature films, “Single Mom’s Club,” and “Ted 2.”
Three years ago, Brown was pregnant and overjoyed with the anticipation of the birth of her child. The joy of her first pregnancy was quickly overshadowed in her last trimester when she was diagnosed with gestational diabetes.
“I had to inject five insulin shots a day,” Brown said.
Typically, most women with gestational diabetes have no symptoms. Women may experience symptoms that are a little more severe than the typical symptoms resulting from a normal pregnancy, such as extreme thirst, fatigue, frequent urination and snoring.
Pregnant women are more at risk to get gestational diabetes if they are overweight before they get pregnant, are of ethnic background (African-American, Asian, Hispanic or Native American), have high blood sugar levels, other family members with diabetes or previous history of gestational diabetes.
Brown, who mastered the art of comedy, knew that her weight gain was no laughing matter.
“At my heaviest, I weighed 273 pounds,” she said. “I am 5-5 and was wearing a triple X dress size or a size 22-24.”
Brown is known for her stand-up comedic performances on top-rated comedy shows including BET’s “Comic View,” “One Mic Stand” and “Showtime at the Apollo.”
Gestational diabetes is temporary.
“After giving birth to my son, it disappeared,” Brown said. “So, I didn’t change my eating hab Continue reading

You’re Increasing Your Risk of Diabetes and Alzheimer’s With This 1 Horrible Habit

You’ve heard it before — your high-sugar diet is increasing your risk of diabetes, and all those loud concerts up your chances of developing Alzheimer’s. And that’s not to mention how your genetic makeup may be working against you. Cleaning up your diet and getting regular exercise are key in disease prevention, but that’s not all there is to it. There’s still one horrible habit most of us let slide — and it could be the one that kills you.
Alzheimer’s and diabetes are inflammatory diseases
So, what do Alzheimer’s and diabetes have in common? They’re both diseases that can result from chronic inflammation. Let’s be clear — your inflammatory response is actually designed to protect your body, but chronic inflammation can really hurt you and lead to a wealth of issues. And if the chronic issue goes untreated, it can damage your cells and tissue over time, which contributes to the development of these lifelong ailments.
Your bad diet and poor exercise routine can contribute to inflammation, but so can the following habit you need to stop asap.
Binge-watching TV is killing you
According to researchers from the Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute, there’s a crucial (and deadly) link between binge-watching your favorite show and the development of chronic inflammatory disease. The researchers surveyed 8,900 adults and found “every extra hour per day spent watching television led to a 12% higher risk of death linked to inflammation … ”
So, who’s watching the most TV? Older folks, current and ex-smokers, those with lower household incomes, and those Continue reading

November is Diabetes Month

Taking small steps can have huge impacts!
Diabetes is one of the leading causes of disability and death in the United States. It can cause blindness, nerve damage, kidney disease, and other health problems if it’s not controlled.
One in 10 Americans have diabetes — that’s more than 30 million people and another 84 million adults in the United States are at high risk of developing type 2 diabetes. This means about half the adult population have prediabetes or diabetes.
The good news!
People who are at high risk for type 2 diabetes can lower their risk by more than half if they make healthy changes. These changes include: eating healthy, getting more physical activity, and losing weight.
Over the last decade, the incidence of new-onset diagnosed diabetes in U.S. adults has increased by 90% (1). Although there has been a steady rise in type 2 diabetes, the rate of increase markedly changed around 1990 (2). Interestingly, this rate of increase parallels the rate of increase in chemical production and consumption of increasingly calorically dense processed foods.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), more than 84 million Americans are living with prediabetes, yet almost 90 percent don’t know they have it. This means they may be unaware of the long-term health risks associated with progressing to type 2 diabetes and the increased risks of heart attack and stroke (3).
Diabetes is a condition when your blood becomes too sweet, that is too say, that your body is no longer able to maintain healthy blood sugar levels. Although there are many factor Continue reading