Diabetes And Menopause – What You Need To Know

Diabetes and Menopause – What You Need to Know

Women with diabetes may at first have a hard time telling the difference between a bout of low blood sugar and menopause.
If you are a woman with diabetes approaching a certain age, there may come a point when it can feel as though you hit a wall with your diabetes self-care. Your blood sugar levels may become erratic, you might find you’ve gained a bit of weight, and you sleep restlessly.
What you may be experiencing is menopause. Menopause typically starts around age 50, but perimenopause, the beginning stages of menopause, can start as early as 40. At this time, the hormones estrogen and progesterone start fluctuating, causing hot flashes, moodiness, short-term memory loss, and fatigue.
For a woman with diabetes, fluctuating blood sugars can also be common with menopause. The tricky thing is that the symptoms of menopause are so similar to low blood sugar that it can be hard to distinguish between the two. More frequent blood sugar monitoring is essential to identify whether the symptoms you experience are caused by diabetes, menopause, or a combination of both.
Weight gain, although not inevitable, is common during menopause for women with and without diabetes. You also are prone to lose muscle mass and replace it with fat, usually in the abdomen, hips, and thighs. Without any changes in diet, you may find the scale creeping up.
Diabetes and menopause share several other symptoms, including vaginal dryness, vaginal infections and urinary tract infections. These are caused by reduced estrogen levels in menopause, and elevated glucose levels and nerve damage with diabet Continue reading

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Diabetes, Heart Disease, and You

Diabetes is a common disease that is on the rise in America. Having diabetes raises your risk for developing other dangerous conditions, especially heart disease and stroke. November is National Diabetes Month, a time to raise awareness about preventing and managing diabetes and protecting yourself from its complications.
Diabetes is a serious condition that happens when your body can’t make enough of a hormone called insulin or can’t properly use the insulin it has. Insulin helps your body digest sugars that come from what you eat and drink. Without enough insulin, sugar builds up in your blood. Over time, that sugar buildup damages your nerves, blood vessels, heart, and kidneys.
More than 29 million Americans have diabetes, or about 1 of every 11 people. 1 About 8 million of them don’t know they have diabetes. Another 86 million—more than 1 in 3 Americans older than 20 years—have prediabetes, a condition in which a person’s blood sugar is high, but not yet high enough to trigger diabetes.2
Most people with diabetes have type 2 diabetes. Adults with type 2 diabetes are about twice as likely to die from heart disease as adults who do not have diabetes.3
Surprising Facts About Diabetes
Women with diabetes have a 40% greater risk of developing heart disease and a 25% greater risk of stroke than men with diabetes do.5 Experts aren’t sure why the risk is so much greater in women with diabetes than in men with diabetes. Women’s biology may play a role: Women usually have more body fat, which can put them at greater risk for heart disease and stroke. If you are a Continue reading

American Diabetes Month – Is Type 2 Diabetes Reversible?

Diabetes has become one of the largest medical issues of our time. According to CDC statistics given in January 2014, an estimated 29.1 million adults and adolescence living in the United States have diabetes. Of that number, 7.2 million are not even aware they have it.
Roughly 5% of all diabetic cases fall into the category of Type 1 with the remaining majority being Type 2. The primary difference between the two conditions is their relationship with insulin. Those with Type 1 diabetes don’t produce enough insulin whereas those with Type 2 diabetes produce enough insulin but the body has become resistant to it.
Many believe that those with a predisposition of developing Type 2, or if they have already been diagnosed, have no hope of reversing it. However, this conclusion discounts the many causal factors that can be avoided or resolved through lifestyle change and reliance on standardized treatment methods. Understanding Type 2 diabetes, insulin, and relevant methods of treatment may help reduce a large number of diabetic cases in the United States and may even help you or a loved one!
Overview of Type 2 Diabetes
Both forms of diabetes are greatly influenced by hormonal and nutritional imbalances. Generally, Type 2 diabetes develops later in life and is sometimes called adult-onset diabetes (the reason for this delayed occurrence will be discussed later).
Once diabetes has been diagnosed, the immediate threat level is relatively low. However, if you don’t act to reverse your condition you are putting yourself at greater risk from long-term health issues.
Some of the mo Continue reading

World Diabetes Day

World Diabetes Day was first introduced in 1991, and founded by both the International Diabetes Federation and the World Health Organization. In reaction to the rise in cases of Diabetes worldwide, it was decided to choose a day of the year to raise awareness of Diabetes and related causes. The day chosen was the birthday of Sir Frederick Banting, a medical scientist who co-discovered Insulin and was the first person to use it on humans.
The theme of World Diabetes Day regularly changes. For example, the theme for the day between 2009 and 2013 was education and prevention, and in the past such themes have been used such as human rights, lifestyle, obesity, the disadvantaged and vulnerable, and children/teenagers. Various events around the world mark the day including raising awareness in the media, lectures and conferences, sporting events, and leaflet/poster campaigning. “Going blue” is another global event to mark the day, where people wear blue and landmark buildings and monuments around the world are lit up in blue, to help spread awareness of the day. Continue reading

Can Diabetes Alert Dogs Help Sniff Out Low Blood Sugar?

For people with diabetes who take insulin, the risk of losing consciousness from low blood sugar is a constant fear. Devices called continuous glucose monitors (CGMs) can alert wearers to dropping levels, but not everyone has access to them. And even among those who do, some prefer a furrier and friendlier alert option: a service dog with special training to alert owners when their blood sugar reaches dangerously low levels.
These dogs are trained in a variety of ways, and although they receive certification, there is no universally accepted test to ensure their competence. Fully trained dogs can cost in the $20,000 range and typically aren't covered by insurance, although some nonprofit organizations can help offset the cost.
But as the popularity of diabetes alert dogs to detect hypoglycemia has increased dramatically, their effectiveness is largely unknown, according to Evan Los, a pediatric endocrinologist at Oregon Health & Science University who has studied their use. "Though dog trainers and dog users are generally enthusiastic," he notes.
Moreover, it's not clear exactly what the dogs may be detecting. Are they actually "smelling" low blood sugar, or are they reacting to typical hypoglycemia symptoms in their owner, such as sweating or shaking?
Two new studies add scent to the trail. One, published in the journal Diabetes Care, suggests that the dogs may be smelling a particular substance in the person's breath that rises as blood sugar falls.
But a second study, presented by Los at the recent meeting of the American Diabetes Association in New Orleans, found that a Continue reading