Do You Have Diabetes? 5 Tips For Successful Heart Surgery

Do You Have Diabetes? 5 Tips for Successful Heart Surgery

While having diabetes puts you at a greater risk for complications during surgery, you can put a cap on these risks by being sure your diabetes is well controlled.
Even small changes in blood glucose levels make a big difference. If blood sugar is not well-managed, it raises risks for wound infections, which account for about two-thirds of post-operative problems with diabetes.
High blood sugar also increases the risk for stroke, cardiac arrest, lower limb ischaemia (a sharp decrease in blood flow to the legs and feet) and pressure sores — and may also result in a longer stay in intensive care.
If you need surgery right away, you may not have time to get your blood glucose under control beforehand.
But if there is time, here are five things you can do to improve your numbers:
1. Stay on top of blood sugar levels. It’s important to consistently and carefully measure your insulin levels to keep them under control.
2.Take all your medications. Be sure to follow your doctor’s advice about taking oral medications as well as injections.
3.Watch your waistline. You want to eat right and exercise consistently.
4. Consider seeing a diabetes specialist. Your doctor might recommend working with a diabetes specialist to help you get on track.
5. Don’t ignore other health conditions. If you have another condition besides diabetes, such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol or kidney disease, get those under control as much as possible. Each condition increases your risk for a poor outcome.
No matter what, be sure to talk with your doctor ahead of time about which surgical pro Continue reading

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12 ways to manage diabetes during pregnancy

A healthy pregnancy is a priority for every mother-to-be, but for women who have diabetes, including those who are diagnosed with gestational diabetes, their health care can become more complex.
Women with diabetes who are diagnosed prior to pregnancy have a higher risk for complications, including miscarriage and birth defects. As the pregnancy progresses, women with diabetes are at risk for high blood pressure, preeclampsia, eclampsia, preterm and prolonged labor, cesarean section and its associated complications.
Up to 9.2 percent of women have gestational diabetes, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and for these women in particular, their babies have a higher risk for high birth weight and shoulder dystocia, a complication during delivery. Babies born with low blood sugar (hypoglycemia) will likely have to be in the NICU for a few days after birth.
The good news is that with a plan, healthy strategies and support, you can control your diabetes, have a healthy pregnancy, and deliver a healthy baby.
Follow these expert tips:
1. See your doctor before you get pregnant.
If you have diabetes and plan to conceive, you should talk to your doctor to make sure your A1C levels are normal, talk about medication if it’s necessary or ask for a referral to a nutritionist. Women with Type 1 diabetes should ask their doctors about a kidney function test, a thyroid test and an eye exam because other conditions can worsen, said Dr. Lois Jovanovic, an endocrinologist and clinical professor of medicine at the Keck School of Medicine of the University of S Continue reading

Type 1 Diabetes vs. Type 2 Diabetes

Diabetes affects over 29 million people in the United States, and 1 in 4 of those affected are unaware that they have diabetes.[1] Type 1 diabetes is usually diagnosed in younger people and occurs when the body cannot produce enough insulin. In type 2 diabetes, the body cannot use the insulin it produces. This disease, frequently related to obesity, a sedentary lifestyle, and genetics, is most often diagnosed in adults, but incidence rates are increasing among teens in America.[2][3]
Comparison chart
Type 1 Diabetes versus Type 2 Diabetes comparison chart
Type 1 Diabetes
Type 2 Diabetes
Definition
Beta cells in pancreas are being attacked by body's own cells and therefore can't produce insulin to take sugar out of the blood stream. Insulin is not produced.
Diet related insulin release is so large and frequent that receptor cells have become less sensitive to the insulin. This insulin resistance results in less sugar being removed from the blood.
Diagnosis
Genetic, environmental and auto-immune factors, idiopathic
Genetic, obesity (central adipose), physical inactivity, high/low birth weight, GDM, poor placental growth, metabolic syndrome
Warning Signs
Increased thirst & urination, constant hunger, weight loss, blurred vision and extreme tiredness, glycouria
Feeling tired or ill, frequent urination (especially at night), unusual thirst, weight loss, blurred vision, frequent infections and slow wound healing, asymptomatic
Commonly Afflicted Groups
Children/teens
Adults, elderly, certain ethnic groups
Prone ethnic groups
All
more common in African American, Latino/Hispanic, Na Continue reading

What's the Difference Between Type 1 and Type 2 Diabetes?

Type 1 and type 2 diabetes share the problem of high levels of blood sugar. The inability to control blood sugar causes the symptoms and the complications of both types of diabetes. But type 1 diabetes and type 2 diabetes are two different diseases in many ways. According to the latest (2014) estimates from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 29.1 million people, or 9.3 percent of the U.S. population, have diabetes. Type 1 diabetes affects just 5 percent of those adults, with type 2 diabetes affecting up to 95 percent. Here’s what else you need to know to be health-savvy in the age of the diabetes epidemic.
What Causes Diabetes?
"Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease — the body's immune system attacks the cells in the pancreas that make insulin," a hormone, says Andjela Drincic, MD, associate professor of internal medicine in the division of diabetes, endocrinology, and metabolism at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha. The exact cause is not known, but it's probably a combination of the genes a person is born with and something in the environment that triggers the genes to become active.
"The cause of type 2 diabetes is multifactorial," says Dr. Drincic. "People inherit genes that make them susceptible to type 2, but lifestyle factors, like obesity and inactivity, are also important. In type 2 diabetes, at least in the early stages, there is enough insulin, but the body becomes resistant to it." Risk factors for type 2 diabetes include a family history of the disease, a poor diet, a sedentary lifestyle, and obesity. African-Americans Continue reading

12 Ways to Avoid Diabetes

Nearly 25 percent of Americans are thought to have prediabetes -- a condition of slightly elevated blood sugar levels that often develops into diabetes within 10 years -- but only 4 percent of people know it. What's worse, of those who are aware, less than half really tried to reduce their risk by losing weight, eating less, and exercising more.
These are just a few of the good-for-you habits that can reverse prediabetes and ensure you never get the real thing, which can mean a lifetime of drugs and blood sugar monitoring, an increased risk of heart disease, Alzheimer's disease, and other scary health threats. Read on for 12 simple tricks everyone can start today.
More from Prevention:
12 Ways to Avoid Diabetes
Shedding even 10 pounds can significantly slash your risk.
Even extremely overweight people were 70 percent less likely to develop diabetes when they lost just 5 percent of their weight -- even if they didn't exercise. If you weigh 175 pounds, that's a little less than 9 pounds! Use our calorie calculator to see how many calories you consume -- and how many you need to shave off your diet -- if you want to lose a little.
12 Ways to Avoid Diabetes
Eating greens with a vinaigrette before a starchy entrée may help control your blood sugar levels.
In an Arizona State University study, people with type 2 diabetes or a precursor condition called insulin resistance had lower blood sugar levels if they consumed about 2 tablespoons of vinegar just before a high-carb meal. "Vinegar contains acetic acid, which may inactivate certain starch-digesting enzymes, slowing carbohydra Continue reading