Using Insulin To Treat Type 2 Diabetes

Using Insulin to Treat Type 2 Diabetes

If you have type 2 diabetes, you probably already know that a healthy lifestyle -- including diet, exercise and weight control -- is a very important part of your treatment. You also may need to take oral medications, either a single drug or a combination of drugs. If your type 2 diabetes is not well-controlled on oral medications, you may need to take insulin.
How Does Insulin Work?
Insulin helps keep your blood sugar levels within a normal range by moving glucose from your blood into your body’s cells.
Your cells then use the glucose for energy. People who do not have diabetes make the correct amount of insulin on their own.
If you have type 2 diabetes, you may be able to control your levels of insulin and blood sugar with oral medication. However, some people with type 2 diabetes can't control their blood sugar with oral medications alone and need to add insulin injections to their treatment.
How Do I Take Insulin?
You will need to learn how to inject yourself with insulin, which you may need to take one or more times each day. Your doctor or a diabetes nurse can help you decide which method of taking insulin is best for you and will teach you how to inject yourself.
Taking injections. You will give yourself shots using a needle and syringe. Your doctor or nurse will show you how to get the correct amount of insulin into the syringe and how to inject it under your skin. Some people use an insulin pen, which looks like a pen but has a needle for its point and is prefilled with the correct amount of insulin.
Using an insulin jet injector. This device, which looks like a Continue reading

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Surgery for weight loss: A standard treatment for type 2 diabetes?

Gastric bypass procedure should be used more often, experts say
Weight-loss surgery not only leads to dramatic weight loss, it also reverses type 2 diabetes in most people who undergo these stomach-shrinking procedures. In fact, international diabetes organizations now say that surgery for weight loss should become a more routine treatment option for people with type 2 diabetes—even those who are only mildly obese.
Many of the estimated 29 million Americans with type 2 diabetes are overweight or obese. Marked by high levels of sugar in the blood, type 2 diabetes boosts the risk of heart disease, kidney disease, eye and nerve complications, and other serious health problems.
Currently, weight-loss surgery is considered appropriate for two groups of people: those with extreme obesity (a body mass index, or BMI, of 40 or higher; see www.health.harvard.edu/bmi for a calculator) or those only with moderate obesity (BMI of 35 or higher) who also have an obesity-related health problem, such as type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, or sleep apnea.
But even people with mild obesity (a BMI between 30 and 35) who have trouble controlling their blood sugar levels should be considered candidates for weight-loss surgery (also known as bariatric surgery). That's according to a joint statement endorsed by 45 international diabetes organizations, published in the June 2016 issue of Diabetes Care.
Weight-loss surgeries: What are they?
The two most common weight-loss procedures are the gastric bypass procedure and the gastric sleeve. Most are done through several small belly incisions.
Gast Continue reading

Fitbit has a new partnership to help wearers manage diabetes with the Ionic smartwatch

Image: lili sams/mashable
Fitbit is looking to expand its health monitoring capabilities beyond just fitness tracking, so the company is teaming up with a major medical device maker to help people manage diabetes directly on their wrists.
Fitbit just announced a new partnership with glucose monitoring device company Dexcom. The first initiative to come from the deal will bring Dexcom's data to the upcoming Ionic smartwatch, where glucose levels will be accessible right alongside steps, heart rate, and other stats tracked by the device.
The partnership won't give the Ionic continuous glucose monitoring capabilities on its own — patients will need to connect one of Dexcom's devices to their Fitbit app — but putting the data right on the smartwatch should make keeping track throughout the day an even more seamless experience.
The new functionality isn't just big news for Fitbit fans with diabetes — the company's shareholders have reason to be excited, too. Fitbit shares jumped up 13 percent immediately following the announcement, according to MarketWatch. The prices were the highest for the company since January, when it laid off six percent of its staff and first declared its plans to make a smartwatch.
The Ionic will be released sometime next month, but it won't launch with the Dexcom functionality. The two companies say they're "aiming for 2018" to roll out the connectivity, and more areas of collaboration are also in the works.
Fitbit isn't Dexcom's first wearable deal. The company's tech was also named as an upcoming feature for the Apple Watch at WWDC back in June. Continue reading

What is Hyperglycemia (High Blood Sugar)? Causes, Symptoms, Treatment, Prevention

What is Hyperglycemia (High Blood Sugar)? Causes, Symptoms, Treatment, Prevention
What is Hyperglycemia (High Blood Sugar)? Causes, Symptoms, Treatment, Prevention
Hyperglycemia is a medical condition which describes adversely high blood sugar, which is a major concern and can affect patients with prediabetes , type 1 and type 2 Diabetes . There are two main types of hyperglycemia
Fasting hyperglycemia This level of blood sugar exceeds 130 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dL) after skipping drinking or eating for up to 8 hours.
After-meal or postprandial hyperglycemia This level of blood sugar exceeds 180 mg/dL after two hours of meals. Without diabetes, blood sugar rarely reaches 140 mg/dL after having meals.
Current or frequent high blood sugar may lead to damage to blood vessels , nerves, and organs. It can also cause various severe conditions. Patients with type 1 diabetes are vulnerable to build-up of acids ketoacidosis in blood.
If you are vulnerable to type 2 diabetes or you have, your body will become unable to produce sugar, a deadly condition caused by very high blood sugar. It is known as HHNS or Hyperglycemic, Hyperosmolar Nonketotic Syndrome. In this condition, you will get natures call more often initially, and then less frequently later, but your urine may get dark and you could be severely dehydrated. To prevent complications, be sure to cure symptoms of high blood sugar quickly.
Intestinal and stomach problems like diarrhea or chronic constipation
Nerve damage which causes insensitive or cold feet, erectile dysfunction , or loss of hair
In order Continue reading

News Flash: The FDA Just Approved a Breakthrough Diabetes Device

Diabetes is often referred to in the medical community as the "silent killer." Affecting more than 30 million people in the U.S. (9.4% of the population), diabetes was listed the cause of death for nearly 80,000 people in 2016, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Its comorbidities, such as hypertension, heart disease, and kidney disease, can also cause lifelong problems and themselves lead to death. Though it may not inspire the same fear in patients as a cancer diagnosis, it's a very serious disease.
Diabetes is also a costly disease to treat. The CDC's National Diabetes Statistics Report released earlier this year estimated the direct and indirect estimated costs of diagnosed diabetes at $245 billion as of 2012. Mind you, nearly 24% of the 30.3 million people with diabetes in the U.S. are undiagnosed, meaning this $245 billion estimate is probably conservative and underrepresenting the actual costs of treating diabetic patients. It probably also fails to fully account for the lost worker productivity as a result of diabetics missing work or passing away earlier than people who don't have diabetes.
These statistics demonstrate why research into new medicines and devices designed to improve the quality of life of diabetics is so important.
The FDA green-lights another breakthrough diabetes device
Well, folks, I have some good news to report. Last week, the Food and Drug Administration approved a breakthrough diabetes device from Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) that should make life considerably better, and less painful, for diabetics.
The device, kno Continue reading