People who have been diagnosed with diabetes know that their health depends on managing their illness. For some this can mean exercising regularly and altering your diet to keep yourself healthy. For others, regular glucose testing and daily insulin injections are a part of their daily routine.

Tight Control of Your Blood Glucose Levels

To make sure you’re healthy, it’s important to keep a close eye on your blood glucose levels. This means testing regularly, and doing everything you can to make sure your test results are as accurate as possible. For some, this can be done with a method referred to as “tight control.”

To do this, you need to get as close to a normal blood glucose level as safely possible. However, to do that, you need to pay much closer attention to your lifestyle. It’s not just a matter of trying to follow your doctor’s instructions about nutrition and exercise, but doing whatever you can to make sure you’re living a healthy lifestyle for yourself. You’ll also need to check your blood glucose levels more often, and if you take insulin, you may need to alter your injection dosage and schedule. This method can be a lot of work, but it can mean living a healthier, more active life.

Insulin Pumps

If you’re trying to get your blood glucose levels closer to non diabetic levels and take insulin, you may need to inject insulin several times a day. This can be painful and intensive, so you may want to consider an insulin pump instead.

An insulin pump is used for rapid-acting insulin with intensive insulin therapy. The pump includes a disposable reservoir for the insulin, which is located inside the pump.

An insulin pump gives you a single type of insulin in two ways: a bolus dose that corrects a high blood glucose level or accounts for food eaten, and a basal dose that is pumped continuously to give you the insulin you need between meals and at night. The basal rate is adjustable. Of course, there are advantages and disadvantages to using an insulin pump over traditional injections.

The insulin pump is more expensive than the syringes used for injections. Since the pump is worn, you may be limited in your activities, and wearing the pump may be uncomfortable for some. The insulin pump must be checked often to make sure the battery is charged, the reservoir is full, and the tubing is working properly to make sure you’re getting the insulin properly.

On the other hand, an insulin pump can give you freedom from a regimented exercise and meal plan that was needed when using slow-acting insulin injections. Using a pump, though it’s worn most of the time, can be more discreet and convenient that several injections each day. Finally, insulin pumps give a more precise dosage of insulin than syringes.

An estimate says that around 24 million Americans are suffering from diabetes. More surprising fact is that one quarter of this figure is not aware of their medical condition. No doubt it is surprising that how this number of individuals can be unaware that they are suffering from diabetes. Certainly a major cause is the absence or ignorance of earliest symptoms of diabetes. The absence of earliest symptoms is the hallmark of pre-diabetics and type 2 diabetics, who are at their earliest stages.

Both types of diabetes (type 2 and type 1) share some symptoms these are:

• Unquenchable thirst
• Frequent urination
• Fatigue or tiredness
• Unexplained weight loss
• Blurred vision
• Extreme hunger
• Hunger after eating
• Recurrent yeast infection

Each of these symptoms is backed up by the increase in level of blood glucose. The intensity and frequency of each symptom vary from individual to individual depending on the particular stage of diabetes.

The frequency of cuts and infection increases in type 2 diabetics. The speed of healing also slows down. The onset of diabetic symptoms is even more gradual in type 1 diabetics.

Pre-diabetes is a slow course of action and most of the times disguise the earliest symptoms of diabetes and thus prevent the early diagnosis. As a result it becomes important for those who are more prone to diabetes because of obesity or family history to be aware of these symptoms.

The occurrence of any one of these symptoms is enough to plan a visit to the health professional, as early visit to the doctor will not only help in early diagnosis of diabetes but will also prevent from short and long term complications of diabetes.

There are a few different types of Diabetes however none are as confusing as Gestational Diabetes.

Gestational Diabetes is not a common form of Diabetes. Unlike Types 1 and 2, Gestational Diabetes targets only a select few pregnant women. Statistics indicate that only four percent of pregnant women are affected by Gestational Diabetes, in the United States, one hundred and thirty five thousand pregnant women are diagnosed each year.

When you are diagnosed with Gestational Diabetes, it may seem like your world is crashing down around you. A million thoughts run through your head, and you fear for the health of your child. It is important that you learn all you can about this disease and understand that you can have a normal healthy child with no risk to yourself or baby if you follow your physician’s instructions.

There are no known causes for Gestational Diabetes, however studies indicate that the problem lies in the mothers ability to process insulin during pregnancy. This is called insulin resistance. Hormones from the placenta work against the mothers body by not allowing it to process insulin. However her body keeps producing it in large quantities.

Gestational Diabetes affects pregnant women from all ethnic backgrounds even if there is no history of Diabetes in the family. It strikes in mid to late pregnancy and can cause a great deal of harm to both mother and baby.

While the mother’s body continually produces insulin, this alone cannot harm the baby. Insulin from the mother cannot enter into the baby because the placenta. What harms the baby is the extraordinary high levels of glucose that the baby ingests through the placenta. Macrosomia know as fat baby syndrome, can develop in the baby and cause serious complications at birth both for the baby and the mother. Babies born with Macrosomia face potential breathing problems, obesity and are at risk for Type 2 Diabetes later in life.

It is critical to have regular prenatal care when you are pregnant to ensure the health of your baby. Without proper prenatal care, Gestational Diabetes cannot be detected and you could be harming yourself as well as your child.

Treating Gestational Diabetes as soon as you are diagnosed is critically important. Often, it is just a matter of special menu options, monitoring your glucose level and exercise to keep it under control. More serious cases may also include daily insulin injections. Treating Gestational Diabetes will reduce the risk of ‘fat baby’ syndrome and a Cesarean section delivery.

There is an upside to Gestational Diabetes; it disappears after the baby is born. Just as suddenly as it comes on it goes away. However, research has shown that women who develop Gestational Diabetes during pregnancy are twice as likely to develop Type 2 Diabetes later in life. Research indicates that both types of diabetes are insulin resistant.

For women who have had Gestational Diabetes, it is recommended that lifestyle changes be made to include a healthy diet and exercise. This can reduce your risk of developing Type 2 Diabetes. It is also recommended that you maintain a healthy weight.