Some Idahoans Find Lifestyle Changes Hard Despite Diabetes | Idaho Statesman

Some Idahoans find lifestyle changes hard despite diabetes | Idaho Statesman

That visit six years ago confirmed his suspicions with a diagnosis of Type 2 diabetes. His blood sugar level was in the 300s far above the 80-130 that the American Diabetes Association advises before meals, and the 180 recommended for an hour or two after.
Mine was super, super high, said Kluchesky, a Twin Falls chaplain. Since then things have changed quite a bit, but I still have a hard time keeping my blood sugar down to 150 on a regular basis.
Hes not alone. The number of American adults diagnosed with diabetes has more than tripled in the past 20 years as the population has aged and gained weight. In Idaho, an estimated 100,000 adults lived with diabetes in 2015 and an estimated 84,000 with prediabetes.
People with diabetes have health care costs 2.3 times greater than those without diabetes. In Idaho, diabetes and prediabetes cost an estimated $1.3 billion each year and were the sixth leading cause of death in 2014. The American Diabetes Association estimates the total cost of diabetes and prediabetes in the U.S. at $322 billion.
But unlike Type 1 diabetes, Type 2 diabetes can be prevented or delayed by eliminating risk factors such as physical inactivity, unhealthy diets and tobacco use.
Type 1 diabetes is a chronic condition in which the pancreas produces little or no insulin. People with Type 2 diabetes make insulin, but the body doesnt use it the way it should. Prediabetes is when blood sugar is higher than normal. If left untreated, it often progresses to Type 2 diabetes.
Despite that dark specter, Idaho is seeing a steady increase in overweight and obes Continue reading

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Tips On Peripheral Neuropathy & Saving Money With Diabetes

Recent diabetes management classes have been well attended, with great questions being asked by the participants. If they are interested in these questions then, hopefully you are too! Learn about peripheral neuropathy and saving money when you have diabetes.
What is peripheral neuropathy and how is it treated?
Neuropathy or nerve damage occurs in 50-70% of people with diabetes. Peripheral neuropathy involves the extremities, especially the legs and feet. There is no real cure for peripheral neuropathy but the best way to prevent or reduce the symptoms are with properly controlled blood sugars. Controlling blood pressure and not smoking in also critical. Proper and diligent foot care needs to be maintained and should include seeing a podiatrist and always keeping feet covered always with supportive shoes and breathable socks. Common symptoms include tingling, shooting and stabbing pain in the legs and feet. Changes in sensitivity and temperature are often noted and total numbness may present later. Peripheral neuropathy can lead to leg and foot weakness with loss of balance resulting in possible severe injuries. Finding relief with your physician’s help and approval can be accomplished. Although not curable, peripheral neuropathy can be treated. Some remedies are easy at home treatments including heat and cold packs. When using heat and cold packs, the general rule is 10 minutes on the area but not directly on the skin (use a wash cloth or pillow case) and 20 minutes off. Some people prefer heat treatment and others cold. It is just a personal preference.
When using heat Continue reading

Can frequent, moderate drinking ward offdiabetes?

Can frequent, moderate drinking ward offdiabetes?
Posted 10:25 am, September 3, 2017, by CNN Wire , Updated at 10:19AM, September 3, 2017
SANTA ROSA, CA - FEBRUARY 07: A Russian River Brewing Company customer takes a sip of the newly released Pliny the Younger triple IPA beer on February 7, 2014 in Santa Rosa, California. Hundreds of people lined up hours before the opening of Russian River Brewing Co. to taste the 10th annual release of the wildly popular Pliny the Younger triple IPA beer that will only be available on tap from February 7th through February 20th. Craft beer aficionados rank Pliny the Younger as one of the top beers in the world. The craft beer sector of the beverage industry has grown from being a niche market into a fast growing 12 billion dollar business, as global breweries continue to purchase smaller regional craft breweries such this week's purchase of New York's Blue Point Brewing by AB Inbev. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
Can frequent, moderate drinking ward offdiabetes?
SANTA ROSA, CA - FEBRUARY 07: A Russian River Brewing Company customer takes a sip of the newly released Pliny the Younger triple IPA beer on February 7, 2014 in Santa Rosa, California. Hundreds of people lined up hours before the opening of Russian River Brewing Co. to taste the 10th annual release of the wildly popular Pliny the Younger triple IPA beer that will only be available on tap from February 7th through February 20th. Craft beer aficionados rank Pliny the Younger as one of the top beers in the world. The craft beer sector of the beverage industry has Continue reading

9 of the biggest diabetes myths debunked by an expert

9 of the biggest diabetes myths debunked by an expert
We got an expert to give us the facts during World Diabetes Week.
More than 4 million people in the UK have diabetes, but do we actually know what the condition is or why it developed?
We asked Pav Kalsi, a senior clinical adviser at Diabetes UK , to clear up a few of the most common myths about the disease.
1. Diabetes is caused by an unhealthy diet
Were often told that binging on burgers and chips will cause diabetes, but this statement completely ignores the difference between Type 1 and Type 2. This is probably because 90% of diabetes sufferers have Type 2, which is linked to being overweight, leading a sedentary lifestyle and eating an unhealthy diet.
[Read more:Craving junk food? Obese people may be mentally wired to find unhealthy food irresistible]
However, Type 1 has nothing to do with these factors. Type 1 diabetes isnt linked to diet, explains Pav. No one knows what exactly causes it but its not to do with being overweight. It usually affects children or young adults, starting suddenly and getting worse very quickly.
She adds: Too often Type1 diabetes, which is not linked to lifestyle, is mistaken for Type2, which can be caused by being overweight, but it is important that the distinctions between the two types are clearly understood.
2. All overweight people will develop diabetes
Not all overweight people are going to get diabetes although the majority of people with Type 2 diabetes do have an unhealthily high BMI. The International Diabetes Federation (IDF) reports that worldwide 80% of people w Continue reading

National Diabetes Month: My path to a sweeter, sugar-free lifestyle

In all my years on this planet, I had never fainted. Sure, there were a few stressful moments that caused my head to feel like it was soaked in club soda, but I never once succumbed to the lightheadedness.
On January 12, 2017, I fainted. And I have two scars to prove it. One on my head, the other on the remnants of my former sedentary, careless, "regular guy" lifestyle.
That morning -- just a day removed from an otherwise normal checkup -- I was working from home, while simultaneously planning a righteous birthday celebration, replete with friends, beer, televised sports, and piles of indistinguishable fried brown foods.
In other words, a normal celebration for a man approaching middle age with a decided lack of grace, and a bad case of arrested development.
Then the phone rang. It was my doctor -- undoubtedly to tell me all was well, and that I was just a few pounds shy of perfect fitness. Right? Right?
Wrong. Instead of joyous celebration, she asked me to sit down. Then, with all the subtlety of a trombone, she bluntly stated that my blood tests confirmed what I already knew deep down. I was a confirmed diabetic.
The next 10 minutes were a blur. After years of being coddled by a well-intentioned, doting family that always implied bad things happen to "other people," a wash of emotion made me come to grips with the reality of my situation. My life was about to change entirely.
Oh, I would continue to exist for years with the proper treatment. But I truly believed my days of living were suddenly -- and sadly -- over. Gone were the large meals, mindless snacking, care-free m Continue reading