So Now Apparently I Dont Have Gestational Diabetes

So Now Apparently I Dont Have Gestational Diabetes
Back from my consultants appointment at the hospital and Im more confused than ever though, it has to be said, slightly elated. Before I go into what the consultant said, I must once again just stress the benefits of having gone to see a private obstetrician for a second opinion on everything. Twice. I know that this isnt a possibility for everyone, because it is expensive or, at least, more expensive than the NHS, which is free but for me it was one of the best 150 I have ever spent. OK, 300 in total, but for the extra insight into my pregnancy it gave me, worth every penny. (Im not knocking the NHS by any means they are overstretched and could never have given me the time and attention I got privately. Call itan enhancement to the service.)
Because by the time I went into the consultants office, he had pored over the scan results and the baby measurements (which I was surprised by, because for some reason I assumed that he would be sniffy about me having gone for a second opinion) and almost instantly recommended I have a c-section due to the size of the baby and my previous emergency section. I could hardly believe my ears! Firstly, because I had been told last time that I wasnt having a big baby and secondly because I had also been told that women gave birth naturally to huge babies all the time and so it wasnt a valid reason for elective section.
What a relief. Not to have to put my case across, or argue about induction rates and VBAC success rates and so on and his recommendation also took any decision-making Continue reading

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Families make emotional plea for diabetes research funding

Families make emotional plea for diabetes research funding
Families and advocates delivered an emotional plea for more diabetes research funding before Congress on Wednesday.
People with type 1 diabetes, including over 160 children, were on hand for a hearing before the Senate Special Committee on Aging.
Those testifying urged lawmakers to extend the Special Diabetes Program, which funds research into type 1 diabetes. The program will run out of funds this September if lawmakers dont act.
The families were joined by actor Paul Sparks, who stars on the Netflix hit "House of Cards."
We are at the cusp of a whole new generation of therapies, devices, and hopefully a cure, Sparks, who was diagnosed with diabetes at the age of 28, told lawmakers.
Thats why we cant let up on research. We need to keep the momentum going by renewing the Special Diabetes Program before it expires at the end of September.
Sparks brought his own family to the hearing to highlight how the disease affects others.
He recalled one night when he turned off a glucose monitor so that his then-pregnant wife could sleep peacefully without any beeping noises. But he awoke to a severely low blood sugar level and a worried wife.
Sparks said that made him realize how important those technologies were and the need to keep research funding.
The Special Diabetes Program was created in 1997to promote efforts to cure and prevent diabetes, a disease that affect millions of Americans.
The program provides $150 million a year to advance type 1 research at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and treatment Continue reading

children with DIABETES - Friends for Life UK 2017

Beaumont House Hotel and Conference Venue
Burfield Road, Windsor, SL4 2JJ, United Kingdom
FFL UK is for the entire family, including siblings
FFL leaves you completely re-energised, but in the most exhausting way imaginable! I couldn't have put an e-mail together that did it justice if I tried to straight away. I needed to rest my brain. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for all that you and the staff do in putting together the FFL conferences. I cannot begin to imagine how much goes into it, but the result is just amazing. The magic of FFL never lessens in any way. It actually grows year on year.
My lasting memory that I will take away from FFL UK is the image of my son running around the hotel with his friends, bag on his shoulder (something he agreed to do after last years trip) happy and not feeling different. For him, this is very important. He once said to me 'having diabetes makes me different enough; I don't want to be any more different.' This makes me sad. I hope as he grows he will realise its not bad to be different, but for a time last week end he wasn't.
My child is different at FFL: more confident, more carefree, more positive, and doesn't feel different. I know these weekends will change her life in the long run, and the lives of all our children. I think all the positivity and caring soaks into their skin over those weekends as does the desire to have the best blood control they can, as they see everyone else doing what they have to do, without parents telling them.
Jo in Elementary said the loveliest words when I went to drop Daniel off on th Continue reading

Meta-analysis of RCTs suggests vitamin D supplementation improves markers of type II diabetes

Meta-analysis of RCTs suggests vitamin D supplementation improves markers of type II diabetes
Posted on: October 13, 2017 by Riley Peterson & John Cannell, MD.
A recent meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials discovered that vitamin D supplementation helped control glycemic response and improved insulin sensitivity in individuals with type II diabetes.
Type II diabetes has become an increasing health concern over recent years, as overweight and obesity rates have skyrocketed. Furthermore, approximately 57% of healthcare expenditures are due to diabetes and related events in North America each year.
Diabetes is considered to be a major risk factor for many adverse health conditions and diseases. According to the available research, type II diabetes contributes to:
70% of non-traumatic lower limb amputations
While poor diet, lack of exercise and genetics are the main risk factors for developing type II diabetes, evidence also suggests that vitamin D levels plays a role in the metabolic status of type II diabetes patients. Research indicates that vitamin D deficiency is associated with abnormal glucose metabolism, decreased insulin sensitivity and overall risk of developing type II diabetes. However, some of the available evidence on the effect of vitamin D supplementation on glycemic control in those with type II diabetes is conflicting. Therefore, researchers from this meta-analysis decided to explore this relationship.
A total of 23 RCTs and 1,477 individuals were included in this analysis. Studies were included if they were randomized controlled trials, an Continue reading

Type 1 Diabetes — The Unexpected Baby?

WRITTEN BY: Katie Doyle
“It needs your love and attention,” says Rebecca Foster, a mother to four children, and one who has Type 1 diabetes. “You have to care for it and you have to love it and embrace it, whether it’s acting up, or crying or whatever it’s doing.”
Rebecca wasn’t referring to one of her children – rather, she was describing a way to make sense of something that often doesn’t make a whole lot of sense: Type 1 diabetes.
“I kind of came up with this analogy in my head of how, you know, you bring a baby into a family, the mother has the baby, and the parents are responsible for the baby, but the baby affects the entire family.”
14-year-old Mia, the second oldest, was diagnosed with Type 1 in July 2016, just a month before she started high school.
“My daughter was diagnosed during a routine physical for high school through a urine test. In many ways, we were really lucky because she wasn’t sick; [she had some weight loss and was definitely moody} but nothing you wouldn’t have chalked up to a teenage girl about to start high school.”
The Fosters live near Los Angeles, where they enjoy skiing, cooking, and doing water sports together. The Type 1 community welcomed them right away, but they realized they needed something else to help introduce diabetes to their very active lifestyle.
After all, diabetes is something that affects the entire family, not just the family member living with it. Together with her kids and her husband, John, Rebecca felt it was important to recognize diabetes as “something we all need to think about.”
Effi Continue reading