Warning Signs Of Type 2 Diabetes

Warning Signs of Type 2 Diabetes

Almost a third of people who have diabetes do not know it. That number comes from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Additionally, most people with prediabetes — a condition that puts people at increased risk of developing Type 2 diabetes — don’t know they have it.
So my diabetes story, which began in ignorance, was not so unusual. I had prediabetes for a long time before the complications caused by high blood sugar led to a stroke.
This is the reason I made a list of warning signs for Type 2 diabetes. Perhaps you or someone you love will see how important it is to get a simple blood sugar test. If this sneaky condition is caught early, you can avoid serious complications.
The symptoms of Type 2 are well known but are easy to miss. Two of them are increased thirst and frequent urination.
The word “diabetes” comes from the Greek word for “siphon.” If the beta cells in your pancreas are working, insulin is pumping into your blood to help your body digest carbohydrates like sugar and bread and noodles.
But in Type 2 diabetes (or prediabetes) your cells are resistant to insulin, which leaves much of that glucose, or simple sugar, in the bloodstream. When blood glucose levels are above 250 mg/dl, the ability of the kidneys to reabsorb fluids is blocked, leading to the release of large amounts of liquid (and sugar) into the bladder. (A urine test would show high sugar content. This is why for thousands of years, diabetes was called the “sweet urine disease.”) This process uses lots of water, leading to increased thirst.
Another sign of prediabetes o Continue reading

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Breakthrough pill can CURE diabetes: New drug fights both types of killer disease

Handing hope to the millions of sufferers in the UK, the new study suggests that a “probiotic pill” - one containing live bacteria - can radically reduce blood glucose levels.
In experiments researchers discovered that using a pill containing common bacteria found in the human gut can shift the control of glucose levels from the pancreas to the upper intestine.
It is believed that this “rewiring” of the body could revolutionise treatment for diabetes - both Types 1 and 2 - and potentially one day offer the possibility of a cure.
Professor John March, leading the research, said: “If it works really well in people, it could be that they just take the pill and wouldn’t have to do anything else to control their diabetes. It’s likely, though, that it will be used in conjunction with some other treatment.”
Diabetes occurs when the amount of glucose in a sufferer’s blood becomes too high because the body cannot use it properly. This happens when the pancreas does not produce any insulin (Type 1), or not enough insulin to help glucose enter the body’s cells – or the insulin that is produced does not work properly, known as insulin resistance (Type 2).
But the new study suggests a manufactured probiotic pill could shift control of glucose levels away from the pancreas - addressing both types of diabetes.
Published in the journal Diabetes, senior author Professor March and colleagues at Cornell University, New York, told how they had engineered a common strain of “friendly” human gut bacteria called Lactobacillus to secrete a peptide - a hormone that release Continue reading

Pregnancy if You Have Diabetes

If you have diabetes and plan to have a baby, you should try to get your blood glucose levels close to your target range before you get pregnant.
Staying in your target range during pregnancy, which may be different than when you aren’t pregnant, is also important. High blood glucose, also called blood sugar, can harm your baby during the first weeks of pregnancy, even before you know you are pregnant. If you have diabetes and are already pregnant, see your doctor as soon as possible to make a plan to manage your diabetes. Working with your health care team and following your diabetes management plan can help you have a healthy pregnancy and a healthy baby.
If you develop diabetes for the first time while you are pregnant, you have gestational diabetes.
How can diabetes affect my baby?
A baby’s organs, such as the brain, heart, kidneys, and lungs, start forming during the first 8 weeks of pregnancy. High blood glucose levels can be harmful during this early stage and can increase the chance that your baby will have birth defects, such as heart defects or defects of the brain or spine.
High blood glucose levels during pregnancy can also increase the chance that your baby will be born too early, weigh too much, or have breathing problems or low blood glucose right after birth.
High blood glucose also can increase the chance that you will have a miscarriage or a stillborn baby.1 Stillborn means the baby dies in the womb during the second half of pregnancy.
How can my diabetes affect me during pregnancy?
Hormonal and other changes in your body during pregnancy affect your b Continue reading

Diabetes: The differences between types 1 and 2

Diabetes, or diabetes mellitus (DM), is a metabolic disorder in which the body cannot properly store and use sugar.
It affects the body's ability to use glucose, a type of sugar found in the blood, as fuel. This happens because the body does not produce enough insulin, or the cells do not correctly respond to insulin to use glucose as energy.
Insulin is a type of hormone produced by the pancreas to regulate how blood sugar becomes energy. An imbalance of insulin or resistance to insulin causes diabetes.
Diabetes is linked to a higher risk of cardiovascular disease, kidney disease, vision loss, neurological conditions, and damage to blood vessels and organs.
There is type 1, type 2, and gestational diabetes. They have different causes and risk factors, and different lines of treatment.
This article will compare the similarities and differences of types 1 and 2 diabetes.
Gestational diabetes occurs in pregnancy and typically resolves after childbirth.
However, having gestational diabetes also increases the risk of developing type 2 diabetes after pregnancy, so patients are often screened for type 2 diabetes at a later date.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 29.1 million people in the United States (U.S.) have diabetes.
Type 2 diabetes is much more common than type 1. For every person with type 1 diabetes, 20 will have type 2.
Type 2 can be hereditary, but excess weight, a lack of exercise and an unhealthy diet increase
At least a third of people in the U.S. will develop type 2 diabetes in their lifetime.
Both types can lead to heart attack, st Continue reading

Gestational Diabetes During Pregnancy

Has your doctor diagnosed you with gestational diabetes (GD or GDM), a form of diabetes that appears only during pregnancy? While it might feel overwhelming at first, it turns out that this pregnancy complication is much more common than you might think. In fact, up to 9.2 percent of pregnant women have GD, according to a 2014 analysis by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Know that with careful monitoring and treatment, it can be managed, and you can have a safe and healthy pregnancy.
READ MORE:
What causes gestational diabetes?
Who's most at risk?
What are the symptoms?
How is it diagnosed?
What are the complications?
How can you prevent gestational diabetes?
How is it treated?
What happens to mom and baby after birth?
What causes gestational diabetes?
Gestational diabetes usually starts between week 24 and week 28 of pregnancy when hormones from the placenta block insulin — a hormone produced in the pancreas that regulates the body's metabolism of fats and carbs and helps the body turn sugar into energy — from doing its job and prevent the body from regulating the increased blood sugar of pregnancy effectively. This causes hyperglycemia (or high levels of sugar in the blood), which can damage the nerves, blood vessels and organs in your body.
Who’s most at risk for gestational diabetes?
While researchers aren't certain why some women get gestational diabetes while others don’t, they do know that you may be at an increased risk if:
You are overweight. Having a BMI of 30 or more going into pregnancy is one of the most common risk factors for gest Continue reading