Archive for the ‘Diabetes Signs’ Category

Diabetes – Two Steps you Must Take to Avoid Vision Loss

Sunday, January 24th, 2010

Back in the 1950’s and 60’s most people didn’t rate diabetes as a major problem. Back then, all the focus was on dealing with more prominent diseases such as polio and tuberculosis. If diabetes was thought about, it was more in the context of cutting out sugar in your coffee, rather than as a serious threat to your eyesight or your life.

That’s all changing. It’s not too much to say that diabetes is now reaching epidemic levels in most of the western world. According to the American Diabetes Association there are over 20 million diabetics in the United States alone, with a staggering one third undiagnosed. It’s also going to get a lot worse with another 41 million Americans already showing pre-diabetic signs.

Diabetes is a disease that mostly affects blood vessels and in its extreme forms can lead to serious heart disease, stroke and kidney damage. Clearly these life threatening diabetic vascular diseases deserve priority attention, but high on the critical list for diabetics is the risk of serious eye disease and loss of vision.

Vision is one of our most critical senses and in this “need for speed” information era, over 70% of our sensory information comes through our eyes. According to the American Academy of Ophthalmology, diabetics are 25 times more likely to lose vision than those who are not diabetic. With diabetes already being the number one cause of blindness in the United States, it’s no wonder eye care professionals are predicting a devastating increase in vision loss as the diabetic epidemic grows alarmingly.

Newly diagnosed diabetics often have nothing more than minor vision fluctuations which settle when blood sugar levels improve with treatment. Early on it’s easy to believe everything is fine. After some years though, continuing high blood sugar can gradually damage the blood vessels at the back of the eye in the retina. This causes a problem called diabetic retinopathy and the longer you have diabetes the more likely you are to have retinopathy. The risk increases further when there is poor control of blood sugar levels. More than 70% of diabetics develop some changes in their eyes within 15 years of diagnosis.

Retinopathy is graded as Non-proliferative or Proliferative. Non-proliferative retinopathy is the common milder form, where small retinal blood vessels break and leak. There may be some mild retinal swelling but it rarely requires treatment unless it causes hazy central vision or straight lines appear bent.

Proliferative retinopathy is the less common, but more serious form where new blood vessels grow abnormally within the retina. If these vessel scar or bleed they can lead to potentially serious vision loss including blindness. Early laser treatment can seal leaking vessels and slow the progress of diabetic retinopathy, but can’t reverse existing vision loss.

For now, there is no “magic pill” to eliminate the risk of diabetic eye damage, but you can do two important things to help prevent the more serious complications. Poor blood sugar control is one of the main causes of serious diabetic retinopathy. The critical first step is making sure you stabilize and control your blood sugar with a healthy diet and regular exercise. The second step is to make sure you have a yearly diabetic eye examination. An experienced eye care professional can pick up subtle diabetic eye changes long before you notice any vision change, and more importantly, early enough to do some good.

If you or your family is affected by this rising sign of diabetes: take action now to reduce your risk of vision loss. Don’t be a victim!

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One Type of Diabetes- Diabetes Mellitus

Friday, January 15th, 2010

There are several diabetes types, that are caused by different factors. Diabetes mellitus is the condition in which your body can not store or use glucose or it just can not produce the glucose necessary.

This diabetes type is divided into two:

- type 1 diabetes, also known as insulin dependent diabetes; this happens when your body does not produce any more insulin; if there is no insulin produced, then your body can not use glucose to produce any energy; so if you suffer from this diabetes type, then you know that insulin injections are a must in order to survive; diabetes type 1 is more common in young adults or in children, but there are cases of older people suffering from this diabetes type as well;

- diabetes type 2, also known as the non insulin dependent diabetes; in this case your body does not produce the necessary quantity of insulin or it is possible that your body becomes resistant to insulin; in this type of diabetes, both cases can happen in the same time as well; unlike the first diabetes type, this one is common in older people, that are over forty years old; furthermore, people that are overweight or have diabetes in their family history are also more at risk of developing this diabetes type; however, there have been cases of young people suffering from type 2 diabetes;

When suffering from diabetes, not matter what type, there are several symptoms that accompany this condition. Here are some of the most common diabetes signs:

- loss of weight and sometimes an increased feeling of hunger can indicate that you are suffering from diabetes;

- being thirsty all the time and urinating a lot are also diabetes signs;

- irritability or a blurry vision;

- infections of your gums, skin and bladder are also some of the symptoms that you will experience when suffering from diabetes;

- fatigue, weakness;

These diabetes symptoms are more common in type 1 diabetes. When suffering from the second type of diabetes, you may not suffer from any symptoms at all. This diabetes type develops gradually and this is the main reason why symptoms may not often appear.

As there are more type of diabetes caused by different factors, there are also several ways of treatment. Depending on what type of diabetes you have, your doctor will give you the proper treatment. Insulin injections of fluid, or drugs, these are just some of the ways to treat diabetes.

So, if you want to find out more about what causes diabetes or even about diabetes mellitus please follow this link http://diabetes-info-center. com/

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Types of Chronic Complications-diabetes

Thursday, January 7th, 2010

The chronic complications of diabetes are typically classified as microvascular, macrovascular, or neuropathic.

Microvascular complications result from the thickening of capillary and arteriole basement membranes. Although these changes occur in the small blood vessels throughout the body, they most commonly affect the eyes and kidneys, resulting in retinopathy and nephropathy, respectively.

Macrovascular complications of diabetes include coronary artery disease (CAD) and peripheral vascular disease. They result from accelerated atherosclerotic changes in the walls of the coronary arteries and the large and medium blood vessels in the legs and feet.

Diabetic neuropathy, the most common type of chronic complication, can be classified as peripheral (affecting the nerves of the legs and feet), autonomic (affecting involuntary nerves of the internal organs, such as the nerves that innervate the bladder muscles or cardiovascular system), or focal (affecting a single nerve or group of nerves). About 12% of patients have neuropathy when they’re diagnosed with diabetes. After 25 years, that number increases to about 60%. If your patient has Type 2 diabetes, she may have sensory and autonomic dysfunction at the time of diagnosis because Type 2 diabetes is commonly diagnosed long after it begins.

As with many other chronic complications of diabetes, the cause of diabetic neuropathy is poorly understood. However, several theories offer possible explanations. In one theory, vascular changes that occur with diabetes may account for many pathophysiologic changes. For example, because many patients with diabetes also have cardiovascular disease, the blood flow to the capillaries that supply nerve tissue may become impaired, resulting in tissue ischemia or necrosis. In another theory, metabolic changes are the culprit. For example, sorbitol and fructose accumulate in the diabetic patient’s nerve tissue, and the concentration of myo-inositol decreases in the Schwann cells of nerve tissue. Because less myoinositol is available, the myelin sheathes have less protection, and nerve impulses can’t be conducted.

Stages of Diabetic Nephropathy

In a patient with Type 1 diabetes, diabetic nephropathy typically progress through five stages.

Stage I Stage I, which occurs soon after the onset of diabetes, is characterized by renal hypertrophy, an increased glomerular filtration rate (GFR), and an increased glomerular capillary surface area. With tight blood glucose control, the GFR may return to normal. Microalbuminuria may develop, but it can also be reversed with tight blood glucose control.

Stage II Stage II occurs about 5 years after the onset of diabetes. During this stage, the glomerular capillary basement membrane thickens, and mesangial matrix material accumulates. This reduces the filtration surface area and results in scarring. The GFR remains elevated.

Stage III Also known as incipient nephropathy, stage III occurs 10 to 15 years after the onset of diabetes. Characteristic signs include persistent microalbuminuria, a high GFR, and increased blood pressure.

Stage IV Stage IV develops 15 to 25 years after the onset of diabetes. Signs and symptoms include hypertension, retinopathy, and proteinuria that can be detected by a urine dipstick test. The GFR steadily decreases. Intensive treatment at this stage can help slow the progression of the disease to stage V.

Stage V In stage V, renal failure progresses to the point that the patient needs dialysis or a kidney transplant. This stage generally occurs 20 to 30 years after the onset of diabetes. Signs include elevated blood urea nitrogen and creatinine levels and a rapid decline in the GFR.

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A Rare Type of Diabetes- Diabetes Insipidus

Sunday, January 3rd, 2010

One of the most rare medical conditions is diabetes insipidus. The immediate cause of this condition is excessive thirst and frequent passage of urine that is very diluted. The condition, diabetes insipidus is cause by a hormone deficiency in your pituitary gland, found at the base of your brain.

This hormone that cause diabetes insipidus is the anti diuretic hormone. Its role is to prevent your kidney from excessive production of urine. However, there is also another cause of diabetes insipidus. Your brain may produce this hormone, but it can often happen that your kidneys not respond to this hormone. So as you see, diabetes insipidus is either cause by the lack of the anti diuretic hormone of the un normal response of your kidneys to this hormone.

There are also some their causes that can lead to diabetes insipidus: a tumor of your pituitary gland. This is the gland that release the anti diuretic hormone. If you have an injury to your head that somehow damaged this gland as well, the this can also be a cause of diabetes insipidus. Brain tumors, encephalitis, meningitis are also some of the things that may cause diabetes insipidus. Kidney problems or hemorrhage in your head or pituitary gland can also be some of the cause of this type of diabetes. Unfortunately, there are no known ways that can help you prevent this diabetes type.

The most common of all diabetes insipidus symptoms is excessive thirst. This is a very difficult symptoms, because this thirst can not actually be satisfied. Another diabetes sign is the passage of excessive quantities of urine, that is also very diluted and has no color. Dehydration is another sign of diabetes insipidus. This can also be more thought of as a result of this particular diabetes type. Low pressure of your blood, an increased heart rate and even shock can be the results of this diabetes symptom. If you thought that the symptoms of diabetes insipidus ended here, you thought wrong! Constipation can also be one of the diabetes insipidus symptoms together with bed wetting. However, this last sign is not that common.

Because diabetes insipidus is highly related to the pituitary gland and to your brain, any tumor found in those areas can mean a risk factor in diabetes insipidus. Furthermore, any injury to the head of infection in this area can also be thought as risk factors of this diabetes type.

So, if you want to find out more about type 1 diabetes or even about symptoms of diabetes please follow this link http://diabetes-info-center. com/

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Diabetes Signs????

Wednesday, December 30th, 2009

1. since the time when i drank alot of slurpee everyday, in the morning after i urinate, ants coming into the toilet. . . is that already a diabetes? I’M 14 YEARS OLD (MALE)
2. But when i got wounded, it heals for 2 weeks and its just a 1 inch beside my elbow. . and they said that if u have diabetes your wound would never be heal? but i doubt if its just for a BIG wound or even small

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Diabetes Risk for Men

Saturday, December 26th, 2009

 

Diabetes Risk for Men

Men with diabetes face several health concerns, including increased risk of heart attacks and strokes and impotence (not being able to have or keep an erection).

Above the age of 50, the likelihood of having difficulties with an erection occurs in approximately 50-60% of men with diabetes. In men over 70, 90% have erectile dysfunction problems (link to diabetes and ED page)

Diagnosed and controlled, diabetes can be successfully managed to minimise its impact on health and well being. You can prevent or delay diabetes complications like damage to eye sight and nerve damage to fingers and toes. However many men do not realise they suffer from the disease. Around one third of the men with diabetes are not aware of their illness.

Diabetes Signs and Symptoms

If you find yourself with any of the following symptoms, it is important you visit your doctor or health practitioner and get tested for diabetes: • feeling tired • frequent urination (especially at night) • being very thirsty • weight loss • blurry eyesight • recurring skin, gum, or bladder infections • sores that heal slowly • dry, itchy skin • loss of feeling or tingling in your feet

Type 1 and Type 2 Diabetes

There are different kinds of diabetes: • Type 1 diabetes is usually first diagnosed in children, teenagers, or young adults. • Type 2 diabetes is the most common form of diabetes. People can develop it at any age, but it is often diagnosed in later life and is commonly found in men who are over weight and do little exercise.

What is Diabetes?

Most of the food we eat is turned into glucose (sugar) for our bodies to use for energy. The pancreas makes insulin, which helps sugar get into the cells. When you have diabetes, your body either doesn’t make enough insulin or can’t use the insulin it does make. This causes sugar to build up in your blood. Over the years, high blood sugar leads to problems like heart disease, stroke, blindness, kidney disease, nerve problems, gum infections, and amputations.

Diabetes-Related Problems in Men

Men with diabetes suffer more from some diabetes-related health problems than women. The American Diabetes Association reports that: • In people who develop diabetes before the age of 30, men develop retinopathy (a vision disorder that can lead to blindness) more quickly than women. • Having the main symptoms of peripheral vascular disease (pain in the thigh, calf, or buttocks during exercise) is linked to a two- to three-fold increased risk of coronary heart disease, stroke, or cardiac failure in men with diabetes. • Amputation rates from diabetes-related problems are 1. 4 to 2. 7 times higher in men than women with diabetes.

“Beer Pot” Belly Equals High Diabetes Risk

Overall obesity, measured by high body mass index (BMI) and a “beer pot” belly, measured by a large waist circumference, both accurately predict the risk of type 2 diabetes in men, but abdominal obesity appears to be the better predictor, new research shows. * Both BMI and waist circumference are useful for assessing health but waist circumference can indicate a strong risk for diabetes whether or not a man is considered overweight or obese according to his BMI, researchers said. As waist circumference increased, so did the risk of developing diabetes, with the risk in men with the highest waist circumference (up to 158 centimeters) increasing by 12 times. The study findings also suggest that the currently recommended cutoff for high waist circumference of 102 cm (40 inches) for men may need to be lowered to 95 cm. Many of the men who developed type 2 diabetes had measurements lower than the cutoff and the risk associated with the waist circumference increased at a much lower level than previously thought.

Sleeping Too Much Or Too Little Increases Diabetes Risk

Men who sleep too much or too little are at an increased risk of developing Type 2 diabetes, according to a study by the New England Research Institutes in collaboration with Yale School of Medicine researchers. Six to eight hours of sleep was found to be most healthy. In contrast, men who reported they slept between five and six hours per night were twice as likely to develop diabetes and men who slept more than eight hours per night were three times as likely to develop diabetes. Previous data have shown similar results in women. The elevated risks remained after adjustment for age, hypertension, smoking status, self-rated health status and education. Too little sleep appears to produce metabolic disturbances like decreased carbohydrate tolerance, insulin resistance, and lower levels of the hormone leptin leading to obesity. The mechanisms by which long sleep duration increase diabetes risk requires further investigation.

You Can Delay or Prevent Type 2 Diabetes

When you take steps to prevent diabetes, you also lower your risk for heart disease, stroke, kidney disease, blindness, and amputation. Small changes in your lifestyle can make a difference. They include: • Getting 30 minutes of physical activity five days a week and losing 5 to 7 percent of your body weight. • To help you lose weight, choose low-fat foods and foods high in fiber. • Cut down on fat and cholesterol by having low-fat dairy products, lean cuts of meat, fish, poultry, fruits, and vegetables. • Limit foods high in salt and sugar.

Know Your Risks That Can Lead to Type 2 Diabetes

It’s important to find out early if you have type 2 diabetes or if you are at risk of developing it. To find out if you’re at risk, check off each item that applies to you. • I am overweight or obese. (Obesity is measured with a body mass index (BMI), which shows the relationship of weight to height. ) • I have a parent, brother, or sister with diabetes. • My family background is African American, American Indian, Asian American, Latino, Maori or Pacific Islander. • I have high blood pressure. • My cholesterol is not normal. My HDL or “good” cholesterol is less than 50 or my triglycerides are 250 or higher. • I am not very active. I exercise less than three times each week. Talk to your doctor or health care practitioner about the risks that you checked off. If you are age 45 or older, also talk about getting tested for Type 2 diabetes. If your test result is normal, you should then be tested every three years. People younger than age 45 who are overweight or obese and checked off any of the items above should also talk about getting tested for diabetes* SOURCE: American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, March 2005.

Is there a natural Answer for Diabetes-Related Erectile Dysfunction?

Many researchers and satisfied customers of potent herbal formulations like Herbal Ignite give an enthusiastic yes to this question. Products like Herbal Ignite boost natural testosterone levels without the negative feedback associated with Hormone Replacement Therapy. Herbal Ignite capsules help your body produce more testosterone, instead of adding outside testosterone from an outside source.

Herbal Ignite to enhance virility and reduce male menopause symptoms has been researched and refined by modern science so today’s men can enjoy quality controlled extracts of concentrated active ingredients.

Herbal Ignite’s special formula has helped thousands of men enjoy a better sex life and an improved sense of well being with minimal unwanted side effects

To find out more about Herbal Ignite just Google the term “Herbal Ignite”.

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Symptoms of Diabetes – Signs That Can Easily Be Detected

Wednesday, December 23rd, 2009

One of the most unwavering symptoms of diabetes is an elevated level of the blood sugar. Diabetes is of two kinds- Type 1 and Type 2. In Type 1, this symptom instigates because of the failure of the body to generate enough insulin to manage blood sugar. On the contrary, in Type II diabetes, the body develops a resistance to insulin; hence, it cannot appropriately utilize what it produces. Unfortunately, imbalanced blood sugar level is not something a normal person can make out or detect on his own, leaving him unaware if he has diabetes. Nevertheless, ignoring the signs can lead to fatal health problems and difficulty. For that matter, here are some of the generic ‘warning’ symptoms of diabetes that a layman can detect:Excessive Urination :Excessive urination is one of the most popular symptoms of diabetes. According to the medical science, an adult who pees more than 51ml every two hours is usually taken to have a higher than normal output. If you feel that you are urinating excessively, then it may be an indication that you are suffering from diabetes. Thirst:People suffering from diabetes usually complain of excessive thirst. Thirst due to diabetes occurs because of the shortage of a hormone that controls water secretion by the kidneys. A considerable quantity of water is needed to recompense for the huge amount of urine that is passed. It is taken care of with hormone replacement, which regulates the symptoms. Remember, if you feel thirsty all the time, even when you have not worked out or gone out in the sun, then get yourself tested, you maybe diabetic. Fatigue:Fatigue and mood swings are the other known symptoms of diabetes. If you feel tired all the time and are not able to do your chores properly then you may be suffering from this disease. Diabetes plays havoc with a person’s mood, with abrupt mood swings and irritability. The person also feels very lethargic with a decreased mental and physical capability. Overall, there is a serious decrease in the energy levels. Such decrease happens because the body is not able to convert food into vigor. Eye Problems: If you are experiencing a vision problem and the problem is only getting worse, without you being able to understand why, then you may be suffering from diabetes. Poor vision is a big symptom of diabetes. Bare in mind that diabetes is capable of rendering an individual blind. Hence, immediately get yourself checked if you feel a blurred vision. Remember, diabetes is a serious problem and has grave side effects. If not treated on time, it could lead to the death of an individual. Although once detected it cannot be annihilated completely, but it can be controlled.

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Diabetes – Signs of Diabetes

Wednesday, December 9th, 2009

Diabetes is now becoming increasingly widespread across both adults and children. A lot of this is down to obesity and the vast amounts of sugar and refined white flour that is in our diet these days, but how do we know if we have diabetes and what are the signs of diabetes we need to look out for?

Well first of all lets get an understanding of what diabetes is. The first thing we need to understand is that there are two types of diabetes. Type 1 diabetes occurs when the pancreas doesn’t produce enough insulin, and type 2 when the body’s cells don’t respond well to insulin. Both result in high blood sugar levels because the body is unable to process the available glucose. At one time type 1 was known as juvenile diabetes as it was mainly found in younger people, and type 2 was expected to be found in older people, but this is not necessarily the case now.

At present it is not really known what causes type 1, but it occurs when the immune system attacks the insulin-producing part of pancreas. With this form of diabetes, the beta cells of the pancreas no longer make insulin because the body?s immune system has attacked and destroyed them, this leads to this form of diabetes being controlled mainly by insulin injections.

Type 2, which is probably now the most common type, is often caused by poor diet and obesity.   Quite often you can control this type of diabetes with a combination of dietary treatment , tablets and injections and, frequently, insulin supplementation.

So now we know what the diabetes type are what are the signs of diabetes to look out for?

The signs can be very similar in both type 1 & 2 due to the drop in blood sugar levels. This could be down to a lack of insulin production, no production at all or simply, insulin resistance. The symptoms to watch out for are as followsExtreme thirstFrequent urination ? especially at nightTirednessUnexplained weight lossBlurred vision

If you spot these symptoms happening to you consistently, then you must see a doctor as soon as you can. Whilst diabetes is very treatable, it is also very severe if left untreated and can lead to blindness, amputation, heart disease, kidney failure, erectile dysfunction and other problems.

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