Diabetes

Recently Answered

• QIf I have diabetes and am sick, how often should I check my blood sugar?

  1 Answer

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  A American Diabetes Association answered

  If you have diabetes, sometimes you might not be feeling quite right and you don’t know why. Monitoring your blood glucose may tell you what the problem is. Maybe you’re feeling sweaty and a little shaky after a 3-mile run. Maybe you’re just tired from the workout, or maybe you’re having a low blood glucose reaction. Without monitoring, you may tend to eat because you think your blood glucose level is too low, when it is really too high. Only by monitoring your blood glucose can you tell what your body really needs.

  No matter what kind of diabetes you have, measure your blood sugar and urine ketones more often than usual when you are sick. If you have type 1 diabetes, you may need to measure blood sugar and urine ketones every four hours. Measuring ketones is very important because these waste products are more likely to build up when you are sick and lead to ketoacidosis.

  If you have type 2 diabetes, checking blood sugar four times a day may be enough. You might only need to measure ketones if your blood sugar is higher than 300. If you do not have a meter, talk to your diabetes educator about getting one.

• QWhat are the health benefits of eating pumpkin if I have diabetes?

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  A American Diabetes Association answered

  A pumpkin's orange pulp is a great source of vitamin A, fiber and potassium.

  Roasted, baked or steamed pumpkin can be used in soups, dips, pies or other baked goods. Pumpkin seeds also make a great snack. They are high in iron and unsaturated fats. These unsaturated fats may help to lower cholesterol levels when they replace saturated fats and trans-fat in the diet.

  The best pumpkin for cooking is a "sugar pie pumpkin" or "sweet pumpkin." Their flesh is sweeter and less watery than the flesh of larger pumpkins.

  Pick a pumpkin with 1 to 2 inches of stem left. If the stem is cut down too low, the pumpkin will decay quickly. Each pound of raw, untrimmed pumpkin will result in about a cup pumpkin puree.

  Following are tips for preparing and cooking pumpkins:

  1. Cut your pumpkin in half, remove the stem, scoop out the seeds and scrape away all of the stringy mass.
  2. Cut the pumpkin into large chunks and rinse the chunks in cold water. Place the chunks in a large pot with about a cup of water (the water does not need to cover the pumpkin pieces).
  3. Cover the pot and boil for 20 to 30 minutes until the pumpkin is tender. Check for doneness by poking with a fork. The pumpkin should slide right off the fork prongs with little or no resistance (similar to testing boiling potatoes to see if they are cooked).
  4. Drain the cooked pumpkin in a colander.
  5. When the pumpkin is cool enough to handle, remove the peel using a small, sharp knife.
  6. Put the pumpkin pulp in a food processor and puree or use a potato masher to form a pumpkin puree.
• QHow is type 1 diabetes treated in young children?

  1 Answer

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  A RealAge answered

  

  Also known as insulin-dependent or juvenile onset diabetes, this condition occurs when the pancreas produces too little insulin, the hormone that allows blood sugar (glucose) to enter body cells and be used as fuel. Without adequate insulin, glucose builds up in the bloodstream, but the body is unable to use it for energy.

  Management of type 1 diabetes calls for directly injecting insulin under the skin anywhere between 1 and 4 times a day. Daily exercise and diet are important in order to maintain blood sugar levels and a normal weight when controlling both types of diabetes. However, since type 2 is strongly tied to overweight and inactivity, a change in lifestyle—weight, diet, exercise—is the most effective way to manage it. A child with this condition should be taught how to recognize low blood sugar, and what to do about it. If insulin injections are necessary, they should be taught how to administer it to themselves.

  From Good Kids, Bad Habits: The RealAge Guide to Raising Healthy Children by Jennifer Trachtenberg.

  

  Find out more about this book:

  Good Kids, Bad Habits: The RealAge Guide to Raising Healthy Children
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• QHow is latent autoimmune diabetes in adults (LADA) diagnosed?

  1 Answer

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  A dLife - It's YOUR Diabetes Life! answered

  Regardless of your age, if you are labeled as having type 2 diabetes but have no family history of diabetes and are not overweight, you may in fact have latent autoimmune diabetes in adults (LADA). Your doctor can check for this with a blood test for autoantibodies and c-peptide levels. These tests will indicate the amount of insulin you are producing (a low c-peptide level suggests LADA).

  Researchers don't know whether latent autoimmune diabetes in adults (LADA) is due to the same underlying disease process as type 1 diabetes in children, and there are many LADA questions that still need answers. In attempt to standardize the definition of LADA, experts have proposed the following criteria:

  • People who are at least 30 years of age.
  • People who are positive for at least one of four antibodies commonly found in those with type 1 diabetes.

  People should not be treated with insulin within the first six months of diagnosis.

  Because they still produce some insulin, and because the disease usually occurs in people over the age of 30 without severe symptoms, many people with LADA are initially misdiagnosed with type 2 diabetes. In fact, researchers estimate that as many as 10 percent of people diagnosed with type 2 diabetes have LADA. LADA can be distinguished from type 2 diabetes by antibody tests. People who are antibody positive have an autoimmune reaction similar to that of type 1 diabetes that is not found in type 2 diabetes.

• QHow is diabetes diagnosed?

  6 Answers

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  A American Diabetes Association answered

  Although your healthcare provider may suspect that you have diabetes because of your symptoms, the only sure way to tell is with blood tests. Blood tests are used to diagnose both type 1 and type 2 diabetes, as well as gestational diabetes.

  The following blood tests are used for diagnosis:

  A1C Test

  • The A1C test can be used to diagnose diabetes.
  • A1C values represent average blood glucose levels over the past 2–3 months.
  • Test measures the concentration of hemoglobin molecules that have glucose attached to them. The measure is given as a percentage. An 8 percent level means that 8 percent of your molecules are glycated (sugar coated).
  • An A1C of 6.5 percent or higher is used to diagnose diabetes.

  Fasting Plasma Glucose Test

  • For this test, you will be asked not to eat or drink anything but water for at least 8–10 hours. Then, a sample of your blood is taken and the amount of glucose in the blood is measured.
  • For those without diabetes, the amount of glucose after fasting is usually less than 100 mg/dl.
  • However, when the amount of fasting plasma glucose is 126 mg/dl or higher, diabetes is suspected. A firm diagnosis of diabetes is made when two fasting plasma glucose tests, done on different days, are at least 126 mg/dl.

  Random Plasma Glucose Test

  • This test measures the amount of plasma glucose at any given time and is done without fasting.
  • You may be diagnosed with diabetes if your plasma glucose is 200 mg/dl or higher and you have obvious symptoms, such as frequent urination, intense thirst, blurred vision, unexplained weight loss and extreme tiredness.

  Oral Glucose Tolerance Test

  • For this test, you will be asked not to eat or drink anything overnight. Then, in the morning, a sample of your blood is taken before and two hours after you have a drink that contains glucose.
  • If your fasting plasma glucose is 126 mg/dl or higher and/or your post-drink plasma glucose is 200 mg/dl or higher, then you will be diagnosed with diabetes regardless of your symptoms.

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• QHow does the A1C test define diabetes and prediabetes?

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  A American Diabetes Association answered

  Hemoglobin, a protein that links up with sugars such as glucose, is found inside red blood cells. Its job is to carry oxygen from the lungs to all the cells of the body. When diabetes is uncontrolled, you end up with too much glucose in the bloodstream. This extra glucose enters your red blood cells and links up (or glycates) with molecules of hemoglobin. The more excess glucose in your blood, the more hemoglobin gets glycated. By measuring the percentage of A1C in the blood, you get an overview of your average blood glucose control for the past few months.

  Suppose your blood sugar was high last week. What happened? More glucose hooked up (glycated) with your hemoglobin. This week, your blood glucose is back under control. Still, your red blood cells carry the "memory" of last week's high blood glucose in the form of more A1C.

  This record changes as old red blood cells in your body die and new red blood cells (with fresh hemoglobin) replace them. The amount of A1C in your blood reflects blood sugar control for the past 120 days, or the lifespan of a red blood cell.

  In a person who does not have diabetes, about 5 percent of all hemoglobin is glycated. For someone with diabetes and high blood glucose levels, the A1C level is higher than normal. How high the A1C level rises depends on what the average blood glucose level was during the past weeks and months. Levels can range from normal to as high as 25 percent if diabetes is badly out of control for a long time.

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• QHow does the oral glucose tolerance test define diabetes and prediabetes?

  1 Answer

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  A American Diabetes Association answered

  In the oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT), a person's blood glucose is measured after a fast and 2 hours after drinking a glucose-rich beverage. Normal blood glucose is below 140 mg/dl 2 hours after the drink. In prediabetes, the 2-hour blood glucose is 140 to 199 mg/dl. If the 2-hour blood glucose rises to 200 mg/dl or above, a person has diabetes.

• QWhat is a fasting blood glucose test for diabetes?

  1 Answer

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  A American Diabetes Association answered

  A fasting blood glucose (FBG) test is a check of a person's blood glucose level after the person has not eaten for 8 to 12 hours (usually overnight). This test is used to diagnose prediabetes and diabetes. It is also used to monitor people with diabetes.

  Normal fasting blood glucose is below 100 mg/dl. A person with prediabetes has a fasting blood glucose level between 100 and 125 mg/dl. If the blood glucose level rises to 126 mg/dl or above, a person has diabetes.

• QHow do I manage my diabetes on a daily basis?

  3 Answers

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  A American Diabetes Association answered

  Your potential diabetes management tools are many. Included in your bag of tricks are insulin, oral diabetes medications, healthy eating habits, regular exercise habits and a take-charge attitude about your diabetes. Another big player in your diabetes management is self-monitoring of blood glucose (SMBG). This is a tool that gives you an immediate reading of your blood glucose level. When you know your blood glucose level at a given moment, you can make informed diabetes management decisions.

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• QWhat is a blood glucose meter for diabetes?

  1 Answer

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  A American Diabetes Association answered

  A blood glucose meter is a handheld instrument that tests the level of glucose in the blood. A drop of blood (obtained by pricking a finger or other site) is placed on a small strip that is read by the meter. The meter calculates and displays the blood glucose level.

  There are many meters to choose from. Some meters are made for those with poor eyesight. Others come with memory so you can store your results in the meter itself. The American Diabetes Association does not endorse any products or recommend one meter over another. If you plan to buy a meter, here are some questions to think about:

  • What meter does your doctor or diabetes educator suggest? They may have meters that they use often and know best.
  • What will it cost? Some insurance companies will only pay for a certain meter. Call your insurance company before you purchase a meter and ask how to get a meter and supplies. If your insurance company does not pay for blood glucose checking supplies, rebates are often available toward the purchase of your meter. You still have to consider the cost of the matching strips and lancets. Shop around.
  • How easy is the meter to use? Methods vary. Some have fewer steps than others.
  • How simple is the meter to maintain? Is it easy to clean? How is the meter calibrated (set correctly for the batch of strips you are using)?