Diabetes

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• QHow can I lower my blood pressure if I have diabetes?

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  A American Diabetes Association answered

  To lower your blood pressure if you have diabetes, you should:
  
  - Eat more vegetables and fruits! Eating more vegetables and fruits, along with low-fat dairy foods, whole grains, fish, poultry, and nuts, helps lower blood pressure.
  
  - Reduce the amount of sodium (salt) you eat. Check food labels for sodium content. Most people should limit their sodium intake to 2,400 mg each day.
  
  - Lose weight by eating less and being more active than you are now. Walking briskly for 20 minutes burns about 100 calories.
  
  - Watch your alcohol consumption. Drinking more than 1 to 2 drinks per day is not helpful and may actually raise your blood pressure. Moderate amounts of alcohol reduce your risk of heart disease, perhaps by raising HDL (good) cholesterol levels. One drink is equal to 12 ounces of beer, 5 ounces of wine, or a shot (1 and 1/2 ounces) of distilled spirits.
  
  - Quit smoking.
  
  - Take your blood pressure pills as prescribed.

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• QWhy is it so much harder to control my blood glucose when I am sick?

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  A American Diabetes Association answered

  When you have diabetes and you’re sick, your body is also stressed. To deal with this stress, your body releases hormones that help you fight the illness. But these hormones also counteract the effect of insulin in lowering blood glucose and cause blood glucose levels to go up. Sickness can cause your diabetes to go out of control. Extremely high blood glucose levels caused by illness can also lead to diabetic ketoacidosis in people with type 1 diabetes, so you may need to test your urine for ketones.  In people with type 2 diabetes illness can lead to hyperosmolar hyperglycemic syndrome (HHS).
  Blood glucose monitoring is especially important during any bout of sickness. Even if you have type 2 diabetes and only monitor once a day, you may want to keep a closer check during times of illness. Be sure to talk to your health care team before you get ill about what you should do in the event of illness. You and your health care team can work together to come up with a plan to help you handle common illnesses such as colds or the flu.

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• QWhen should I test my blood sugar level?

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  A Dr. Ronald Tamler, MD , Endocrinology Diabetes & Metabolism, answered on behalf of The Mount Sinai Health System

  

  Depending on the medication you're taking, you may need to check your blood sugar only once a day. In this video, Ronald Tamler, MD, clinical director of the Mount Sinai Diabetes Center, discusses blood sugar testing.

  

  Find out more about this DVD:

  How Often and When Should I Test My Blood Sugar?
  Buy DVD

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• QIs diabetes a self-managed illness?

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  A American Diabetes Association answered

  Diabetes is largely a self-managed illness. Unlike more acute illnesses, you provide almost all of your own care.

  It is up to you. You are free to decide how much or how little you do to care for your diabetes. Because you benefit from the results of your choices, you have the absolute right to make these decisions.

  Many things in our lives are not of our own choosing. Diabetes is not something most people would choose to have. Although you cannot change having diabetes, you do make choices about how you live with it and your attitude toward it. No matter how constrained you may feel, you can often make different choices.

  Freedom brings responsibility as well. In fact, freedom and responsibility are two sides of the same coin. Because the choices you make affect your outcomes, you have a great deal of responsibility for your own health and quality of life.

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• QHow do my blood glucose testing results relate to my A1C results?

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  A Dr. Jeanne Morrison, PhD , Family Medicine, answered on behalf of Sigma Nursing

  Your A1C results give an average of your blood glucose level over a 2-3 month period. Depending on how often you check your blood glucose throughout the day, you may be able to estimate what your A1C when you are tested.
• QDo blood sugar levels vary among people with diabetes?

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  A Stacy Wiegman, PharmD , Pharmacy, answered

  Blood sugar levels not only vary from person to person with diabetes, but can vary in the same person from hour to hour or even more frequently. Exercising, drinking alcohol, eating and other factors can all affect your blood sugar levels. That's why keeping blood sugar under control in someone with diabetes can be tricky and may require frequent or even continuous blood glucose monitoring. If you have diabetes, talk to your doctor about the best ways to monitor your own blood sugar levels.
  

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• QDoes diabetes affect children differently than adults?

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  A William Lee Dubois , Endocrinology Diabetes & Metabolism, answered

  There is a huge growth in cases of type 2 diabetes among children, and it has a much more wicked flavor than it has in adults. It is a much more aggressive disease in children, leading to earlier complications. Some experts believe that many children who are diagnosed with type 2 diabetes will pre-decease their parents. This is why one of the greatest health threats facing the nation is the obesity epidemic in children.

  Let me be clear, simply being overweight (even grossly so) does not cause diabetes, but in those genetically pre-disposed to diabetes it can trigger the disease early; and early type 2 diabetes tears though the body like a hurricane.

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• QHow can my eating habits affect my diabetes?

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  A Dr. Jeanne Morrison, PhD , Family Medicine, answered on behalf of Sigma Nursing

  You can take good care of yourself and your diabetes by learning the following:

  What to eat How much to eat When to eat

  Making wise food choices can help you with following:

  Feel good every day. Lose weight if you need to. Lower your risk for heart disease, stroke, and other problems caused by diabetes. Healthful eating helps keep your blood glucose, also called blood sugar, within your target range. Physical activity and, if needed, diabetes medicines also help. The diabetes target range is the blood glucose level suggested by diabetes experts for good health. You can help prevent health problems by keeping your blood glucose levels on target.

  This answer is based on source information from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.

• QHow does type 1 diabetes affect pregnancy?

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  A Dr. Douglas S. Denham, DO , Family Medicine, answered

  Females with type 1 diabetes require very close observation and diabetic control through their pregnancy. Poorly controlled diabetes during pregnancy can cause multiple health problems for both the mother and the baby. If you are a diabetic and planning to get pregnant discuss this with your obstetrician or endocrinologist prior to getting pregnant. More intensive therapy may be warranted before you get pregnant.

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• QHow does type 2 diabetes affect pregnancy?

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  A Dr. Jeanne Morrison, PhD , Family Medicine, answered on behalf of Sigma Nursing

  Millions of perfectly healthy babies have resulted from pregnancies of women with type 2 diabetes. The trick is to pay special attention to your blood glucose levels during this exciting time. High blood glucose levels during pregnancy can lead to serious, long-term complications for you and your baby. Even if you have had type 2 diabetes for several years, your body will experience many changes during pregnancy that affect your blood glucose differently. It's very important to be aware of these new changes and adjust your treatment accordingly. See your doctor before you become pregnant to discuss your best treatment options.