Type 1 and Eating Disorders
By Quinn Phillips
Eating disorders are, sadly, a fact of life among teenagers in the United States. According to the National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders, more than half of all teenage girls and nearly one-third of teenage boys engage in unhealthy behaviors (skipping meals, vomiting, taking laxatives) to control their weight, and 1% of female adolescents have anorexia, characterized by an extremely distorted body image and emaciation. During this often difficult phase in life, having Type 1 diabetes presents unique challenges, as a study published last month in the journal Diabetes Care makes c...
Source: Diabetes Self-Management - September 11, 2013 Category: Diabetes Authors: Quinn Phillips Source Type: blogs
MORE Tests?
By Jan Chait
It's the last thing you want to hear as you're in recovery, snuggled under a warm blanket as you yawn and drift in and out of sleep following a colonoscopy.
"I found one polyp, but could only get to about 90% of your colon," the doctor said as he walked into the room. "I'm going to need you to come back for another colonoscopy. Would you mind?"
Mind? Me? Nah. I mean, another day of clear liquids only. More gulps of nasty-tasting prep solution that has you staying near the bathroom. No problem.
Ha!
But (pardon the pun), for me it's necessary. I can thank my father for that. He had a condition that caused him t...
Source: Diabetes Self-Management - September 10, 2013 Category: Diabetes Authors: Jan Chait Source Type: blogs
Gestational Diabetes: What Are the Risks?
By Amy Campbell
People are often taught that there are three types of diabetes: Type 1, Type 2, and gestational. In reality, there are actually many more types, but the simplified explanation is that if you have diabetes, you likely have one of these three.
What is gestational diabetes?
The American Diabetes Association defines gestational diabetes as "diabetes diagnosed during pregnancy that is not clearly overt diabetes." Like pregnancy, gestational diabetes (GDM) is temporary. GDM will resolve in about 90% of women after they've given birth. It's important, though, to distinguish GDM from women with preexisting diabete...
Source: Diabetes Self-Management - September 9, 2013 Category: Diabetes Authors: Amy Campbell Source Type: blogs
ADA Seeks 2014 National Youth Advocate
By Web Team
The American Diabetes Association (ADA) is seeking applications for its 2014 National Youth Advocate.
The National Youth Advocate works with ADA staff and volunteers to communicate diabetes advocacy messages at speaking engagements, through the ADA Web site and other media, and directly to policymakers. The Advocate also regularly posts blog entries on the ADA Web site and updates an official Facebook page weekly. Serving on the National Advocacy Committee and attending meetings and events throughout the year to speak to and motivate children with diabetes are also part of the Advocate's responsibilities.
...
Source: Diabetes Self-Management - September 7, 2013 Category: Diabetes Authors: Web Team Source Type: blogs
Family History of Type 2 Ups Risk of Prediabetes
By Diane Fennell
People with a family history of Type 2 diabetes have an increased risk of developing prediabetes, according to a new analysis from the German Center for Diabetes Research. Approximately 79 million people in the United States currently have prediabetes.
Prediabetes is a condition in which blood glucose levels are elevated, but are not high enough to be classified as Type 2 diabetes. An A1C level from 5.7–6.4% indicates prediabetes, as does a blood glucose level from 100–125 mg/dl on a fasting plasma glucose test or a blood glucose level of 140–199 mg/dl on an oral glucose tolerance test...
Source: Diabetes Self-Management - September 6, 2013 Category: Diabetes Authors: Diane Fennell Source Type: blogs
A Daily Miracle
By Scott Coulter
I called my pharmacy today to refill my short-acting insulin prescription, and tomorrow morning I'll hop in my car, drop off my wife, and pick it up. Then, perhaps, I'll go get some lunch, then head up to the music school where I teach piano and get my studio ready for the first week of lessons. It will be a mundane day of errands. Except one of those errands represents an absolute miracle that has single-handedly kept me alive for the past 19 years.
Insulin was isolated in 1921 and was first given to a person with diabetes in 1922. Prior to that date, diabetes was simply a death sentence. I remember hear...
Source: Diabetes Self-Management - September 5, 2013 Category: Diabetes Authors: Scott Coulter Source Type: blogs
Generics Versus Brand-Name Drugs
By David Spero
Are generic drugs as good as their brand-name rivals? Hopefully yes, as millions of people rely on generics to make medicines affordable. Is the claimed superiority of brand-name drugs just advertising, or is there a real difference?
An awful lot of people with diabetes are taking generic drugs. Most people take metformin, not Glucophage. (Generic names usually don't have a capital letter, while brand names typically are capitalized.) Many take glipizide, a generic sulfonylurea drug, while few take Glucotrol, its brand-name version. Are there any differences in effectiveness?
Under federal law, generic dru...
Source: Diabetes Self-Management - September 4, 2013 Category: Diabetes Authors: David Spero Source Type: blogs
Why Do I Need to Do This Stuff, Anyway?
By Jan Chait
It was the day I fired my primary-care physician (PCP). He was going over my vital signs with me and noted my blood pressure as being 140/90 (or something like that). "That's good," he said.
"No," I responded — I never could keep my mouth shut — "that's too high for somebody who has diabetes."
And that's when the tirade began, beginning with my audacity in talking back to him and then going into I needed to fire my endocrinologist, who never should have let me have an insulin pump, they're dangerous, yada, yada, yada.
That was 13 or so years and 4 pumps ago. I still have the endocrinologist.
Becau...
Source: Diabetes Self-Management - September 4, 2013 Category: Diabetes Authors: Jan Chait Source Type: blogs
Medicaid Cuts
By Quinn Phillips
Starting next month, one of the centerpieces of the Affordable Care Act (“Obamacare") will become active: online health insurance exchanges where individuals, families, and small businesses can compare — and enroll in — insurance plans that go into effect on January 1 of next year. These exchanges, operating in every state, will offer side-by-side comparisons of plans by participating private insurance companies as well as tell individuals and families how much of a federal subsidy, based on their income level, they are eligible for. Although no one knows exactly how well the system will...
Source: Diabetes Self-Management - September 4, 2013 Category: Diabetes Authors: Quinn Phillips Source Type: blogs
Low-FODMAP Diet: A New Fad?
By Amy Campbell
Back in 2009 (can it really be that long ago?), I wrote a short series on irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). IBS is a condition (not a disease) characterized by a number of symptoms including bloating, cramping, gas, diarrhea, and constipation. About one in five Americans has IBS, and having it can range from being mildly annoying to downright debilitating. There are different kinds of treatments available, including changing one's diet, exercising, stress reduction, and medication.
A treatment from down under
People who have IBS will tell you that sometimes the above approaches work for them, and sometimes th...
Source: Diabetes Self-Management - September 3, 2013 Category: Diabetes Authors: Amy Campbell Source Type: blogs
Study Seeks Female Pump Users
By Web Team
Are you a female with Type 1 diabetes between the ages of 12 and 20? Are you using an insulin pump? If so, researchers at The Chicago School of Professional Psychology want to speak with you.
The investigators are seeking to understand the experiences of people in this population, to gain insight into their daily life as insulin pump users, and to see if there are any commonalities.
The study, which consists of a brief phone consultation and a 1-hour interview, is being conducted in both Westwood, CA, and downtown Los Angeles, CA. Participants will be given a $50 cash reimbursement.
To learn more, click ...
Source: Diabetes Self-Management - August 31, 2013 Category: Diabetes Authors: Web Team Source Type: blogs
Mouse Study Sheds Light on Cause of Neuropathy Pain
By Diane Fennell
Diabetic peripheral neuropathy is a type of nerve damage that affects the nerves of the arms, legs, hands, and feet, causing symptoms such as pain, numbness, and tingling in the affected areas. According to the National Diabetes Information Clearinghouse, as many as 70% of people with diabetes eventually develop neuropathy. Pain from this condition is often difficult to treat, but researchers at the University of Virginia have recently made a discovery in mice that may shed light on how to effectively reduce nerve pain.
Previous studies have indicated that a certain type of calcium channel (a structure ...
Source: Diabetes Self-Management - August 30, 2013 Category: Diabetes Authors: Diane Fennell Source Type: blogs
Quick Return
By Scott Coulter
Years ago, I heard about a study measuring the sensory responses of Zen monks compared to the responses of everyday people. The results of this study were incredibly interesting and have far-reaching lessons for the rest of us. Here's the study, in a nutshell (as my mother would say):
Researchers gathered a group of Zen monks in a room with a television monitor. After giving each monk a biomed sensor to monitor their reactions, they began showing random images on the screen. These images were, for the most part, violent images, shocking images, or very sexual images. In other words, they were the kind of i...
Source: Diabetes Self-Management - August 29, 2013 Category: Diabetes Authors: Scott Coulter Source Type: blogs
Why Raise Your A1C?
According to this study from the University of California at San Francisco,
Achieving lower A1C levels with oral hypoglycemic medications was not associated with more frequent falls, except, among those using insulin, an A1C less than or equal to 6% increased risk of falls.
Below 6% is a pretty rare A1C for an older insulin-using adult.
A large study at Yale University found that
Contrary to conventional wisdom, hypoglycemia occurs just as frequently among those with poor glycemic control (higher A1C) as it does in those achieving near-normal glycemia.
And in the Action to Control Cardiovascular Risk in Diabetes (ACCORD...
Source: Diabetes Self-Management - August 28, 2013 Category: Diabetes Authors: David Spero Source Type: blogs
Insulin in Schools
By Quinn Phillips
A few years ago, we covered a dispute between the California Department of Education and the California School Nurses Association regarding who should be able to administer insulin injections in schools to children with diabetes. At the time, a lawsuit filed by several San Francisco Bay–area parents of children with diabetes had led the Department of Education to relax its rule that only school nurses may deliver insulin to children who cannot deliver it themselves. These new rules, in turn, prompted the California School Nurses Association to sue the state. In the original 2008 trial, a state court...
Source: Diabetes Self-Management - August 28, 2013 Category: Diabetes Authors: Quinn Phillips Source Type: blogs
