Diabetes can be diagnosed simply by elevated blood sugar at two different times.
1. A fasting (nothing but water in the previous 8 hours before test) blood sugar of equal to or greater than 126. This test must be processed in a lab. Not a home monitoring system.
2. A 2-hour blood sugar test of equal or greater than 200. This test must be processed in a lab.
If you test your blood sugar on a home monitoring system and the results seems too high. You need to see your doctor right away. There are some cases where the doctor can diagnose a person with diabetes using the HbA1c. This is similar to a 3 month average blood sugar with the last month more heavily weighted. Still another case may be a person presents with the complications of diabetes such as neuropathy. This can be described as nerve damage causing numbness, tingling, hypersensitivity, etc in feet and hands. In the end, it is up to your doctor.
So, if you suspect you have diabetes don't put off being tested for it. Most people's diabetes shows up first at the two mark and the fasting second. Think about it. If you are fasting your body has had all night to get the blood sugar down. That annual physical you get your fasting labs taken for will not pick up diabetes until much later. The test you need to ask for is call the ORAL GLUCOSE TOLERANCE TEST. This is a two hour test. You start the test fasting. Blood samples are drawn every 30 minutes. Yikes!!(Generally a shunt is used so you only get poked by the needle in the beginning.)You will be given 75 grams of glucose. This is a sugary drink. If you are presented with a regular soda and candy bar this won't work.The protein and fat in the candy bar interferes with the outcome of the test. You will be paying for an inaccurate test. It needs to be liquid glucose. It is the same drink given to expectant mothers being tested for gestational diabetes. Blood samples are taken every 30 minutes to determine how your body handles the glucose. Both blood sugar and insulin are being tested. This test screens for diabetes, hypoglycemia, and insulin resistance.
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Diabetes runs in my family...What should I do to avoid getting it?
Diabetes is projected to effect 366 million people world wide by the year 2030! Wow. How could the number possibly get that high? The answer is complex. Our society has gotten a little lazier. By this I mean we don't have to grow our own food, grind wheat for bread. A simple grocery store visit filled with all pre-made foods saves us time and hassle. Also, every get together seems to involve desserts or food of some kind.We as a society are exercising much less than our grandparents generation.
So the question is "What can I do to avoid diabetes myself? Lets first talk percentages. If you have one parent with diabetes you have a 50 % chance of developing type 2 diabetes. If both parents have it then your percent is nearly at 100%. With the bad news out of the way lets discuss what can be done.
There are two interventions we know are key. The Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP) diabetes.niddk.nih.gov/dm/pubs/preventionprogram/ study published in 2002 demonstrated if First, a person is physically active consistently and Second, maintains their weight within a normal range for their height can reduce their risk of developing diabetes by 58%.
This is huge! Percentages like this are rarely seen if ever in studies.
What's a person to do? Get moving. Begin exercising at least 30 minutes everyday. A simple walk at your own pace is fine. Next, watch what you eat. Eat healthy foods and smaller portions. Extreme diets only set you up for failure.
Some say "There is no diabetes in my family I don't have to worry". The problem is, in our parents and grandparents generation the appropriate testing was not done. We simply didn't know if they had diabetes or not. Many were suspected to but went undiagnosed. So we have to rely on clues. The first clue is heart disease somewhere in your family tree. Heart problems and diabetes run together hand in hand. If there is heart disease but no diabetes you should follow the guidelines listed above. There is a good chance diabetes exists but has yet to be found.
So the question is "What can I do to avoid diabetes myself? Lets first talk percentages. If you have one parent with diabetes you have a 50 % chance of developing type 2 diabetes. If both parents have it then your percent is nearly at 100%. With the bad news out of the way lets discuss what can be done.
There are two interventions we know are key. The Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP) diabetes.niddk.nih.gov/dm/pubs/preventionprogram/ study published in 2002 demonstrated if First, a person is physically active consistently and Second, maintains their weight within a normal range for their height can reduce their risk of developing diabetes by 58%.
This is huge! Percentages like this are rarely seen if ever in studies.
What's a person to do? Get moving. Begin exercising at least 30 minutes everyday. A simple walk at your own pace is fine. Next, watch what you eat. Eat healthy foods and smaller portions. Extreme diets only set you up for failure.
Some say "There is no diabetes in my family I don't have to worry". The problem is, in our parents and grandparents generation the appropriate testing was not done. We simply didn't know if they had diabetes or not. Many were suspected to but went undiagnosed. So we have to rely on clues. The first clue is heart disease somewhere in your family tree. Heart problems and diabetes run together hand in hand. If there is heart disease but no diabetes you should follow the guidelines listed above. There is a good chance diabetes exists but has yet to be found.
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