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February 2012
Cinnamon, chromium, and alpha-lipoic acid are dietary supplements that have been studied for diabetes management, but are not commonly found in daily multivitamins. Chromium* and cinnamon have the least supportive evidence of efficacy, while some studies have found alpha-lipoic acid to be promising, at least subjectively, in reducing the discomforts of peripheral neuropathy.
Alpha lipoic acid, or ALA (not to be confused with alpha-linolenic acid, which has the same abbreviation), is a water- and fat-soluble antioxidant produced by the body to assist in energy metabolism. Foods rich in ALA include spinach, broccoli, and brewer's yeast. ALA may increase insulin sensitivity and enhance glucose uptake in the muscle cells of people with type 2 diabetes.
0 comments - Posted Feb 12, 2012
My son learned to crawl last month. As a part-time stay-at-home dad, I found it both exciting and terrifying. Through crawling, my son has entered a new stage in life. He might have rolled or scooted a few feet before, but now he can see something in another room and make up his mind to go there.
1 comment - Posted Feb 10, 2012
Researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report that foot and leg amputations decreased dramatically between 1996 and 2008. Over those 12 years, amputations dropped from 11 out of every 1,000 diabetic adults to only four-a decrease of almost 64 percent. Over the same period, however, the number of people officially diagnosed with diabetes tripled.
0 comments - Posted Feb 9, 2012
At the age of 15 years, Sheila Glazov's son Joshua was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. "In 1985," Glazov says, "our family was living in Mammoth Lakes, California. Our little mountain town had a 15-bed hospital that was efficient if you injured yourself skiing, but not if you were looking for appropriate medical care and support for your child who was newly diagnosed with diabetes."
0 comments - Posted Feb 8, 2012
Diabetes doesn't confine itself to a single week or month. It's a year-round condition, and each season offers its own challenges and opportunities for those of us with the disease. We should be prepared to change and evolve as the seasons shift--not only to stay healthy, but also to enjoy all the fun that our dynamic world offers.
1 comment - Posted Feb 7, 2012
The FDA has approved US sales of JANUMET® XR, a daily oral treatment for type 2 diabetes that combines sitagliptin and extended-release metformin. The drug is the fourth oral type 2 diabetes treatment introduced by Merck, which also sells JANUVIA, JANUMET, and JUVISYNC.
0 comments - Posted Feb 6, 2012
Barley has more beta glucan fiber than any other grain, and it has repeatedly established positive clinical results with regard to diabetes control. It not only boosts immune function by supporting macrophages and neutrophils, lowers blood pressure and cholesterol levels, and helps control obesity, but also attenuates postprandial glucose levels, improves insulin sensitivity, and promotes a feeling of satiety.
6 comments - Posted Feb 5, 2012
Due to the rising rates of diabetes and other chronic diseases related to obesity, children are expected to have a shorter lifespan than their parents for the first time in modern history. One in every three children aged two to 19 years is overweight or obese, and one-third of all children born in the year 2000 are expected to develop diabetes during their lifetime.
0 comments - Posted Feb 4, 2012
After several years of delays and setbacks, Amylin Pharmaceuticals has received FDA approval to begin US marketing of BydureonTM. The first once-a-week type 2 therapy to be offered in the US market, Bydureon is expected to be available by February. Amylin says that its wholesale price will be about $4,200 a year.
2 comments - Posted Feb 3, 2012
Winter in Chicago is catching up with my diabetic feet. No matter how much I lotion up before bed, the cracks are beginning to show. I recall a visit to my endocrinologist where she tested for sensitivity and scoped for cracks, wounds, or anything out of the ordinary. She told me how lucky I was that the skin on my feet was smooth and well maintained. She said to keep up with what I was doing. Though truthfully, I wasn't doing anything, it was summer and my feet were in good condition because of the warm weather and pure luck.
6 comments - Posted Feb 2, 2012
Two years ago, I was a different woman. I was just beginning to come out of my diabetes shell, assessing my confidence with strangers by testing in public and telling friends about my disease. I can still feel the panic rising in my throat as I told people that I have diabetes and need to take injections multiple times per day. I was afraid of rejection, afraid that they would treat me like a sick person. But after eleven years of fighting for my life with type 1 diabetes, I was tired of being afraid. The more people I told, the easier it got.
7 comments - Posted Feb 1, 2012
January 2012
Dear DH, I'm a 47-year-old man who was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes in 2008. For two years, I haven't been interested in sex. I have a demanding retail job and two teenage children. I can still perform, but I am usually so tired that I fall asleep after dinner. I don't miss sex much, but my wife does, and I don't want to lose her. By the way, my A1C usually runs around 6.8%.
1 comment - Posted Jan 31, 2012
The first time I worried about traveling with diabetes was after the 9/11 tragedy. I had been offered a trip to New York to attend a writer's conference. I jumped at the chance, looking forward to the conference, sightseeing, shopping, and seeing the musical The Producers on Broadway.
8 comments - Posted Jan 30, 2012
Animas Corporation, a division of Johnson & Johnson that manufactures insulin pumps, has been reprimanded by the FDA for not reporting serious problems resulting from use of its equipment. The parent company was warned that it could face fines and more for selling faulty insulin pumps and failing to disclose serious injuries to diabetic patients who used the OneTouch Ping and 2020 insulin pumps. According to reports, J&J continued to sell the pumps even after the company knew that some had failed.
0 comments - Posted Jan 29, 2012
Until now, drawing blood has been an unavoidable component of being tested for prediabetes and diabetes. Nobody enjoys the process, and it probably makes many people shy away from undergoing diagnosis at all.
1 comment - Posted Jan 28, 2012
With the recent news of Paula Deen's battle with type 2 diabetes, diabetes has been getting some negative coverage in the media. I've even heard comments like " No wonder Paula Deen has diabetes when she eats so much sugar and butter." This is frustrating because it perpetuates the false stereotype that all people with diabetes are the same.
5 comments - Posted Jan 27, 2012
If you, like many people with diabetes, are trying to lose weight, you might be more successful if you cut back on carbohydrates for just two days a week instead of undertaking an unrelenting low-calorie diet. A recent report found that women who banished carbohydrates for two days a week and ate normally the rest of the time lost about nine pounds in four months, compared to the five pounds lost by women who cut back to roughly 1,500 calories every day.
7 comments - Posted Jan 26, 2012
CHICAGO, IL -- January 24, 2012 -- The news of celebrity chef Paula Deen having diabetes has triggered a national conversation about how diet affects people with diabetes or those who are at risk of getting it.
0 comments - Posted Jan 25, 2012
RALEIGH, NC- DiabetesSisters is pleased to announce that registration for the 2012 Weekend for Women Conference opened on January 1, 2012, at 8 AM. The conference, a revolutionary weekend designed specifically for women with diabetes, will take place Friday, May 18, through Sunday, May 20, 2012, at the Marriott City Center in downtown Raleigh.
0 comments - Posted Jan 24, 2012
Researchers at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston report that they have discovered a naturally occurring hormone that can direct the body to burn more calories and increase its insulin sensitivity. Their results, based on lab experiments with mice, could potentially lead to therapies for diabetes, obesity, and even muscular dystrophy.
2 comments - Posted Jan 23, 2012
The FDA has given Roche the go-ahead to market its Accu-Chek® Nano SmartView blood glucose monitoring system. The Nano, which uses Accu-Chek SmartView test strips, will be available to US consumers within the first half of this year. It is part of the same product line as the Accu-Chek Aviva Nano and Accu-Chek Performa Nano systems, which Roche has already launched in several overseas markets.
3 comments - Posted Jan 22, 2012
A young man in his early thirties struggles through traffic on his small Honda motorbike. As he enjoys a short break at a traffic signal, one foot on the road, his eyes are attracted to a billboard picturing a succulent burger. While he gazes, fantasizing about lunch, his vision starts to blur.
2 comments - Posted Jan 21, 2012
When your doctor recommends a new drug or treatment for your diabetes, do you know if the doctor has received payment from the company that markets the drug or device? If the Obama administration has its way, you will. It is proposing a new law that will require drug companies to disclose payments made to doctors for research, consulting, speaking, travel, and entertainment-even something as minor as coffee and bagels delivered to a doctor's office for a meeting.
10 comments - Posted Jan 20, 2012
In my work as a prevention health technician in the Lakota community of South Dakota, I encourage people to ask questions and learn the facts about diabetes. Once they are aware of what diabetes is and how they can prevent or control it, they become empowered.
3 comments - Posted Jan 19, 2012
Like I did, you may take it for granted that you don't have to worry about having a heart attack. You may assume that heart attacks only happen to senior citizens. But I am living proof that there is no age limit to heart attack. At age 35, just three days after Christmas, it happened to me.
2 comments - Posted Jan 18, 2012
I wake in the morning with the taste of sour milk on my tongue. I'm sweating, extremely weak and disoriented. My muscles ache at the thought of moving. I have a sick feeling in my stomach, and it's threatening to come up my throat. I'm not sure what day it is. Nausea hits in a wave, sending chills down my spine.
20 comments - Posted Jan 17, 2012
Ethan Lewis, diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at the age of 12, founded GlucoBrands only 11 years later. The company produces a portable, inexpensive, tasty, fast-acting glucose gel that people can take to quickly restore healthy blood sugar levels when they experience hypoglycemia.
1 comment - Posted Jan 16, 2012
LifeScan has introduced the OneTouch® VerioTM IQ, a meter that not only tracks and displays blood sugar patterns, but also announces them with messages, such as "Looks like your blood sugar has been running LOW around this time."
2 comments - Posted Jan 15, 2012
Australian scientists have discovered that when a complex sugar crucial to the survival of insulin-producing pancreatic beta cells is degraded by the body's immune system, the beta cells die.
0 comments - Posted Jan 14, 2012
Recently, there has been a great deal of discussion on the subject of testing your blood sugar and taking insulin shots in public. A shocking number of people on social networks have commented that their family members don't want them to test their blood sugar or take their shots in public. They report having to inject in restrooms or even through their clothing to avoid drawing attention or offending their families. One hypersensitive husband even objected when his recently diagnosed wife took a shot in the relative privacy of their car.
36 comments - Posted Jan 12, 2012
North Carolina-based Marc S. Stevens, MD, FACS, is one of the top orthopedic surgeons in the country. Previously, while practicing in Little Rock, he was named Arkansas Physician of the Year. In addition to his orthopedic expertise, Dr. Stevens has developed a reputation as an expert in nutrition, especially as it relates to wound healing, bone and joint health, and healthy weight. To learn more about Dr. Marc S. Stevens go to www.DRSHealthInc.com
2 comments - Posted Jan 11, 2012
Professional snowboarder Sean Busby started competing at age 14 and began training for the Winter Olympics at 16. But in 2004, at age 19, Sean's troubling bouts of thirst and weariness were revealed as symptoms of type 1 diabetes.
1 comment - Posted Jan 10, 2012
Minneapolis-based Medtronic, Inc., has announced that the US Food and Drug Administration has given it the go-ahead to market its mySentry monitor, which allows caregivers to check the blood sugar of a diabetic person sleeping in another room. The bedside monitor, which costs around $3,000, works in tandem with Medtronic's MiniMed Paradigm® REAL-Time RevelTM System, a combined insulin pump/continuous glucose monitor unit.
2 comments - Posted Jan 9, 2012
A new year means new beginnings. Traditionally, it's a time to resolve to make changes for the better in our lives. This year, I decided to write a resolution list dedicated specifically to diabetes. I hope that some of you will want to try these ideas with me.
4 comments - Posted Jan 8, 2012
A dietary supplement, also known as a food supplement or nutritional supplement, contains a "dietary ingredient" intended to supplement the diet by providing an element that might not otherwise be consumed. "Dietary ingredients" include vitamins, minerals, herbs and other botanicals, amino acids, and substances such as enzymes, organ tissues, and metabolites. Dietary supplements, which may be extracts or concentrates, come in many forms, including tablets, capsules, soft gels, gelcaps, liquids, powders, and bars.
0 comments - Posted Jan 7, 2012
My baby girl had just been born. I was in the postoperation room after going through a cesarean section. My husband went to get my parents, who had been waiting for twelve hours in the waiting room. A nurse laid my little girl in an incubator next to my bed and checked her blood sugar, which was normal, in the mid-40 range. Fifteen minutes later the nurse checked her again, and it registered in the mid-30s. I watched as the nurse fed my baby her first ounces of food. I was still too numb to even know that I had legs, much less to be able to wiggle my toes.
4 comments - Posted Jan 6, 2012
Some women who drink two of more sugary beverages daily are lucky: their consumption of sweetened drinks doesn't put on extra weight.
0 comments - Posted Jan 5, 2012
Spring Health Solutions, Inc., has released an instructional video describing its Spring Universal Infusion Set, recently approved by the FDA and Health Canada. The video, at www.SpringUniversal.com, is designed to help consumers properly use the product.
0 comments - Posted Jan 4, 2012
Canadian researchers report that just 30 minutes of intense exercise per week can reduce blood sugar levels for up to 24 hours after each exercise session and help prevent post-prandial spikes in patients with type 2 diabetes.
0 comments - Posted Jan 3, 2012
As I explained in my previous articles, I was pre-eclamptic and was admitted to the hospital at 37 weeks. I had a migraine that lasted for ten hours after I entered the emergency room. I had experienced migraines before and knew that Tylenol wouldn't ease the pain, so I went untreated even in the hospital. About twelve hours after admission, I was brought to the women's floor, where I waited for my already injected Levemir supply to diminish in my bloodstream.
1 comment - Posted Jan 2, 2012
What's it really like to have type 1 diabetes? Every morning I start the day with a finger prick and two insulin injections. It doesn't matter if I don't feel like it. It doesn't matter if I'm tired. There is simply no room for pre-coffee dosage errors, excuses, or whining. Some mornings are good and some are bad, based upon my blood glucose reading. Its level varies greatly depending on whether my liver has released large stores of glucose during the dawn hours.
25 comments - Posted Jan 1, 2012
December 2011
Frozen shoulder is more common in people with diabetes than you may realize. My own painful experience with frozen shoulder, also known as adhesive capsulitis, happened a few years ago. I slipped and fell down the stairs at home, hitting the wall and nearly every stair from top to bottom. I injured an ankle and lost my big toenail in the accident. As I began healing, I also noticed that my left arm wouldn't go above my head.
13 comments - Posted Dec 31, 2011
Throughout pregnancy and all the way up until labor, I was adamant that I was not having a cesarean section. I was terrified of being cut open because I know that my healing time is longer due to my lowered immune system. In 2009, I had to go to the emergency room for an infection caused by cutting my leg while shaving, so how could I possibly heal after being opened up to birth a baby?
0 comments - Posted Dec 30, 2011
Vaginal yeast infections are annoying, not dangerous, but they can seriously hamper your sex life, especially if you have diabetes. What's the connection, and what can you do to prevent and treat yeast infections?
3 comments - Posted Dec 29, 2011
Diagnosed with diabetes at age 15, Brandy Barnes went on to a successful career as a pharmaceuticals salesperson, but she deeply missed having other diabetic women in her life to whom she could relate. Finally, after a difficult pregnancy, long thought, and prayer, she founded DiabetesSisters (www.diabetes.sisters.org), a North Carolina-based nonprofit organization that provides education and support to women of all ages with all types of diabetes. DS offers conferences, websites, blogs, and a "sister match" program, all designed to lessen feelings of isolation and deepen bonds of connection among women with diabetes.
0 comments - Posted Dec 28, 2011
Editor' Note: This article continues Katherine Marple's series on pregnancy with diabetes as a complicating factor. For previous articles, enter her name in the search feature at the top right-hand of this website. The next installment, "Birthing Options," will appear on December 30.
1 comment - Posted Dec 27, 2011
Diabetic retinopathy is caused by damage to blood vessels of the retina. Almost everyone who has had diabetes for thirty years or more has some sign of the condition. Now, retinopathy researchers have come up with a device that will be implanted behind a patient's eye to deliver medication on demand. "We wanted to come up with a safe and effective way to help diabetic patients safeguard their sight," said lead author Mu Chiao, a mechanical engineering associate professor at the University of British Columbia (UBC) in Vancouver, in Science Daily. "This new device offers improvements upon existing implantable devices for drug delivery."
2 comments - Posted Dec 26, 2011
Forty-three year old stage and TV actor Stephen Wallem is a jack of all trades when it comes to entertainment. Best known for his one-man musical review, "Off the Wallem," he is also a playwright, composer, and director. Currently, he plays Thor, a gay nurse with type 1 diabetes, on the Showtime series "Nurse Jackie."
1 comment - Posted Dec 25, 2011
An article in an Indiana newspaper documents an alarming rise in diabetes among Arizona's Hispanics, especially along the US border with Mexico. The Republic, published in Columbus, Indiana, reports that 13.5 percent of residents in Arizona's Yuma County had diabetes in 2010. Almost 60 percent of the border county's nearly 200,000 residents are Hispanic.
0 comments - Posted Dec 24, 2011
Health experts are unanimous that obesity or being overweight are major factors in the onset of type 2 diabetes. So it's no surprise that researchers here and abroad are working to develop weight-loss drugs that can help people shed pounds and lessen their susceptibility to diabetes.
1 comment - Posted Dec 23, 2011
Diabetes Health readers who are Amanda Lamb fans can watch her first-ever Christmas single, "Christmas In Love," on YouTube.
0 comments - Posted Dec 22, 2011
Even the best known actors can't make a hit movie on their own. They need people behind the scenes. Just like those stars of the silver screen, the standard insulin pump can't do its job all by itself. No, the classic-model pump needs an infusion set to deliver its insulin to patients.
0 comments - Posted Dec 21, 2011
We are a tight-knit community. I'm not talking about my neighbors in my hometown of Chicago. I'm talking about my worldwide neighbors in the diabetic online community. Anyone dealing with diabetes knows the bond that it brings. When a person with diabetes is wronged, the rest of us feel the sting. Most of us living with diabetes have stories about people badgering our diet choices, saying inappropriate or insensitive things, and, sadly, crossing the line even further.
5 comments - Posted Dec 20, 2011
In some US markets, people with diabetes who are covered by Medicare cannot get the mail order diabetes testing supplies that Medicare promised.
1 comment - Posted Dec 19, 2011
If you have diabetes, you know all too well what's going to happen between now and the end of the year. You'll be forced to make some quick and painful decisions at sumptuous holiday feasts. Do you refuse the lavish, carbohydrate-rich fare and give up on the fun of the season? Or do you go whole hog, eating everything in sight, and hope that your insulin or medication can take up the slack?
3 comments - Posted Dec 18, 2011
On July 21, Claire Duncan was one of three people with type 1 diabetes on a six-person relay team that swam across the English Channel. The team, swimming to raise funds for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, covered the 22-mile route in 13.5 hours, starting from a beach between Folkestone and Dover in England and finishing in France near Cap Gris Nez, between Boulogne and Calais.
0 comments - Posted Dec 17, 2011
"I have type 2 diabetes, diagnosed five years ago, and am 67 years old. I have worked very hard to manage this disease, but without the success I would like."
0 comments - Posted Dec 16, 2011
News from Danish pharmaceutical manufacturer Novo Nordisk reinforces the growing trend toward using a two-drug combination in the early treatment of type 2 diabetes. (See "A Conversation About Janumet and Earlier Combination Therapy Type 2 Diabetes" for more discussion about the phenomenon.)
2 comments - Posted Dec 15, 2011
A staggering 45 percent of Americans deal with chronic illness. This, of course, includes diabetes. Danea Horn, a certified life coach, speaker, author, and 30-year chronic disease patient, has just released a new report: "How to Develop a Positive Attitude When You Are Coping With Illness."
0 comments - Posted Dec 14, 2011
I wish there were a fail-safe manual for diabetes. Just when I'm thinking about how great my blood sugars have been, bam! I see a 300 on my meter, or a 40. It's so hard to know why: The off numbers could be due to hormones, stress, sickness, an incorrect carb count, varying activity levels, or any combination thereof. With diabetes, you really do learn as you go. Here are a few things I have learned along the way.
2 comments - Posted Dec 13, 2011
Here's the scenario: You're a famed prosecutor who happens to be on an insulin pump. One of the criminals you put away years ago has been released from prison, and he's eager for revenge. This is a particularly cunning criminal, so he hatches a subtle plan. He hacks into your insulin pump, giving you a massive dose of insulin without warning. As you drive to work one day, you begin to feel woozy. That's odd, you think, looking down to where the pump attaches to your stomach. I just ate....
1 comment - Posted Dec 12, 2011
Here's good news for people who love nuts and Greek yogurt! Replacing even one serving of red meat with these tasty foods can substantially lower your risk of type 2 diabetes, according to a new study from the Harvard School of Public Health.
1 comment - Posted Dec 11, 2011
Drug company Merck aims to give people with type 2 diabetes two treatments for the price of one. The new therapy, called Juvisync, was just approved by the US Food and Drug Administration. It's not a radical new treatment, but instead a helpful combination of two familiar standbys: Juvisync unites the active ingredients in blood sugar-lowering Januvia and cholesterol-lowering Zocor in a single tablet.
0 comments - Posted Dec 10, 2011
Many people with diabetes admit to keeping their diabetes a secret. Less than two years ago, I was one of them. I hated the way people treated me when they found out about my diabetes. I hated being told that I wasn't allowed to eat things by people who didn't have a clue about diabetes. I hated the horror stories people told about their acquaintances with diabetes. I hated people asking me if I had the "bad" kind of diabetes.
10 comments - Posted Dec 9, 2011
Will the federal government kill the artificial pancreas? The Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) is raising the alarm over FDA guidelines that could stifle the technology necessary for the development of an artificial pancreas.
11 comments - Posted Dec 8, 2011
"I wasn't even addressing my high blood pressure until my uncle Jay, in a nursing home at 36, said ‘Don't get diabetes.' ‘I won't,' I promised him, and it changed my life."
4 comments - Posted Dec 7, 2011
Women are better at coping with problems than men, right? Not when it comes to being diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. According to a new survey, that diagnosis had a greater negative impact on women's emotional outlook and adherence to diet and exercise than the same diagnosis given to men. The survey was conducted in September 2011, and included 831 completed responses from 458 women and 373 men.
1 comment - Posted Dec 6, 2011
Attention, those who use the OneTouch UltraLink meter: You can now get a free Nova Max Link meter instead. This offer is being made because the company that supplied the OneTouch glucose meter has terminated its agreement with the manufacturer. If you are or were a Medtronic MiniMed user and want the Nova Max Link replacement, call the Nova customer care line at 800-681-7390.
0 comments - Posted Dec 5, 2011
Forensic scientist Mark Ruefenacht, who has type 1 diabetes, tells Diabetes Health publisher Nadia Al-Samarrie how he realized that dogs can be a major defense against life-threatening episodes of hypoglycemia. That insight led him to found Dogs for Diabetics ("D4D"), a Concord, California-based organization that trains dogs to alert their masters when they sense low blood sugar. D4D's website is located at www.dogs4diabetics.com/
3 comments - Posted Dec 4, 2011
This year's DREAM Award, presented by the Disability Rights Legal Center (DRLC), was given to Nick Jonas, the musician and actor best known as one of the three Jonas Brothers. He was among the special recipients at the DRLC's annual Franklin D. Roosevelt Dinner, held this year on November 17, 2011.
1 comment - Posted Dec 3, 2011
Jeff O'Connell is the author of "Sugar Nation: The Hidden Truth Behind America's Deadliest Habit and the Simple Way to Beat It." I discovered his book while browsing the shelves of my local library, and I could hardly put it down. Though I have type I diabetes and O'Connell's book focuses on type 2, I found many of his thoughts applicable to my own health. His book is no doubt controversial, so I wanted to delve deeper into his daring claims and share his responses with the diabetic community. After reading my interview with Jeff, please leave a comment below to let Diabetes Health know what you think.
10 comments - Posted Dec 2, 2011
Just take a look around. It's pretty clear that many of us are carrying more weight than we used to. Obesity has skyrocketed in recent years, and it's not about to stop. Roughly one in three adults is obese today, and researchers now predict that 164 million adults will be obese by 2030. That's half of all adults in the country.
0 comments - Posted Dec 1, 2011
November 2011
A new diabetes-friendly sugar, proven to help reduce sugar absorption, will soon be added to popular breads and cereals. "Sugir" is real sugar that contains an all-natural, tasteless additive called Emulin. Emulin, a patented formulation of compounds found in fruits, prevents the body from absorbing about a third of ingested sugar. A previous study showed that Emulin blocks the absorption of sugar by more than 30 percent.
2 comments - Posted Nov 30, 2011
Earl "the Pearl" Monroe was one of the greatest guards in the history of the National Basketball Association, playing from 1967 through 1980 for the Baltimore Bullets and the New York Knicks. A member of the NBA's 50th Anniversary All-Time Team, he was enshrined in the league's Hall of Fame in 1990. The Knicks retired his jersey number, 15, in 1986.
0 comments - Posted Nov 29, 2011
You might think that it is too late to do anything for Diabetes Awareness Month. Heck, it's late November, so it's too late, right? Nope, wrong. You see, diabetes didn't just go away during the last month. Diabetes is funny that way-it just does not care. Well, we care. We're the Diabetes Research Institute, and we want to end diabetes forever.
3 comments - Posted Nov 28, 2011
Diabetes Health publisher Nadia Al-Samarrie recently spoke with television and movie actor Anthony Anderson, who has taken a lead role with Eli Lilly & Company's F.A.C.E. campaign, a diabetes outreach to African Americans. A veteran of more than 20 films, Anthony, age 41, currently plays Detective Kevin Bernard on NBC's Emmy Award-winning drama, "Law & Order."
1 comment - Posted Nov 27, 2011
There's nothing quite like wondering how you're going to pay for prescriptions. I find it odd that we usually don't know what our out-of-pocket cost will be until we're standing in front of the pharmacy staff and praying that we have enough in our wallet to cover it. I often feel like a reality show contestant waiting for the grand total. My pharmacy-based reality show would probably be called "The Biggest Payer," or perhaps "The Amazing Guess," or, aptly, "Survivor." If you've ever walked away from the pharmacy counter embarrassed, panicked, or depressed, you know the feeling I'm referring to. It's a pain no prescription can cure.
37 comments - Posted Nov 26, 2011
Mike Golic is the co-host of ESPN's wildly popular radio show, "Mike and Mike in the Morning." Before beginning work as a broadcaster in 1995, he played for nine years as a defensive tackle in the National Football League, including stints with the Houston Oilers, Philadelphia Eagles, and Miami Dolphins. About five years ago, he was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. Since then, he has become involved in getting the word out about type 2, including the potential danger of hypoglycemia. He is a spokesman for "Blood Sugar Basics," a website and outreach program co-sponsored by Merck and the American College of Endocrinology.
3 comments - Posted Nov 25, 2011
Exercise helps us stay healthy. That's the underlying message of Go4Life, a campaign from the National Institute on Aging (NIA) at the National Institutes of Health, developed to encourage older people to exercise more. The campaign focuses on four exercise categories: aerobic, strength, balance, and flexibility. "We strongly encourage people to incorporate exercises from each of these four categories into developing their own personal routine," said Dr. Chanda Dutta, chief of the NIA's Clinical Gerontology Branch.
1 comment - Posted Nov 24, 2011
A sleek new version of the humble blood pressure cuff is turning heads. The Withings Smart Blood Pressure Monitor just won a 2012 iF product design award for its maker, the French company Withings. The iF product design award is an international prize, sometimes called the "Design Oscar," that is awarded by a German group.
0 comments - Posted Nov 23, 2011
In one of Devon Inglee's artworks, a teddy bear, the symbol of childhood innocence, lies flat on its back with three menacing syringes piercing its furry tummy. In the background, the bear's owner, a small girl, stands above the teddy eating an apple. Inglee writes, "In ‘Tit for Tat,' a sweet girl contently eats an apple while hiding a large syringe behind her back, oblivious to her beloved, yet murdered toy. This piece deals with the process of anger, mourning, and denial associated with my personal diagnosis of a chronic disease." For the 33-year-old art student, this work is about mourning and letting go of preconceived notions and ideas of what the future will be.
0 comments - Posted Nov 22, 2011
Living with diabetes, you are already hyper-aware of food, but the holidays seem to heighten that awareness. Faced with your aunt's delicious homemade cornbread and your grandma's famous sweet potato casserole, you may find yourself digging through your closet for your old carbohydrate-counting books and guessing at your insulin adjustments. Who wants to go through the holidays with the added stress of high blood sugars and associated mood swings, especially when your family is already driving you nuts? No, thanks.
4 comments - Posted Nov 21, 2011
It's hard being the new person at work. It's even harder when you're the new person and you have diabetes. Whenever I start a new job, thoughts race through my mind: Will I go low while I'm training? Will I have quick access to snacks? Will I be able to check my blood sugar without an audience? How about taking an insulin injection at the lunch table? It isn't easy feeling forced to expose so many personal details to people you just met.
2 comments - Posted Nov 20, 2011
People with diabetes may want to have their hearing checked, based on a study that found hearing problems twice as common among them as among people without diabetes.
0 comments - Posted Nov 19, 2011
Disease management programs have the potential to improve care and reduce the costs of chronic illness. However, certain characteristics of the disease management marketplace may cause concern. Disease management in the United States, whether outsourced to a corporate vendor or performed within a commercial health maintenance organization, largely takes place within the for-profit healthcare sector.
0 comments - Posted Nov 18, 2011
Heather Shields was thrilled when she got the opportunity to dance with the famous Joffrey Ballet School in New York City. At 11 years old, she dreamed of one day becoming a professional ballerina, and this trip would bring her dream a little closer. A long way from home for this California girl, Heather traveled with her family to the "Big Apple" for the month of July. During that month she remembers dancing six to seven hours a day in the heat of the summer. She began losing weight, but shrugged it off, assuming she'd caught her mom's stomach bug.
0 comments - Posted Nov 17, 2011
According to the United Network for Organ Sharing, 102,640 US patients are waiting for an organ donation. More than 7,000 people died last year while waiting, and over 2,000 have already died this year for lack of an organ. The problem is in part due to a system that forbids incentives for donation. This rule is not confined to the United States; most countries have laws that prohibit organ trafficking. But because organs are in extremely high demand, the black market for organs is thriving.
0 comments - Posted Nov 16, 2011
When I was first diagnosed with type 1 diabetes, I recall the numerous comments that people blurted out in an attempt to make me feel better about my situation. But the truth was that I just needed to be treated like everyone else. I was in the midst of a confusing, depressing, and life-altering diagnosis. The last thing I needed was a pat on the back that felt more like a slap in the face.
10 comments - Posted Nov 15, 2011
Anyone who has lost a close family member to type 2 diabetes understands the grief and paralysis it creates, especially when the one who died was only 53.
7 comments - Posted Nov 14, 2011
Want a simple way to find out if you or someone you know is likely to develop type 2 diabetes? Just answer these three simple questions!
0 comments - Posted Nov 13, 2011
I thought I had seen it all as a person with diabetes. Going to college, marriage, moves, career changes, you name it. I had soldiered on through them all, my control shifting from tight to loose to somewhere in the middle as the situation changed. I had adapted pretty well, I told myself.
2 comments - Posted Nov 12, 2011
Having diabetes means attending medical appointments regularly. It's entirely possible that at some point, you experienced an incident in which a medical professional hurt your feelings, made a mistake, or told you something completely incorrect. Medical mistakes do happen. While most doctors and nurses are amazing and professional, they are also human. Errors and inappropriate comments can occur. Some simply don't understand all aspects of diabetes.
17 comments - Posted Nov 11, 2011
The introduction of insulin pen devices in the 1980s facilitated accurate and simple administration of insulin for people managing their diabetes on an outpatient basis. The use of insulin in hospitals, however, continues to be associated with medication errors and severe adverse events. Published practice guidelines have helped address insulin error prevention, and the availability of diabetes technologies has presented another opportunity to promote the safe use of insulin in hospitals.
8 comments - Posted Nov 10, 2011
Final weeks of pregnancy! The third trimester brings about many more ultrasound scans and measurements taken to judge the growth and health of your child. You'll likely be visiting your OB/GYN or maternal fetal medicine office twice per week for non-stress tests to ensure that your baby is healthy and active.
3 comments - Posted Nov 9, 2011
The search for a cure for diabetes is a noble pursuit, but a cure always seems to be another ten years down the road. Finding a way to be healthy in the here and now is what matters for people with diabetes. In 2005, Peter Nerothin started Insulindependence (IN), a nonprofit organization that aims to "revolutionize diabetes management" by leading experiential diabetes education expeditions for type 1 youths.
0 comments - Posted Nov 8, 2011
Sometimes it feels like diabetes is driving you crazy. But what if the disease is actually changing your brain? That's the disturbing suggestion of a new study from the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. The study suggests that both high and low blood sugars affect the brain development of young people with diabetes, but in different ways.
4 comments - Posted Nov 7, 2011
For a person with diabetes who is beginning insulin therapy, the range of products can be overwhelming. The options are often limited by the patient's healthcare plan, however, and the initial selection of a product is frequently influenced by the healthcare provider. With diabetes education tailored to the individual patient, the delivery of insulin through a particular device is achieved by teaching proper injection technique and selecting an appropriate needle.
2 comments - Posted Nov 6, 2011
Being your own advocate is imperative for women with diabetes, especially when it comes to gynecologic care. As soon as a young woman is ready to become sexually active, she needs to talk with her doctor about contraceptive options. This conversation should continue through the time when she is ready to stop taking contraceptives and prepare for a family.
0 comments - Posted Nov 5, 2011
Carol Normadi is a licensed marriage and family therapist in Northern California who is co-founder of Beyond Hunger, Inc., a group dedicated to helping people overcome obsessive concerns with food. She has co-authored two books on the topic of food obsessions: "It's Not About Food: Ending Your Obsession With Food and Weight" (Putnam, 1998) and "Over It: A Teen's Guide to Getting Beyond Food and Weight" (New World Library 2001).
10 comments - Posted Nov 4, 2011
Use a hula hoop during your next exercise session for a low-impact workout to aid in weight loss, increase muscle tone, improve flexibility, and enhance balance. Exercise is essential in the management of diabetes, and the hula hoop may be the workout variation you need to motivate your fitness program.
2 comments - Posted Nov 3, 2011
By now you're halfway through pregnancy. You've managed to get through the stresses of insulin shock in the first trimester and insulin resistance beginning in the second trimester, and you're well on your way toward your third trimester. Congratulations! A moment of applause, please.
1 comment - Posted Nov 2, 2011
When doctors hand out a diagnosis of diabetes, I wish they'd give you a list of tips that can make life happier living with the illness. After my diagnosis, I felt ashamed of my diabetes, ashamed of my inability to control it with diet and exercise even though I literally worked out every single day for nine months straight. I skipped nearly all carbohydrates and didn't eat meat at the time, so all I ate was nuts, cheese, eggs, and vegetables. The doctor didn't put me on insulin right away because I was eighteen, and she wasn't sure if I had type 1 or type 2. But nothing I did was working. It was soon apparent that I was type 1 and that insulin injections were unavoidable. I had no idea that it wasn't my fault. I felt hopeless, hungry, exhausted, and alone.
2 comments - Posted Nov 1, 2011
If you've had diabetes for a number of years, chances are that you remember when there was no Internet access and no diabetes online community. You had no way to look up information online and no instant connection to millions of others around the world living with diabetes. Unless you had a friend nearby with diabetes, there was no one to understand how you felt when your blood sugar numbers were less than stellar, and no one to sympathize with how hard it can be to get your A1C down.
3 comments - Posted Nov 1, 2011
October 2011
October is my diagnosis month. At 14 years old, I was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes just a few weeks before Halloween. I remember thinking, at least I'm too old for trick or treating. My younger sister had been diagnosed six months earlier, however, and at 10 years old, she still loved to trick or treat. To ease her pain, my parents got creative and shifted the emphasis of Halloween off sweets and onto scary: Haunted houses, hayrides, and parties with bowls full of smushed tomatoes for witches hearts and cold grapes for eyeballs became our annual tradition. My sister and I still said no to most of the sugary sweets, but we were the first ones to say yes when the doors of the haunted house opened.
0 comments - Posted Oct 31, 2011
At 330 pounds, Kerry Watterson was tired of not being able to fit into his seat on an airplane. He had a family history of type 2 diabetes, and although doctors said his blood sugar was still at a normal level, he knew it was time to make a change. "I found out about the YDPP [YMCA Diabetes Prevention Program], called the director, and said, ‘I want to do this.' I'm so glad she took me," he says now, one year later.
2 comments - Posted Oct 30, 2011
The one time I needed a glucagon injection, I didn't have any. I had never been given a prescription for it, had no idea how to use it, and was absolutely clueless about what it did.
1 comment - Posted Oct 29, 2011
All blood tests are tools. Some are to diagnose diabetes, some are to help you manage your diabetes on a daily or long term basis and some are to keep you safe.
0 comments - Posted Oct 28, 2011
Like many people, I have a soft spot for salty chips, butterscotch sundaes, cheesecake, meat loaf, mashed potatoes, fried chicken, and countless other comfort foods. A couple of martinis, accompanied by plump, red, pimento-filled olives, are another pleasant indulgence. And martinis were exactly what my wife Pat and I were drinking during the 2-for-1 Happy Hour at a chic Atlantic City bar during a vacation about five years ago.
0 comments - Posted Oct 27, 2011
Welcome to the second trimester! By now, many type 1s are experiencing fewer hypoglycemic episodes, and insulin resistance is just beginning to rear its head. You're on the other side of the miscarriage worry hump and getting settled into the pregnancy routine. Congratulations! Take a few minutes each day to celebrate your successes and pat your stomach with a smile, knowing you are doing the best you can to give your growing child everything she needs.
0 comments - Posted Oct 26, 2011
Wrongly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes when he was 30 years old, Chris Angell spent several frustrating weeks trying to make sense of his condition and not understanding why he wasn't getting any better. His diagnosis was eventually changed to type 1 diabetes, but Chris never received the necessary education to get his blood sugars in control. "I didn't know what I was supposed to be eating or how to count carbs, and I really felt isolated," he says.
1 comment - Posted Oct 25, 2011
Winter might be on its way, but there's plenty of fall color to celebrate in the meantime. You can find fresh inspiration with the Divabetic Octoberfest, a series of events sponsored by the nonprofit wellness group for diabetic women.
4 comments - Posted Oct 24, 2011
Technology now under development would allow people with diabetes to monitor their blood sugar through their contact lenses. Researcher Babak Parviz of the University of Washington in Seattle invented the lenses, which monitor the amount of glucose in tear fluid. That fluid tracks blood glucose levels closely, and Parviz hopes to have the lenses communicate wirelessly with some sort of auxiliary meter.
0 comments - Posted Oct 23, 2011
Diabetes is a life-long, 24-hour-a-day disease that requires self-management, time, and lots of patience. Most people with diabetes know where their numbers should be, but many struggle to follow recommended behaviors. Despite the availability of new medications and treatment devices, as well as the emphasis placed on diabetes treatment adherence over the last decade, National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) data show that 45 percent of patients with diabetes have not achieved A1Cs lower than 7% (an average of approximately 150-170 mg/dL).
0 comments - Posted Oct 22, 2011
Trying to lose weight as an insulin-injecting person with type 1 diabetes couldn't be more frustrating. It gets on my last nerve that exercise can trigger mind-numbing lows, lows that cause me to inhale a portion of those recently burned calories. That said, I don't skip exercise to avoid lows. I just check my blood sugars more often, use caution with my insulin dosing, and follow the advice of my doctors.
22 comments - Posted Oct 21, 2011
When first diagnosed with type 2 diabetes two years ago, I was scared into a very rigid regime of diet and exercise. The first thing I did was register for the Tour de Cure - a bike ride sponsored by the American Diabetes Association. Establishing a goal served as an incentive to train and exercise daily.
0 comments - Posted Oct 20, 2011
It is raining today. Kolumbo, my hypoglycemia alert dog, hates the rain. I think I have the only Labrador in the world that hates getting wet. I opened the screen door this morning to feel the breeze and hear the rain. Unfortunately, while the door was open, a fly decided to come inside. When I say that Kolumbo is a lazy dog, I really mean it. He lay on his bed and watched the fly go around and around. then opened his mouth, thinking that the fly might just go in. I heard the snap of his teeth as he tried to get the fly.
13 comments - Posted Oct 19, 2011
Being your own advocate is imperative for women with diabetes, especially when it comes to gynecologic care. As soon as a young woman is ready to become sexually active, she needs to talk with her doctor about contraceptive options. This conversation should continue through the time when she is ready to stop taking contraceptives and prepare for a family.
0 comments - Posted Oct 18, 2011
I'm just going to come out and say it, the way people do in addiction meetings when they have hit "rock bottom." Hi, my name is Meagan. I was a very uncooperative diabetic for a great many years. I felt lonely, and I hated being different. I rarely checked my blood sugars. In fact, there were times where I didn't even know where my meter was.
12 comments - Posted Oct 17, 2011
Using stem cells that they extracted from the brains of diabetic lab rats, and turning them into insulin-producing pancreatic cells, Japanese scientists may be on the road to a virtual cure for diabetes that comes from people's own brains.
5 comments - Posted Oct 16, 2011
A brand new insulin will soon be on pharmacy shelves in the United States if Danish pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk has its way. The company has filed for approval from the Food and Drug Administration to sell insulin degludec, an original formulation that lasts an extra-long time. Insulin degludec is injected only once a day. Once under the skin, the dose of insulin is absorbed slowly and consistently, allowing for better nighttime control, according to Novo. Most importantly, test subjects had a low rate of hypoglycemia on the drug.
2 comments - Posted Oct 15, 2011
Need to take control of your diabetes and your health? Going to the doctor frequently might be just what the doctor ordered, according to a study from Brigham and Women's Hospital published last month. The researchers looked at how long it took type 2 patients to reach their goals in three areas: A1C levels, blood pressure, and LDL ("bad") cholesterol. Those who interacted with doctors frequently -- every week to two weeks -- achieved their goals far more quickly than those who interacted with doctors every three to six months.
0 comments - Posted Oct 13, 2011
When healthcare reform was debated across the country in 2009 and 2010, one of the flash points was end-of-life care. Healthcare experts have promoted the use of advance directives, which let doctors know how much treatment is desired by patients at the end of life. While this went too far for some, directives do hold the promise of reducing Medicare costs at the end of life, according to a new study. University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, researchers conducted the analysis. They didn't just look at whether advance directives reduced costs -- they also examined how the directives affected costs in various regions across the country. This place-based approach yielded interesting results.
1 comment - Posted Oct 12, 2011
In the eighties when I was in grade school, a classmate named Scott did a show-and-tell about his diabetes. He pulled out his syringes and testing supplies. With a bulky blood sugar meter, he tested his blood, took a shot, and explained what he had to do each day to control his blood sugar. I went up to get a closer look at the table of supplies. I remember seeing all the needles and thinking, "Thank God I don't have that."
2 comments - Posted Oct 10, 2011
Reducing stress for a person with diabetes is an absolute must. According to medical evidence, stress can increase glucose levels in people with diabetes, making them more susceptible to long-term physical complications such as eye, kidney, and nerve disorders.
0 comments - Posted Oct 9, 2011
How many times have you been on the treadmill at the gym listening to an in-depth conversation between the stair climbers behind you? How is it possible, you wonder as you huff and puff, for those two to talk and exercise at the same time? Are they not pushing themselves hard enough, or is their ability to talk while climbing evidence of their advanced fitness? And if you find yourself unable to talk while you walk, does that mean you should slow down?
0 comments - Posted Oct 8, 2011
The answer to the looming threat of obesity and cardiovascular disease could be as simple as putting one foot in front of the other. Indeed, according to a new campaign from managed-care giant Kaiser Permanente, walking has benefits in the short and long term.
0 comments - Posted Oct 7, 2011
My mother died unexpectedly this summer. While her loss was sad and sudden, I have many reasons to celebrate her life and the guidance she offered me. When I was diagnosed with diabetes as a child, she took it upon herself to learn the ins and outs of diabetes care. For most of the next decade, she oversaw my treatment.
6 comments - Posted Oct 6, 2011
Dear David and Aisha, I am a 39-year-old married man who has had type 1 diabetes for 22 years. My A1C levels run around 7.5%. About six years ago, I started having trouble with erections. Now they are very rare, even with ED pills. I know you say that there is more to sex than intercourse, and my wife and I still enjoy ourselves however we can. But we both miss the erections.
4 comments - Posted Oct 5, 2011
Sometimes I don't feel like explaining myself. Sometimes I just want to eat a pastry in public in peace, without the "diabetes police" showing up and giving me their two cents. When that happens, I can usually handle it without my blood pressure rising. I politely explain to these well-meaning people that I'm perfectly in control of my diabetes and that as long as I count the carbohydrates and take my shot, I can eat anything I please. Occasionally though, I find myself getting irritated and angry. I get tired of defending myself all the time.
23 comments - Posted Oct 4, 2011
When I think about my greatest diabetes-related fear, the first thing that comes to mind isn't complications. It's health benefits. It may seem funny that my fear of health problems is second to my concerns about health insurance, but without coverage my good health would be close to impossible to maintain.
17 comments - Posted Oct 3, 2011
News from Danish pharmaceutical manufacturer Novo Nordisk reinforces the growing trend toward using a two-drug combination in the early treatment of type 2 diabetes. (See "A Conversation About Janumet and Earlier Combination Therapy for Type 2 Diabetes" for more discussion about this phenomenon.) In a study it released in Lisbon, Portugal, at the recent meeting of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes, Novo said that combining its recently released drug Victoza® (liraglutide) with another drug early in therapy helps recently diagnosed type 2s achieve greater blood glucose control than they can with a single drug.
0 comments - Posted Oct 2, 2011
I first met Team Type 1 in 2006, when I was 17 years old. They were competing in the Race Across America (RAAM), a 3,000-mile race from California to New Jersey, for the first time. When I signed up to be part of the support team for Team Type 1, I had no idea what I was getting myself into. I was just happy to be getting a trip to California and to be away from my parents for a week. I had no idea how much work it would take.
0 comments - Posted Oct 1, 2011
September 2011
The Seattle-based Nordstrom department store chain will donate $5, up to $75,000 total, for each Diabetes Risk Test taken as part of the American Diabetes Association's Hispanic Heritage Month through October 15, 2011.
0 comments - Posted Sep 30, 2011
What if we could stop the body's immune system from attacking the pancreas in the first stages of type 1 diabetes? What if we could keep the pancreas producing insulin, all the while helping it recover from the autoimmune barrage?
6 comments - Posted Sep 29, 2011
When Ken Kotch was young, he used to tell his friends that he had a "broken pancreas" to explain his type 1 diabetes. Diagnosed in 1988 at eight years old, initially Kotch had no idea what it all meant. Describing his pancreas as "broken" just made sense to him at the time
4 comments - Posted Sep 28, 2011
A couple of factors lead to increased risk of insulin shock comas during the first trimester. For many, insulin sensitivity increases and the pancreas isn't yet producing the hormones associated with insulin resistance. In addition, many type 1s will be taken off of their current basal insulin if it is not yet approved for use during pregnancy.
4 comments - Posted Sep 27, 2011
Imagine if you could keep diabetes at bay for another three or four years with lifestyle changes. Would you change what you ate? Would you commit to an exercise program, maintain a food journal, and join a support group? Imagine if you could take these simple steps and save money. How quickly would you say "Sign me up"?
1 comment - Posted Sep 26, 2011
Being a rookie driver on the fast-paced IndyCar racing circuit is pressure enough for any 26-year-old. But for Charlie Kimball, one of four wheel men on businessman Chip Ganassi's IndyCar race team, there's the added need to manage type 1 diabetes while roaring around the track at speeds that often exceed 200 miles per hour.
0 comments - Posted Sep 25, 2011
Imagine if there were a cure for diabetes that could be found inside your own body? Wouldn't it be nice if instead of depending on durable medical equipment, we could one day heal ourselves?
1 comment - Posted Sep 24, 2011
Scientists have found a protein that plays an important role in allowing our bodies to absorb glucose from our blood. What's more, lower levels of that protein may contribute to type 2 diabetes.
0 comments - Posted Sep 23, 2011
It's that time of year again: flu season. I never thought much about getting a flu shot until fourteen years ago, when I ended up in the emergency room with the flu and a staggering blood sugar of over 800 mg/dL. I had been diagnosed with type 1 diabetes a few years before and had never discussed a sick day plan with my doctor. But during this experience, I discovered that diabetes and the flu get along about as well as a house cat and a junkyard dog.
5 comments - Posted Sep 22, 2011
"I just read 10 sentences, but what did I read? Why doesn't it make sense to me? Is that the home phone ringing? What is happening around me?"
12 comments - Posted Sep 21, 2011
So, you're pregnant! Many who are in your shoes have worked very hard and diligently to begin this excursion. Others have reached this milestone unintentionally. Either way, you are about to embark on a journey that will completely challenge everything you know about your type 1 diabetes management. These next few months will challenge your motives, your emotions, your determination, and everything that makes up who you are. So sink your heels in. Take each step one at a time.
4 comments - Posted Sep 20, 2011
Scientists have found a protein that plays an important role in allowing our bodies to absorb glucose from our blood. What's more, lower levels of that protein may contribute to type 2 diabetes.
0 comments - Posted Sep 19, 2011
Your dietitian is misleading you. That's the takeaway from an article published recently in the medical journal The Lancet. The rules of thumb that you've been given are wrong. And losing weight quickly and easily by cutting a few hundred calories a day just doesn't happen, scientists say.
3 comments - Posted Sep 18, 2011
Claire Duncan is one of many people with type 1 diabetes who wears a continuous glucose monitor and an insulin pump, in this case, an Animas® VibeTM. In an age of almost routine medical marvels, Duncan doesn't really seem to be an exception.
2 comments - Posted Sep 17, 2011
It may sound silly to say this, especially in this era of computing and high technology, but in our house, one of the most important tools in managing diabetes is a notebook, an ink pen, and three brightly colored magic markers. Of course, I'm talking about the logbook. That's not to say we don't also rely on complicated software to help track our daughter's blood sugars. But when it comes to understanding and using the data to our advantage, there is some truth to the age old belief in hands-on training.
0 comments - Posted Sep 16, 2011
A recent report from the US Centers for Disease Control says that 12 states now have adult obesity rates of 30 percent or higher. Seven of those states are in the South. The CDC data are from the Behavior Risk Factor Surveillance System, a 2010 phone survey of 400,000 US adults. Obesity is defined as a body mass index of 30 or more.
0 comments - Posted Sep 15, 2011
My son just turned twenty. For the first time, we didn't have a cake, ice cream, friends, balloons, or presents. He spent the day in jail. With vivid memories of his heroin-addicted evening in the ICU several months ago, we had nursed high hopes that his life would be on the mend. But healing takes time, and life doesn't always deliver the happy ending we long for.
9 comments - Posted Sep 14, 2011
I want to thank you all for the many comments that you have posted. As I said in the article, it does bother me that so many promises have been made and not kept regarding a cure. This has resulted in people just giving up hope and coming to believe that there will never be a cure for diabetes. Such promises are still being made today.
20 comments - Posted Sep 13, 2011
Massachusetts-based Quantia Communications has released DailyCoachTM, a fitness coaching app that runs on both iOS and Android and is available free at https://dailycoach.quantiacare.com/. The app also runs on smart phones and tablets and is available on the Web.
1 comment - Posted Sep 12, 2011
Here's the scenario: You're a famed prosecutor who happens to be on an insulin pump. One of the criminals you put away years ago has been released from prison, and he's eager for revenge. This is a particularly cunning criminal, so he hatches a subtle plan. He hacks into your insulin pump, giving you a massive dose of insulin without warning. As you drive to work one day, you begin to feel woozy. That's odd, you think, looking down to where the pump attaches to your stomach. I just ate....
1 comment - Posted Sep 10, 2011
"If you weren't having this conversation with me, who, other than your wife, would you be having it with?" That question, in response to something I'd said about treating my nine-year-old daughter's diabetes, was posed to me over the phone by a friend I had made less than six months earlier. She has a daughter too, the same age as mine, who also has type 1. Their diagnosis came a couple of years before ours, so I respect her experience and opinion, and so does my wife, Franca.
0 comments - Posted Sep 9, 2011
When you live with diabetes, there's a lot to do. Checking blood sugars. Counting carbs. Exercising. Not to mention all those fun-filled doctors' appointments. So the last time your physician or diabetes educator suggested ketone testing, it's completely understandable that your head was nodding but your mind was thinking "No way, Jack." But before abandoning the idea completely, there are a few things you should know.
5 comments - Posted Sep 8, 2011
Combination therapy, in which doctors prescribe more than one drug to treat type 2 diabetes, is a fairly common practice. However, most newly diagnosed type 2 patients start off with metformin or a sulfonylurea and don't go on a two-drug therapy until their first drug begins to lose its effectiveness. But combination therapy could soon become an earlier option for people with type 2.
2 comments - Posted Sep 7, 2011
An estimated 34 million Americans will be on the road during Labor Day weekend, many of them with type 2 diabetes. Road travel can interfere with blood sugar management and lead to low blood sugar, which can cause serious complications, such as loss of consciousness, if not treated quickly.
1 comment - Posted Sep 6, 2011
Carbohydrates can increase blood sugar levels in people with diabetes, as well as contribute to weight gain. A recent study shows that eating two ounces of raw, dry, or roasted nuts daily as a replacement for two ounces of other carbohydrates may control blood sugar levels and cholesterol in type 2 diabetes without packing on the pounds.
0 comments - Posted Sep 5, 2011
Abbott Diabetes Care is discontinuing its FreeStyle Navigator System, a continuous glucose monitoring device, in the United States. Abbott blamed supply problems that have prevented the company from selling new units or replacing parts under warranty.
0 comments - Posted Sep 4, 2011
When people are diagnosed with diabetes, things can seem pretty overwhelming. In a short time, they have to absorb a daunting amount of information and start making significant decisions about the way they live their lives.
0 comments - Posted Sep 3, 2011
Don't think that you can pull one over on your diabetes educator anymore. The American Association of Diabetes Educators (AADE) has developed an official, standard method to measure the progress made by their diabetic patients.
12 comments - Posted Sep 2, 2011
When diagnosed with type 1 diabetes, I was eighteen years old, scared, and confused. Although bone thin, I was older than the usual juvenile diabetic, so the doctor didn't know if I had type 1 or type 2 diabetes. At first, the doctor gave me pills to lower my blood sugar. I avoided carbohydrates and threw myself into exercise, then watched helplessly as the numbers on my blood sugar meter continued to rise.
10 comments - Posted Sep 1, 2011
August 2011
As an NFL quarterback, Jay Cutler makes his living putting a football into the hands of an open receiver before getting slammed to the ground by a huge defensive lineman. It's a stressful occupation, all about timing, a little luck, and seeing the big picture in a split second.
8 comments - Posted Aug 31, 2011
Utah-based Essential Preparedness Products (EPP) offers an emergency storage case for people with diabetes, called Diabetic med-EcaseTM. The yellow cases, made of high-impact material, are waterproof, airtight, and can float. Buyers of the $69.99 product receive foam inserts for both type 1 and type 2 needs and can outfit the case accordingly.
5 comments - Posted Aug 30, 2011
Spices not only add zing to meals, but they may also reduce the high levels of triglycerides produced by eating high-fat meals.
0 comments - Posted Aug 28, 2011
US Action Follows Stop-Ship That Began in June
0 comments - Posted Aug 27, 2011
Carbohydrates have become the ugly stepsister in the family photo album of healthy eating. Standing in the grocery aisle, consumers study ingredients and food labels, counting and analyzing the carb content of their foods. In the last decade, the popularity of low carb diets rose to dramatic heights as Americans gravitated toward the South Beach, Atkins, and Zone diets. Fruits were forsaken for plates piled high with steak and eggs.
7 comments - Posted Aug 25, 2011
Will there be a cure for diabetes? Is an artificial pancreas a cure? Was insulin a cure? Let's begin on the correct platform. You may have an opinion on what a cure is that completely differs from mine, and that's okay.
38 comments - Posted Aug 24, 2011
Walking down the aisle of our church, I held onto my Dad's arm and tried to breathe deeply, but the flutters in my stomach and beads of sweat sliding down the back of my legs made me wonder if my blood sugar was dropping. When I reached the front of the church, I took my future husband's hands and saw that he was shaking too. I breathed a sigh of relief and realized it was just nerves.
1 comment - Posted Aug 23, 2011
I recently finished reading Amy Stockwell Mercer's book, The Smart Woman's Guide to Diabetes. In Chapter 1, the author discusses a topic that I find critical to the well-being of people with diabetes: Developing a personal diabetes philosophy.
3 comments - Posted Aug 22, 2011
For people with type 1 diabetes, having the "bad" variety of the disease comes with some issues. You're constantly managing your blood sugars, warding off complications, and explaining your situation to others. But how about some good news for a change? Researchers now say that people with type 1 live nearly as long as people without diabetes!
14 comments - Posted Aug 21, 2011
Many women with diabetes feel overwhelmed by the responsibilities of family, work, and personal health. Balancing the minutiae of everyday life with the nonstop demands of blood glucose monitoring, exercise, and thoughtful meal planning takes time and effort. So it comes as no surprise that many women with diabetes put off talking to their doctors about breast cancer screening.
1 comment - Posted Aug 20, 2011
Will there be a cure for diabetes? Is an artificial pancreas a cure? Was insulin a cure? Let's begin on the correct platform. You may have an opinion on what a cure is that completely differs from mine, and that's okay.
0 comments - Posted Aug 20, 2011
Scientific studies -- and our own common sense -- tell us that staying motivated and engaged helps control our diabetes. We know what we should resist temptation at the dinner table, monitor our blood sugars avidly, and get regular check-ups. But knowing all of these things, and knowing that self-motivation is the way to achieve them, isn't quite enough.
1 comment - Posted Aug 19, 2011
My name is Katherine Marple, and I've had type 1 diabetes for 13 years. I'm the first in my family to have the disease, so I've done most of the research and made most of the discoveries on my own. One of those discoveries was the power of metformin (in addition to insulin) to help me control my diabetes.
16 comments - Posted Aug 18, 2011
A new food-oriented app is now available for people with diabetes: iEatOut Gluten & Allergy Free. The app, designed for the iPhone and iPod Touch. provides instant access to tips for safely eating out for people with food allergies.
0 comments - Posted Aug 17, 2011
As a dad, do you tend to be authoritative and have high expectations of your child's self control? Do you set clear limits and command respect, without bulldozing him or her? If so, you may be helping your child with type 1 diabetes stick to his or her treatment regimen.
0 comments - Posted Aug 16, 2011
You've successfully resisted the urge to eat that slice of cake. You've remembered to check your blood sugar that extra time. Maybe you've resisted and remembered for days, or weeks. Perhaps you now think that you've figured out how to keep yourself motivated in dealing with your diabetes. Actually, you're just getting started.
1 comment - Posted Aug 14, 2011
August 3, 2011 - Las Vegas - As the diabetes epidemic worsens, the demand for diabetes educators is projected to increase by at least 60 percent between now and 2025, according to a study being released today by the American Association of Diabetes Educators (AADE). This number will increase exponentially if more individuals - such as those with pre-diabetes - become eligible for diabetes education.
2 comments - Posted Aug 13, 2011
The piece of cake sits there on the plate, daring you to eat it. The blood sugar meter rests on your nightstand, an obstacle formed of lancets and test strips. Life with diabetes is a parade of challenges, from diet temptations to healthcare hassles. You know--we all know --that the only way to say "no" to the cake and "yes" to the blood sugar check is through consistent self-motivation.
9 comments - Posted Aug 12, 2011
The 2011 California Diabetes Summit will take place on September 8th and 9th at the Westin Hotel in Long Beach. The summit, expected to draw diabetes experts from all over the state, will be the second event of its kind. The first summit, held in Sacramento in 2009, drew more than 250 participants.
1 comment - Posted Aug 11, 2011
Florida-base PositiveID Corp. has filed a 510(k) application with the U.S Food and Drug Administration to market its "iglucose"TM diabetes management system.
1 comment - Posted Aug 10, 2011
Charlie Kimball, the first and only driver with type 1 diabetes in the history of the Indy Racing League to race cars at its highest level, needs your help: Just as when he's racing, Kimball finds himself neck-in-neck in a competition. In this case, he's looking to win the Firestone Tire-iffic Award and you can help him out by voting for him---but you only have till Thursday, August 11, to do so.
2 comments - Posted Aug 10, 2011
Our office manager sent us this link to a site with beautiful color photos of 10 foods that people with diabetes should avoid.
1 comment - Posted Aug 9, 2011
In 2004, pro snowboarder Sean Busby was on the top of the world.
7 comments - Posted Aug 8, 2011
Low doses of metformin and rosiglitazone seem to delay the onset of type 2 in prediabetic people who have impaired glucose tolerance, according to a Canadian study. However, although the drug combination was effective over the first year of the study in helping to control glucose levels and insulin resistance, it was not effective subsequently in delaying the onset of insulin resistance and pancreatic beta cell deterioration.
0 comments - Posted Aug 7, 2011
For the masses of people living in poverty, the prospect of a quick payout seems too good to be true. They give up a kidney---or some other functioning organ---for a few thousand dollars. If all goes well, their bodies still function, and their families may have a ticket out of poverty.
1 comment - Posted Aug 6, 2011
The University of Quebec is sponsoring an online survey (go to www.eddiabetes.com) directed at people with diabetes who may have an eating disorder.
2 comments - Posted Aug 5, 2011
Israeli researchers have found that stem cells derived from adult pancreatic cells are more efficient at making insulin-producing cells than stem cells derived from embryos. Scientists at Tel Aviv University theorize that the cells retain a "memory" of what they were before they were coaxed into becoming stem cells. That memory includes the ability to produce insulin. Because of it, the adult stem cells are better at forming insulin-making cells than their embryonic counterparts.
3 comments - Posted Aug 4, 2011
A Boston-based study has found that vitamin D supplements can reduce the risk of developing type 2 diabetes in people with prediabetes by improving their beta cell functioning.
2 comments - Posted Aug 3, 2011
If you just skimmed the article, it was easy to miss. Two years ago, the FBI busted dozens of New Jersey officials in "Operation Bid Rig." Mayors, rabbis, and pillars of the community had been caught in dirty dealing, accused of corruption, money laundering, and organ sales. That's right: selling human organs.
2 comments - Posted Aug 2, 2011
A study in the British medical journal The Lancet shows that type 2s who received once-daily or thrice-weekly injections of degludec, a very long-acting insulin, maintained blood glucose levels similar to patients receiving daily doses of insulin glargine. The results point the way to a possible reduction in the number of injections that type 2s who take insulin would need over any seven-day period. In both the United States and the United Kingdom currently, about one in every three type 2 patients injects insulin at least once daily.
0 comments - Posted Aug 1, 2011
July 2011
People with type 2 diabetes often find visits with their physicians frustrating. Dr. Jeffrey Mechanick, MD, FACE, FACP, Secretary of the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists (AACE), observes, "Many times when patients come to the doctor, the first thing that they say is really what's on their mind--that's their top priority. But oftentimes physicians don't address that at all. Instead, they move on to what's on their own agenda."
3 comments - Posted Jul 31, 2011
How many times has this happened to you? You're driving somewhere and something feels off. You suspect that your blood sugar level may be dropping, but you plow ahead. Now, imagine your car sounding the alarm: "Attention: This is your car speaking. Your blood sugar is low. Pull over and eat a snack."
3 comments - Posted Jul 30, 2011
The ArterioFlow 7500 is a pump that exerts pressure on an affected part of the body to force blood to flow more freely and widely. Increased blood flow is often the key to speeding up the healing of diabetic ulcers and preventing them from turning into infected wounds that can lead to gangrene and amputation.
1 comment - Posted Jul 29, 2011
As a woman with diabetes, you may have noticed that you face unique challenges, from where to place your insulin pump, to pregnancy, to hormone fluctuations. Many diabetes books offer general diabetes advice, but few focus on women beyond just a short chapter. That is, until now.
1 comment - Posted Jul 28, 2011
Boehringer Ingelheim and Eli Lilly have begun sales of Tradjenta, a drug for type 2 diabetes, in U.S. pharmacies. The drug (generic name linagliptin) comes in tablet form and is intended to compete with Amylin Pharmaceuticals' Byetta, which is injected, and Merck's Januvia, which also competes with Byetta. Both are well-established in the U.S. market.
2 comments - Posted Jul 27, 2011
I am excited to have this opportunity to write a diabetes-focused blog for Diabetes Health about living and thriving with type 1 diabetes. First of all, I am extremely passionate about racing road and mountain bicycles, running 5K runs and sprint triathlons, and doing other activities that I find to compete in for Team Type 1. But before I start blogging, I would like to tell a little about myself.
3 comments - Posted Jul 26, 2011
Anne Findlay has been racing road bikes for three years and just joined Team Type 1 this year. She was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes in 1988, at age 14. For more information about Anne and Team Type 1, go to www.teamtype1.org.
1 comment - Posted Jul 25, 2011
Patients who have partial lipodystrophy, a condition that often leads to diabetes and high triglycerides, are benefiting from metreleptin, an investigational treatment being developed by Amylin Pharmaceuticals.
0 comments - Posted Jul 24, 2011
Spending too many hours watching TV can also substantially increase your odds of developing type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease or dying early. That's the conclusion of a Harvard School of Public Health study that looked at the effects of heavy TV watching.
1 comment - Posted Jul 23, 2011
With severe weather predicted for Tuscaloosa, Alabama, Meredith Cummings thought carefully about where to park her car-eyeing the large trees in her historic neighborhood-when she arrived home on the afternoon of April 27. As she walked to her door, she reassured herself: Those trees had been there for more than 100 years. What were the odds of them coming down today?
0 comments - Posted Jul 22, 2011
Italian researchers have found that increased consumption of omega-3 fatty acids leads to a decrease in insulin resistance, a common precursor to the development of type 2 diabetes. It also improves lipid profiles and adiponectin levels. (Adiponectin is a protein that is involved in metabolizing glucose and fatty acids. Low levels are associated with insulin resistance, diabetes, atherosclerosis, and obesity.)
0 comments - Posted Jul 21, 2011
A recent article in the New York Times says that such old prescription diabetes drugs as metformin and generics such as glimepiride are often as effective as or even more effective than newer, more expensive drugs.
9 comments - Posted Jul 20, 2011
Up to seven years before she becomes pregnant, a woman's risk of developing diabetes during pregnancy can be identified based on routinely assessed measures of blood sugar and body weight, according to a Kaiser Permanente study published in the online issue of the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology.
1 comment - Posted Jul 19, 2011
Scientists from the Philippine General Hospital in Manila say that in a study of 74 men being treated for prostate cancer, 42 percent of those receiving androgen deprivation therapy developed type 2 diabetes, compared to 19 percent of men not receiving the treatment.
0 comments - Posted Jul 18, 2011
Erin lay on a bed in the emergency room, finally serious about getting help. Her second episode of diabetic ketoacidosis in a single year had sent her to the hospital shaking and vomiting. For the past seven years, she had been driven by one desire: to lose forty pounds. She refused to give herself her full dose of insulin, fearing weight gain. She hadn't seen her endocrinologist or checked her blood sugar for a year or two.
5 comments - Posted Jul 18, 2011
Nipro Diagnostics, Inc., and NeuroMetrix, Inc., have announced that they will seek opportunities to sell their soon-to-be-introduced NC-stat® DPNCheckTM neuropathy test in retail medical clinics nationwide. The test, conducted onsite, evaluates neuropathies, including diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN).
1 comment - Posted Jul 16, 2011
Body fat is like two twins: one evil and one good. In this case, white fat-the kind that likes to cluster around the abdomen and hang on to calories-is the bad stuff. The "good" fat is brown, and it has been found to assist the body in burning calories, thus helping keep weight down.
0 comments - Posted Jul 15, 2011
Nobody thought for even a second that Crystal Bowersox's second-place finish on "American Idol 2010" meant that the 26-year-old was headed back to her native Elliston, Ohio, to resume a quiet life.
1 comment - Posted Jul 14, 2011
Immunologists at a research institute in Melbourne, Australia, say they have successfully tested a nasal spray that suppresses an immune response in people who are genetically disposed to type 1. The test, performed by scientists at the Royal Melbourne Hospital, is the first time that the spray has been tried on humans.
3 comments - Posted Jul 13, 2011
I was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes on June 25, 2009. At the time, I was a few weeks shy of my nineteenth birthday and had just finished my first year of college at the State University of New York at New Paltz.
6 comments - Posted Jul 12, 2011
Victoza, a drug aimed at type 2 diabetes, may turn out to be a boon for type 1 diabetes patients as well. A small clinical study shows that patients with well-controlled type 1 who took Victoza daily for just one week experienced a 15 percent drop in their blood sugar levels. Patients who took the drug over a full 24-week test period needed less and less insulin, decreasing their average mealtime dose by seven units and their all-day insulin requirement by eight.
2 comments - Posted Jul 11, 2011
As I write this, my nineteen-year-old son is in the intensive care unit because of a heroin addiction. He is trying to stop, and the withdrawal is wreaking havoc. His body is bruised and battered beyond belief.
15 comments - Posted Jul 10, 2011
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in upstate New York is working on a new approach to blood sugar monitoring that could open the door to an artificial pancreas. The plan is to develop an automated monitoring system so sophisticated that it can take into account the often great differences in blood sugar levels and insulin sensitivity among people with type 1 diabetes.
4 comments - Posted Jul 9, 2011
A survey of type 1 and type 2 diabetes patients in the United States, United Kingdom, France, and Germany indicates that more than one in every five have arrived late at work or not shown up at all because of a hypoglycemic episode the night before.
7 comments - Posted Jul 8, 2011
The Internet allows consumers to shop for deals on anything imaginable, even prescription drugs. The economic struggles that many currently face, paired with the increasing cost of healthcare and prescription drugs, have created an environment in which counterfeit drug makers can prosper.
1 comment - Posted Jul 7, 2011
Recently, we published an article by Hope Warshaw, MMSc, RD, CDE, titled "From Old Dogmas to New Realities. "In the article, Hope voiced the opinion that a low carb diet is not the only dietary option for people with diabetes, and that, in fact, such thinking is an "old dogma." In response, we received a number of strongly worded comments advocating the low carb diet as the only way to go.
48 comments - Posted Jul 6, 2011
If you have diabetes, you're more likely to be depressed than people without the disease.
5 comments - Posted Jul 5, 2011
Roger Hurdsman lives in Roy, Utah, surrounded by women. His wife of four years, Hilary, is there, along with his two young daughters, Bonnie and Tess. He seems to be handling the estrogen well though, perhaps because he devotes his days to designing software for the Department of Defense. He is able to spend time with computers and gadgets before being inundated with tea parties and dress-up when he gets home.
1 comment - Posted Jul 4, 2011
Say goodbye to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's old Food Pyramid. The tapered food guide is giving way to MyPlate, a colorful visual aid that shows the rough proportions of fruit, vegetables, protein, grains, and that dairy people should consume at every meal.
0 comments - Posted Jul 2, 2011
"Good news," my diabetes nurse educator says to me. "Your new insurance covers continuous glucose monitoring supplies!" I give her a half-smile as my brain screams at me, "CGM? Really? Something else to deal with on top of this damn disease, an insulin pump, exercise, and nutrition?" But I comply, and a CGM is added to the rest of my paraphernalia.
26 comments - Posted Jul 1, 2011
June 2011
One of the classic effects of cannabis on people is raging hunger-the "marijuana munchies." The drug has been used to good effect on people with diseases that diminish appetite, helping them to regain a healthy interest in food. So it is a bit ironic that British drug maker GW Pharmaceuticals has created a cross-bred cannabis plant whose appetite-suppressing qualities could be used to treat type 2 diabetes.
2 comments - Posted Jun 30, 2011
A new report shows that increasing numbers of consumers are using the Internet to track medical information that they can apply to their own health. The report, "The Social Life of Health Information," was issued by the Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project and the California HealthCare Foundation.
0 comments - Posted Jun 29, 2011
In the last decade, dramatic changes have occurred in our understanding of the onset and progression of prediabetes. Lightning speed changes have also occurred regarding the therapies available to achieve optimal blood glucose control. Even with all of this change, however, many old dogmas hang on. It's time to be aware of the new realities. In this article, I focus on two common old dogmas and the new realities.
70 comments - Posted Jun 28, 2011
Lap-Band manufacturer Allergan has asked the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to allow surgeries using the device on overweight teenagers as young as 14 years old.
3 comments - Posted Jun 27, 2011
In an interconnected global marketplace, linked by air travel and full of countries jostling for notice, it's no wonder that medical tourism has spurred competition. Nations see the money flowing into healthcare and want a share for themselves. They also see real advantages to becoming healthcare delivery hubs.
0 comments - Posted Jun 26, 2011
The main question that doctors---and patients---ask about a prescription drug is simple: Does it work? Does this medicine improve the condition it's prescribed for?
0 comments - Posted Jun 25, 2011
"My pump, my pump, my lovely little pump!" My sister invented her own version of the Black Eyed Peas' song, "My Humps" to poke friendly fun at my insulin pump.
20 comments - Posted Jun 24, 2011
You can add any third drug you want to the standard metformin-sulfonylurea combination used to treat type 2 diabetes, including insulin, alpha-glucosidase inhibitors, thiazolidinediones, glucagon-like peptide-1 agonists, or dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitors. None of them provides a decisive superiority in blood glucose control. That's the conclusion of a Brazilian meta-study of 18 drug trials published in the May 17, 2011, issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine.
0 comments - Posted Jun 23, 2011
Medtronic and Ford Motor Company have teamed up to develop a prototype device that will allow people with diabetes to monitor their blood glucose levels as they drive. Using Bluetooth technology, the system will connect readings from Medtronic's continuous glucose monitor to Ford's onboard communications system, called "Sync."
8 comments - Posted Jun 22, 2011
An Australian researcher who deliberately fed his lab rats a high-sugar/high-fat diet says that a flavonoid called rutin helped block the growth of fat cells in their abdomens and kept them from putting on weight despite their bad diet. Flavonoids are plant pigments that researchers are finding have beneficial metabolic effects because of their antioxidant capabilities.
0 comments - Posted Jun 21, 2011
People with diabetes can breath a sigh of relief: New rules now protect them from workplace discrimination. The Obama administration has widened the definition of disability to include cancer, epilepsy, and diabetes, among other conditions.
9 comments - Posted Jun 20, 2011
With Father's Day just around the corner, I thought it would be nice to stop for a moment and reflect on what dads do for us, especially dads who have diabetic children. The pressure and emotional aspects of diabetes can be overwhelming, not to mention the stress it can put on a family. For every needle prick, shot, and counted carb my father (and mother) helped me with, I want to say thanks.
21 comments - Posted Jun 19, 2011
A study of medical claims data from more than 136,000 men shows that men with diabetes are much more likely to require invasive therapies for erectile dysfunction than men without diabetes. The therapies, which are the next steps beyond oral treatments, are second-line suppositories or injections and third-line surgeries to implant prostheses.
1 comment - Posted Jun 18, 2011
Need a cheap kidney? How about a quick and easy bypass operation? Medical tourism offers a way for people facing pricey medical procedures to both save money and see another country. And while some, including President Obama, disparage the practice, it's on the rise as healthcare costs in the United States skyrocket beyond the budget of middle-class patients.
4 comments - Posted Jun 17, 2011
Over the last decade, dramatic changes have occurred in our understanding of the onset and progression of prediabetes. Lightning speed changes have also occurred regarding the therapies available to achieve optimal blood glucose control. Even with all of this change, however, many old dogmas hang on. It's time to become aware of the new realities. In this article, I focus on two common old dogmas and the new realities.
2 comments - Posted Jun 16, 2011
Statistics from the 2011 Medco Drug Report show that diabetes drugs accounted for 16.1 percent of the overall increase in U.S. spending on therapeutic drugs in 2010. The report states that the increase is due to the growing number of Americans who have diabetes.
5 comments - Posted Jun 15, 2011
Max Bruno, a freshman at the State University of New York at New Paltz, tries to get to the gym about four times a week. He says that he knows his limits for working out, but likes to push himself. "I just have to be careful," he explains. "About an hour or so after I'm done working out, my blood sugar drops really low."
14 comments - Posted Jun 14, 2011
Verizon Wireless and Medco Health Solutions have released "Medco Pharmacy," a mobile app for BlackBerry and Android smart phones aimed at Medco's 65 million pharmacy customers. The app has three features:
1 comment - Posted Jun 13, 2011
More than ten million kids head off to summer camp each year. Just because your child has diabetes doesn't mean that he or she must be left out of this rite of passage. Wherever you live, there are specialized camps to help your child have a great and safe experience.
2 comments - Posted Jun 12, 2011
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has said that starting on November 18, 2011, it will restrict retail pharmacy sales of three diabetes drugs manufactured by GlaxoSmithKline: the stand-alone Avandia (rosiglitazone) and the combination drugs Avandamet (rosiglitazone and metformin) and Avandaryl (rosiglitazone and glimepiride).
0 comments - Posted Jun 11, 2011
Whenever I tell someone that I have type 1 diabetes, the first words that I typically hear are "I'm terrified of needles! I could NEVER give myself a shot!" But needles are the least of my fears when it comes to my disease. I have bigger fish to fry. Concerns about daily management, combined with fears of heart problems, blindness, and kidney failure, equal one very stressful disease.
5 comments - Posted Jun 10, 2011
As prices rise, Americans are beginning to pay almost as much attention to the cost of food as they do to its taste. That's one of the findings of the 2011 Food & Health Survey, recently published by the International Food Industry Council Foundation (IFICF).
0 comments - Posted Jun 9, 2011
Comic book creators Kamaal and Malcom Washington are not planning to take it easy this summer. Ever since Kamaal's diagnosis of type 1 diabetes in 2003, when he was nine years old, he has adopted the mantra, "I am not going to let diabetes overcome me. I am going to overcome diabetes." His determination led to an idea to create comic books that would raise awareness about diabetes and help other kids feel less frightened. The comics chronicle the adventures of Omega Boy, a time-traveling superhero, and Mighty Boy, a modern-day crime fighter who also raises awareness about diabetes.
1 comment - Posted Jun 8, 2011
The makers of "PhoneMyDoctor," a new telemedicine service, say it offers the ability integrate patient calls, doctor feedback, pharmacy ordering, and follow-up instructions into one documented record, using a medical practice's existing telephone equipment.
0 comments - Posted Jun 7, 2011
A gluten-free diet in the first 12 months of life does not lower the risk of later developing type 1 diabetes in children who have a family history of the disease, says a German study. Previous studies had suggested that babies whose diets included gluten in their first months of life might be more likely to develop type 1 than youngsters whose diets did not.
1 comment - Posted Jun 6, 2011
A few months ago, I had the privilege of traveling to Australia to present at a conference of athletes with diabetes. During the meeting, prizes were awarded to everyone who scored exactly 5.5 mmol/L (99 mg/dL) on their glucose meter. You should have seen it! Anyone who measured close to 5.5 was testing again and again, hoping for that magic number to pop up. Fingers were suffering, but the test strip manufacturers were making out like bandits.
1 comment - Posted Jun 5, 2011
Diabetes treatment standards for frail older adults should be more flexible than those for younger adults, focusing more on day-to-day quality of life and less on long-term results, according to a geriatrician at the San Francisco VA Medical Center.
2 comments - Posted Jun 4, 2011
Amylin Pharmaceuticals has announced that it will collaborate with the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation to test a combination of Symlin and insulin in injectible form as a type 1 therapy.
0 comments - Posted Jun 3, 2011
I recently had the experience of flying from Tampa to Los Angeles, with a layover in Atlanta, totaling about seven hours spent in airports or up in the sky. To prepare for such a trip, you have to ask yourself a lot of "What if" questions. What if your plane is delayed? What if you miss your connecting flight? What if you have to stay over an extra night? What if your pump fails? What if you are on the tarmac for four hours and you go low?
22 comments - Posted Jun 2, 2011
Type 2 patients who use only a sulfonylurea are less likely to take anti-depressant drugs than diabetes patients on other medications. That's the conclusion of a report delivered recently in Honolulu at the annual meeting of the American Psychiatric Association.
0 comments - Posted Jun 1, 2011
May 2011
"Nutrient Depletions" is a new smart phone app that allows users to see which of their prescription medications may be draining nutrients from their body. The app, available at iTunes stores for $1.99, works on Apple's iPhone, iTouch, and iPad products.
4 comments - Posted May 31, 2011
Here's news that has been receiving big play in U.S. and European media: British scientists have found that a gene called KLF14 acts as a "master switch" that controls other genes found in body fat-genes that are major factors in such conditions as type 2 diabetes, obesity, high cholesterol levels, and levels of glucose and insulin. The finding, by researchers at King's College London and Oxford University, could lead to treatments for diabetes, obesity, and related metabolic disorders by targeting the gene.
2 comments - Posted May 30, 2011
U.S. insulin pump maker Medtronic and blood glucose monitoring system maker LifeScan have reached the end of their three-year contract in which LifeScan was an exclusive provider to Medtronic.
1 comment - Posted May 29, 2011
A Dallas-based marketing research firm survey of 9,265 respondents indicates that people with diabetes earn less and weigh more than their non-diabetic counterparts.
0 comments - Posted May 28, 2011
A recent article in the Chicago Tribune reports that patients using Lipitor, Actos, or Plavix may start enjoying savings of up to 90 percent as patents on those drugs expire. The three drugs comprise a significant percentage of the $300 billion brand-name U.S. pharmaceutical market, according to the Tribune.
2 comments - Posted May 27, 2011
A monitor attached to a mobile device helps people with type 2 diabetes lower their blood pressure more than simply having a blood pressure monitor available in the home. That's the conclusion of a year-long study conducted by the University Health Network in Toronto, Canada. The study showed that type 2 patients whose blood pressure was actively reported to their doctors via a Bluetooth-enabled device enjoyed lower blood pressure than patients whose readings were not passed on to doctors.
1 comment - Posted May 26, 2011
Swimsuit season lasts for at least five months in the South. The good news is that we live close to the beach, but the bad news is that after 25 years of living with diabetes (and three Caesareans), my body is starting to read like a map of my medical journey.
8 comments - Posted May 25, 2011
Meet the latest superfood: maple syrup. Wait a minute...maple syrup? The super-sugary stuff poured on pancakes and waffles and used to glaze hams? That maple syrup?
9 comments - Posted May 24, 2011
French drug maker Sanofi-aventis says that results from a Phase III trial of its experimental type 2 diabetes drug lixisenatide show that the drug successfully lowered patients' blood glucose levels and body weight, but did not increase the risk of hypoglycemia.
0 comments - Posted May 23, 2011
Does asthma boost your risk of developing diabetes and heart disease? A new review of years of medical records suggests that it does. Minnesota's Mayo clinic conducted the study, which looked at heaps of medical records from the late 1960s to the early 1980s. The link was straightforward. People with asthma were more likely to have both diabetes and heart disease than people without the breathing condition.
1 comment - Posted May 22, 2011
You're heard the doctors. You've read the articles. You know all about tight control.
25 comments - Posted May 20, 2011
What does sexuality have to do with diabetes? A lot, according to research findings that have revealed a group of people with diabetes as large as the type 1 or gestational diabetes community. Estimates suggest that 1.3 million lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) individuals have diabetes-at least 5 percent of the 23.6 million people with the disease in the United States.
0 comments - Posted May 19, 2011
New Jersey's Hackensack University Medical Center has announced that it will partner with Dr. Camillo Ricordi to test a surgical procedure that could hold the key to a cure for type 1 diabetes.
7 comments - Posted May 18, 2011
There's more to that little box of pen needles than meets the eye, according to Holly Hartshorn of UltiMed. In early March, UltiMed launched a 50-count box of UltiCare pen needles into the marketplace. We spoke to Holly to find out exactly what kind of thought goes into such a product before it appears on pharmacy shelves.
3 comments - Posted May 17, 2011
Researchers from the Intermountain Medical Center's Heart Institute in Utah have found that regular fasting cuts the risk of both heart disease and diabetes. The study comes from Utah because the state's large number of Mormon residents are asked to fast at least once a month. For many of them, not eating at all has real, long-lasting health benefits.
7 comments - Posted May 16, 2011
A study just published by VSP® Vision Care, a 56 million-member non-profit vision benefits and services company, reports that VSP has saved its clients $4.5 billion in potential healthcare expenditures via early detection of chronic eye diseases.
0 comments - Posted May 15, 2011
Meet Mary,* a 16-year-old girl with type 1 diabetes. When her parents ask her how her blood sugar is, she always has a good number. She keeps a tidy logbook of her blood sugars, and they look fine, although her last A1C was inexplicably high. It's been a long time since she was diagnosed, and her parents are confident that she knows how to care for herself. She has been somewhat less energetic for quite awhile, but her parents attribute that to growing pains, as Mary has grown from a chubby child into a very slender young woman. She appears a little dehydrated and flushed sometimes, but she always drinks a lot of water and goes to the bathroom frequently, so her parents aren't concerned. They have also noted a fruity odor about her, which she attributes to a new lip gloss.
5 comments - Posted May 14, 2011
A Danish study of 107,806 adults taking various diabetes medications has found that three drugs are the most effective at lowering the risk of cardiovascular disease and death: metformin, gliclazide (not marketed in the US), and repaglinide (Prandin). Other common diabetes medications, including glimepiride, glibenclamide (glyburide), glipizide, and tolbutamide, were linked to a higher risk of death both from all causes and from heart attack and stroke.
1 comment - Posted May 13, 2011
Dr. Jonathan Beach is a 35-year-old emergency medicine physician who has had type 1 diabetes for 31 years. He owns and operates Urgicare, a wellness center that includes The Northeast Center for Diabetes Care and Education in Plattsburgh, New York, an isolated rural community that has few other resources for diabetes. This is his story of his life with diabetes and his professional experience with the insulin pump.
4 comments - Posted May 12, 2011
A new study says that people who consume a "moderate" amount of candy per day have a slightly lower body mass index than people who don't eat candy. They also run a 15 percent lower risk than the general population of developing metabolic syndrome, the cluster of conditions that is often a precursor to type 2 diabetes.
1 comment - Posted May 11, 2011
Gene Thornton was in the Army in Germany when he got type 1 diabetes. It was 1965, 46 years ago, and he was 24 years old. This is his story, in his own words.
5 comments - Posted May 10, 2011
British researchers say that metformin, the drug most often used to treat prediabetes and type 2 diabetes, could provide potential protection against endometrial cancer in women.
0 comments - Posted May 9, 2011
HOLLYWOOD, FL -- They come from New York, Miami, Milwaukee and more. They have children of all ages with type 1 diabetes - and they're on a mission to find a cure. They're the "Real Moms of the DRI Foundation" and in honor of Mother's Day they're asking millions of moms - and others - to support the Diabetes Research Institute, a world leader in cure-focused research.
2 comments - Posted May 8, 2011
Albertson's LLC, a nationwide supermarket chain with more than 200 stores, has announced that it will participate in the Diabetes Control Program (DCP) of the Diabetes Prevention and Control Alliance. The DCP works through trained pharmacists to provide education and support to people with diabetes.
0 comments - Posted May 7, 2011
The drug discussed below is for the treatment of type 2 diabetes.
6 comments - Posted May 6, 2011
Recently, we published an article about the implantable pump "A Miracle Technology for Type 1s: Can It Be Saved?" Following the appearance of this article on the Diabetes Health website, over 100 readers commented, most of them expressing a heartfelt desire for access to this technology in the U.S.A. To read the original article click on link below:
A Miracle Technology for Type 1s: Can It Be Saved?
34 comments - Posted May 5, 2011
Molly Martin is a vibrant and energetic 18-year-old from Texas who's had type 1 diabetes since the age of two. Five years ago, Molly took up motocross racing. She says, "I love riding motocross---it's just you and the bike. I feel free when I ride, like I don't have to think about diabetes. I do have to make sure that I test before I get on and during breaks, to make sure my sugar is doing what it's supposed to be doing. But when I get out there, it's just me and the bike, going."
1 comment - Posted May 5, 2011
The rate of foot and leg amputations among people with diabetes fell by as much as 36 percent in one four-year period, according to a study of patients at Veterans Affairs clinics. Taking pati