Category Archives: Diabetes

Besides the well-known symptomslike constant thirst and a frequent need to peehere are a few other subtle signals that something may be wrong.

This article originally appeared on Health.

Related: Diagnosed With Colon Cancer At 31, This Brave Woman Is Determined To Teach Black People the Risks and Signs

Many people who develop type 2 diabetes have no idea theyre sick until a blood test shows abnormal blood sugar levels, or until their disease progresses and serious complications start to occur. For the most part, diabetes is silent and insidious, says Ronald Tamler, MD, director of the Mount Sinai Clinical Diabetes Institute. Most of the time people have no symptoms early on.

In some cases, though, there are sneaky signs. Some earlydiabetes symptomsare well-known: constant thirst, excessive urination, or sudden weight gain or loss, for example. Others, like the ones below, are more easily missedby medical professionals and patients alike. If youre experiencing any of these, be sure to bring them up with your doctor.

Related: 10 Things To Know About Diabetes

Periodontitisalso known as gum diseasemay be an early sign oftype 2 diabetes, according to new research published in the journalBMJ Open Diabetes Research & Care. The study found thatpeople with gum disease, especially those with severe cases, had higher rates of diabetes (both diagnosed and undiagnosed) and pre-diabetes than those without.

The connection between gum disease and diabetes isnt new, says Dr. Tamler, and it appears to go both ways: Having either condition seems to increase the risk of developing the other. Inflammation caused by gum disease eggs on the same factors that are responsible forhigh blood sugarthat cause diabetes, he says.

Subscribe to ourdaily newsletterfor the latest in hair, beauty, style and celebrity news.

Long before you actually get diabetes, you may notice a dark discoloration on the back of your neck, says Dr. Tamler. This is calledacanthosis nigricans, and its usually a sign of insulin resistancea loss of sensitivity to the hormone the body uses to regulate glucosethat can eventually lead to full-blown diabetes.

In rare cases, acanthosis nigricans can also be caused byovarian cysts, hormonal orthyroid disorders, or cancer. Certain drugs and supplements, including birth control pills and corticosteroids, can also be responsible.

About 10% to 20%of people who are diagnosed with diabetes already have some nerve damage related to the disease. In the early stages, this may be barely noticeable, says Dr. Tamler: You may feel a strange, electric tingling in your feet, or have decreased sensation or decreased balance.

Of course, these strange sensations could be caused by something as simple aswearing high heelsor standing in one place for too long. But they could also be caused by other serious conditionslikemultiple sclerosisso its important to mention them to your doctor.

Elevated blood sugar levels can damage your retinas and cause fluid levels around your eyeballs to fluctuate, leaving you with blurry or impaired vision. Once blood sugar levels return to normal, eyesight is usually restoredbut if diabetes goes unmanaged for too long, the damage could become permanent.

Likewise, high blood sugar can also affect nerve cells in the ear and cause impaired hearing. Its something that few people talk about, but experienced audiologists know to look for the connection, says Dr. Tamler. Its definitely something I check for during my physical exams.

In a scientific review presented last year at the European Association for the Study of Disease annual meeting, people who tookdaytime napslonger than an hour were 45% more likely to have type 2 diabetes compared to those who napped less or not at all.

Its not likely that snoozing during the daytime actuallycausesdiabetes, say the study authors. But they say that it can be a warning sign of an underlying problem like sleep deprivation,depression, or sleep apneaall conditions associated with an increased risk of diabetes.

See more here:
5 Strange Symptoms That Could Be Early Signs Of Diabetes - Essence.com

USA TODAY NETWORK - Tennessee 6:05 a.m. ET April 3, 2017

About 1.4 million Americans are diagnosed with diabetes every year, according to the American Diabetes Foundation.(Photo: David Proeber/AP File)

Knox County Health Department will have its next Diabetes Management Series 6-7 p.m. on Tuesdays on April 11, 18 and25in the auditorium on the lower level of the main health department,140 Dameron Ave.

The free, three-part series is offered quarterly.

Successfully managing diabetes requires knowledge and ongoing vigilance, which at times can seem overwhelming, said Shanthi Appelo, a registered dietitian with the health department. However, successfully managing the disease is possible with the right tools, such as learning how to recognize what leads to changes in your blood sugar levels and how to manage those levels.

The series covers diet, exercise and medications.

To register, call 865-215-5170 or visit https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/DiabetesSeriesApril2017.

Having diabetes is a risk factor for developing serious health complications including heart disease, blindness, kidney failure and lower-extremity amputations.

In 2014, about 10.5 percent of Knox County adults had been diagnosed with the disease. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has saidif current trends continue, as many as 1 out of 3 U.S. adults could have diabetes by 2050.

Knox County health department administers several prevention programs aimed at reducing diabetes rates, including the Nutrition Education Activity Training (N.E.A.T.) after-school program, the Walking School Bus program, work site wellness initiatives, breastfeeding promotion and advocacy, and other community engagement programs.

If you've lost a loved one to suicide, you can memorialize that person on Tennessee Suicide Prevention Network's "Love Never Dies"memorial quilt, which the nonprofit displays at events throughout the state to promote awareness, education and suicide prevention.

For the square, you'll need to send a clear photo of the person, in JPG format, toKaryl Chastain Beal, karylofcolumbia@cs.comorarlynsmom@bellsouth.net. The photo should be only of the person lost to suicide.Any others in the photo will be cropped out.

With the photo, send the complete name of the person; birth date and death date; city and state; and your name andconnection to the person, along with your email address, phone number and city and state.

Ever want to stop the what-ifs? Are thoughts keeping you up at night or making a challenging circumstance worse? Cognitive-behavioral psychologist Denise Stillman will discuss the power of thoughts for cancer patients and survivors and talk about ways to enlist thoughts as allies.

The session"Thoughts Getting Down?" will be 6-7:30 p.m. Thursday, April 6, in the resource room of Thompson Cancer Survival Center, 102 Vermont Ave., Oak Ridge. The program is free. Register at865-546-4661.

Read or Share this story: http://knoxne.ws/2nzz36Z

See more here:
Free diabetes management series begins April 11 - Knoxville News Sentinel

PortCityDaily.com is your source for free news and information in the Wilmington area.

Donna Livingston has a sweet tooth. Cookies, soft drinks, sweet tea. She likes her sugar.

Livingston, age 59, had never thought about the consequences of her cravings until she retired in 2011 from her career as a high school math teacher at New Hanover High School in Wilmington.

Over the next few years, she noted a rise in her health insurance premiums. To bring them back down, her health insurance company said that she would need to have a health assessmentwhich included an A1C reading, the average of three months of blood sugar levels.

Her A1C was 5.6, which is borderline normal. A blood sugar of 5.7 is considered pre-diabetes, and 6.5 is diabetes. But Livingston was overweight160 pounds on her 54 frame. She had other worrisome health measures. So, the state lumped her in the pre-diabetic category.

It kind of scared me that I was at risk for diabetes, Livingston said, recalling that her maternal grandfather had the disease, but neither of her parents had it.

What Livingston learned about diabetes, she didnt like.

It can affect a lot of organs. You can get amputations because of it, she said. You can be on meds for the rest of your life.

Livingston didnt want to go down that path, so she consulted a nutritionist, and later saw an ad in the paper for a diabetes prevention course at the YMCA, and signed up.

The YMCA course is part of a nation-wide CDC effort to curb the diabetes epidemic in the U.S. According to the American Diabetes Association, in 2012 nearly 10 percent of the population had diabetes, or 29.1 million people. Another 86 million Americans had pre-diabetesan increase of 79 percent from 2010.

March was national diabetes awareness month, and last Tuesday was diabetes alert day, in which the ADA invites all potentially at-risk Americans to take its online assessment, which can be taken at any time: http://www.diabetes.org/are-you-at-risk/diabetes-risk-test/?loc=alertday

The CDC diabetes prevention program, which is active at YMCAs in 47 states, has enrolled more than 50,000 people. At the Wilmington YMCA, over 130 people enrolled in the first year-long program, which started in October, 2015.

Our goal is really to help people get in front of (diabetes), said Marjorie Lanier, the diabetes prevention program coordinator at the Wilmington YMCA. (The program has) been replicated over and over again. There is a lot of evidence that people enrolled in program can cut their risk in half.

The course is group-based, with no more than 15 people in any one group. They meet weekly for classes, and are also required to do 150 minutes of exercise per week.

The power in that is that the groups are all in the same boat, working toward similar goals, Lanier said. That peer support is really powerful.

The next courses begin in May, and more information is at the YMCA website:https://www.wilmingtonfamilyymca.org/programs/diabetes-prevention-program/

Livingston, who finished the program in February, agreed that sharing ideas with her classmates was one of the most useful parts of the program. Most importantly, she learned how to control portions and make better food choices, like cutting out fried food and limiting pasta.

Ive never been a diet person, but this is a program that you can live with. Youre eating regular food, Livingston said.

She eats more salads, fruit and veggies, and if she has a sweetlike cherry dump cake (one of her favorites)shell just have one piece, and then share it at church.

Eating like this, Livingston has stuck to a 1,200-calorie diet, and she ended up losing about 45 pounds, at one point weighing just 116 pounds. That far exceeded the programs own five-to-seven percent weight loss goal for participants.

Livingston felt too thin, so she added nuts and some other healthy fats to her diet, and is now back up to her ideal weight of 125-130 pounds.

Many counties in the South comprise what the CDC considers the diabetes belt. Although New Hanover is not among the 29 North Carolina counties in that categorynor are Pender and Brunswickthe rate of diabetes in this area is significant.

According to the North Carolina Public Health Department, 12.1 percent of the population in Pender County is diabetic, 11 percent in Brunswick, and 8.4 percent in New Hanover County.

In nearby Columbus County, which is considered part of the diabetes belt, 16 percent of the population has diabetes.

Susan Mintz, a registered nurse and certified nurse educator at the New Hanover County Health Department, blames the incidence of diabetes primarily on a culture of poor food choices.

Cheap, fast food is just way too plentiful. Weve kind of lost a connection with trying to eat well. Weve lost what is a normal amount of food to eat, Mintz said. Were just not exercising. Were spending too much time on computers. The populations getting older.

Mintz runs a call line out of the health department for newly diagnosed diabetes patients (910-798-6775), as well as a support group for people with diabetes and pre-diabetes, as well as their caretakers.

Still in the South, its the female that cooks, Mintz said. Were all brought up in a certain culture, eating certain foods.

Weaning people from their beloved sweet tea and fried chicken can be tough, she added.

As long as we can keep the education going, I think that can help. Its one of those things where you cant quit.

The support group meets on the first Friday of every month from 10 a.m.-11 a.m. at the New HanoverCounty Senior Center on Shipyard Boulevard.

diabetes, dieting, health, sugar

The rest is here:
Prevention is key to remaining outside the South's 'Diabetes Belt' - Port City Daily

When University of Nebraska-Lincoln undergrad Ethan Cismoski began browsing fraternities to join, Delta Tau Deltas philanthropic partner immediately caught his attention.

The national fraternity has a partnership with the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, a nonprofit organization funding research to find a cure for Type 1 Diabetes a disease Cismoski was diagnosed with he was 16.

Once he was diagnosed, Cismoski, the current philanthropy chair of the Lincoln fraternity, had to learn how to adjust to accommodate for the disease. This includes checking blood sugar about six times each day and injecting insulin after every meal.

Learning about it was pretty hard, he said. Its such a big lifestyle change everyones heard of diabetes, but nobody really knows what happens or what the people go through.

On Sunday morning, Delta Tau Delta hosted an event to help change this. The Lincoln fraternity chapter teamed up with the College Diabetes Network-Lincoln student organization to raise awareness for Type 1 Diabetes through its first annual JDRF Walk.

The walk looped across campus, leading them from the Nebraska Union, through Memorial Stadium and back. While the walk was free, $15 donations gave participants a T-shirt. All proceeds went to the Lincoln JDRF chapter.

Haley Schepers, president and founder of College Diabetes Network-Lincoln,said she was happy the organization and fraternity were able to pair up to host the event.

Its good to show that the Greek community is more than just Greek life, she said. Its good to have them support us and be able to work with them as a Greek life, university life combination, which doesnt happen very often.

Justin Hicklin, the external vice president of the fraternity chapter, said the walk had raised about $1,200 as of Sunday morning, but this years event focused more on raising awareness rather than money.

(We want people to be) aware of what diabetics go through on a daily basis, Hicklin said. I think its just cool that people are here and show that they care.

Schepers said she hopes increased awareness can lead to a change across campus.

We want to create a community of support for Type 1 Diabetics on campus, she said. Theres different things for Type 1 Diabetics (that can change), like having the carbs at the dining halls that helps make their lives easier on campus.

Cismoski agreed that raised awareness is important he could even see misinformation about the disease at Sunday's walk. Event organizers offered free coffee and donuts, and Cismoski overheard people asking if diabetic people could eat the food.

Diabetes is pretty popular, but no one really knows how it works, he said. We can eat the same stuff you do, we just need an extra step.

Read more here:
UNL diabetes walk raises Type 1 awareness - Lincoln Journal Star

WYDaily.com is your source for free news and information in Williamsburg, James City & York Counties.

Healthier lifestyles, including regular exercise and better eating habits are all goals most diabetes patients are striving for.

Kendra Robinson, a certified diabetes educator at Old Towne, believes these goals, plus learning from each other in a group setting is essential in managing the disease.

At Old Towne Medical Center, group medical visits are an option for patients with Type 2 diabetes a program that has been successful for the past eight years.

Robinson follows 400 diabetes patients, and said those who do group visitswhich include four to five patientshave better outcomes than those who are seen individually by doctors.

These patients tend to follow through more than patients we are seeing one on one, Robinson said.

During group visits, doctors and nurses give patients information about medications and nutrition, but the patients learn how to manage the disease from each other, Robinson added.

Ultimately, diabetes is a disease that is self-managed, Robinson said. Lifestyle modification is the number one treatment.

Type 2 diabetes, distinct from type 1 diabeteswhich is caused by genetic mutations or virusesoften develops from lifestyle factors, namely obesity.

March 28th marked the American Diabetes Association (ADA)s nation-wide Alert Day, in which it invites all Americans to take a diabetes risk test on its web site: http://www.diabetes.org/are-you-at-risk/diabetes-risk-test/?loc=alertday

According to the ADA, the biggest risk factor for diabetes is becoming overweight by overeating.

Not surprisingly, dietary changes are the biggest obstacle diabetics need to overcome, Robinson added. Access to healthy food is a challenge. Changing age-old eating habits is very difficult.

With that in mind, Old Towne also offers cooking classes and grocery store tours for diabetes patients.

During the classes, they make healthy meals, and then send everyone home with a bag of groceries and healthy recipes. They also go to the grocery stores where patients are most likely to shop.

We teach them how to get the most bang for buck; read a food label; use a coupon, Robinson said.

Its a big hit because at the end of the tour, everyone gets a little gift card to buy some things they learned about on the tour that they never tried before.

This spring Old Towne plans to launch an eat out program, which will target older men who are either widowed or single and tend to eat out a lot.

The idea is to go to the restaurants where they regularly eat and help them select healthy food items.

Old Towne also has a medications assistance program that provides diabetes medications for free, Robinson said, and the Sentara Williamsburg Regional Medical Center provides discounted rates for diabetes-related testing.

This financial help is significant because diabetes can be an expensive disease to manage. At Old Towne 76 percent of patients are uninsureda number that is rising, according to Janis C.L. MacQueston, Old Towne Director of Development.

The patient population also tends to be fairly transient. Of the 400 diabetes patients that Robinson follows, between 250 and 300 come regularly, meaning every three to six months.

For those who stick around for a while, control is pretty good, Robinson said.

But the attrition rate is high, and they constantly get new patientsespecially young adults who were obese in childhood and carried that into adulthood, she continued.

According to the Virginia Atlas of Community Health, six percent of the population over age 19 in Williamsburg has type 2 diabetes, and 25 percent of the population between the ages of 14 and 19. In James City County, ten percent of the adult population has diabetes, and 37 percent of teenagers.

Many patients test for diabetesat one of Old Townes free walk-in clinicswhen they already have tell-tale signs of the disease, like blurry vision or frequent sweating, Robinson said.

We check their blood sugar, and its off the charts, she added.

Another program in Williamsburg at the Peninsula YMCA called the Diabetes Prevention Program tries to help people before they even get to that point. It enrolls people with prediabetes, which can morph into diabetes, usually within five years, if left untreated.

The program is nationwide, has beenimplemented in 252 YMCAs throughout the U.S., and follows CDC guidelines, saidMichael Bennett, the regional director of operations and chronic diseases at the Peninsula YMCA.

Bennett said theyve enrolled 32 people locally.

So far weve had really good stories, he said. The facilitator gives them tools, and the participants help each other out. They become a support system for each other.

The goal is for people to lose five to seven percent of their body weight, and engage in 150 minutes of physical activity each week.

Michael Maguire, age 71, did the same prevention program at the Victory Family YMCA in Yorktown. He was pre-diabetic before doing the course.

Unfortunately, I inherited the family susceptibility to diabetes, and I was headed to full-fledged type 2 [diabetes], Maguire said.

He weighed a little over 200 pounds at the beginning of the course, which he started in December, 2015. A year later, he was down to 182and his A1C was below the pre-diabetic range.

Achieving these numbers has meant eating fewer sweets and carbs. Once he found himself in the middle of a heavy meal, actually opting for a salad instead.

For most people, it took forty to fifty years to develop the lifestyle of diabetes. You cant undo that in forty or fifty days, but you can in forty to fifty weeks, he said, adding that the program is slow-paced and very supportive.

The Williamsburg Health Foundation gave the YMCA a $45,000 grant to sign up 75 new people by the end of the year, Bennett said.

Were trying to encourage people to nip it in the bud, he said.

For more information on the YMCA program, people can call 757-342-5338, or visit the YMCA web site: http://www.peninsulaymca.org/diabetes/.

Read this article:
Group medical visits key with managing diabetes | Williamsburg ... - Williamsburg Yorktown Daily

Special to the Journal

Hinghams Ryan Enright was diagnosed with a unique form of diabetes, known as latent autoimmune diabetes in adults (LADA), in 2010 and this year, Enright will be running his 20th Boston Marathon for Joslin Diabetes Center, where he receives his diabetes care from Dr. Elena Toschi.

Since being diagnosed six years ago, the 44-year-old has learned how to manage and cope with his diabetes with the help of the doctors, educators and staff at Joslin, which is especially important for a seasoned marathoner.

Enright is running 40-50 miles each week in preparation for his 25th marathon, doing his long runs on the weekends in Hingham and logging miles along the Charles River during the week. He wears a continuous glucose monitor (CGM) to monitor his blood sugar levels as he runs, and has had to experiment with the settings to ensure he does not go high or low as his distances increase.

My hope is that the funds I raise will benefit Joslin and their team of researchers in their battle to find a cure, said Enright. This is a very specialyear for me given that it will be my 20th consecutive Boston Marathon and I am so grateful that I have the resources at Joslin who make it possible for me to make that left on Boylston Street and cross the finish line. Running on Team Joslin for the second year in a row has allowed me to elevate the awareness of this great organization and educate people on what diabetes is all about, and how it can be prevented and treated. I credit the education, passion and mission of Joslin for helping me not miss a step on my way to Boston number 20.

Ryans goal is to raise $10,000 for Joslins High Hopes Fund. For more information or to donate, visit Ryans CrowdRise page: https://www.crowdrise.com/JoslinDiabetesCenterBoston2017/fundraiser/ryanenright.

Read more from the original source:
Hingham man running 20th consecutive marathon despite diabetes - Wicked Local Hingham

Here are the signs of hearing loss in diabetics and the treatment option for it?

I am a 50-year-old diabetic male. One of my friends suffered hearing loss in the past month, which is believed to be due to uncontrolled diabetes. Can diabetes cause hearing loss? How to know that uncontrolled glucose level is affecting the ears? Please help, I am very worried.

The query is answered by Dr Abhay Vispute, Diabetologist, SRV Hospital.

Currently, more than 65.1 million people suffer from diabetes in India. Although the cases are rapidly increasing every year, the sudden rise in the number of diabetics is due to the erratic food timings, lack of sleep, unhealthy lifestyle, physical inactivity, overconsumption of food and many such impulsive lifestyle choices. Such changes in lifestyle lead to insulin resistance wherein the body does not use insulin properly leading to uncontrolled diabetes and increasing the risk of complications of diabetes. And one such condition is hearing loss.

Poor control of blood sugar, blood pressure and blood lipids can cause blockages in the blood vessels within the internal ear leading to hearing loss. Around 13% to 15% of diabetics that are under my treatment face hearing loss. This is particularly seen in those who have crossed 45 years of age and have uncontrolled sugar levels. It mostly starts with itching, which might lead to unusual sound in unilateral ear gradually causing complete loss of hearing. The microvascular blood supply is poor among diabetics causing faster degenerative changes in the internal ear. It may cause low or high frequency in either one of the ears, increasing the pressure on the internal ear. Hence, if you hear echoing sounds in either of the ears, it might indicate hearing loss. Read about how to manage your blood sugar better with these 10 easy tips.

The only solution after you are impaired of hearing is to use hearing aids. Hence, it is advisable to check your ears regularly and conduct an audiogram once in every 2/3 years and also look out for symptoms that indicate hearing impairment to prevent hearing loss. Moreover, loss of hearing is very subjective, even those who are non-diabetic can develop this condition but the risks are higher among diabetics. Heres more on hearing loss or deafness: 7 facts you ought to know

Image Source: Shutterstock

Published: April 3, 2017 2:26 pm

Disclaimer: TheHealthSite.com does not guarantee any specific results as a result of the procedures mentioned here and the results may vary from person to person. The topics in these pages including text, graphics, videos and other material contained on this website are for informational purposes only and not to be substituted for professional medical advice.

Please Wait. Article Loading ....

The rest is here:
Can diabetes cause hearing loss? (Query) - TheHealthSite

WYDaily.com is your source for free news and information in Williamsburg, James City & York Counties.

Healthier lifestyles, including regular exercise and better eating habits are all goals most diabetes patients are striving for.

Kendra Robinson, a certified diabetes educator at Old Towne, believes these goals, plus learning from each other in a group setting is essential in managing the disease.

At Old Towne Medical Center, group medical visits are an option for patients with Type 2 diabetes a program that has been successful for the past eight years.

Robinson follows 400 diabetes patients, and said those who do group visitswhich include four to five patientshave better outcomes than those who are seen individually by doctors.

These patients tend to follow through more than patients we are seeing one on one, Robinson said.

During group visits, doctors and nurses give patients information about medications and nutrition, but the patients learn how to manage the disease from each other, Robinson added.

Ultimately, diabetes is a disease that is self-managed, Robinson said. Lifestyle modification is the number one treatment.

Type 2 diabetes, distinct from type 1 diabeteswhich is caused by genetic mutations or virusesoften develops from lifestyle factors, namely obesity.

March 28th marked the American Diabetes Association (ADA)s nation-wide Alert Day, in which it invites all Americans to take a diabetes risk test on its web site: http://www.diabetes.org/are-you-at-risk/diabetes-risk-test/?loc=alertday

According to the ADA, the biggest risk factor for diabetes is becoming overweight by overeating.

Not surprisingly, dietary changes are the biggest obstacle diabetics need to overcome, Robinson added. Access to healthy food is a challenge. Changing age-old eating habits is very difficult.

With that in mind, Old Towne also offers cooking classes and grocery store tours for diabetes patients.

During the classes, they make healthy meals, and then send everyone home with a bag of groceries and healthy recipes. They also go to the grocery stores where patients are most likely to shop.

We teach them how to get the most bang for buck; read a food label; use a coupon, Robinson said.

Its a big hit because at the end of the tour, everyone gets a little gift card to buy some things they learned about on the tour that they never tried before.

This spring Old Towne plans to launch an eat out program, which will target older men who are either widowed or single and tend to eat out a lot.

The idea is to go to the restaurants where they regularly eat and help them select healthy food items.

Old Towne also has a medications assistance program that provides diabetes medications for free, Robinson said, and the Sentara Williamsburg Regional Medical Center provides discounted rates for diabetes-related testing.

This financial help is significant because diabetes can be an expensive disease to manage. At Old Towne 76 percent of patients are uninsureda number that is rising, according to Janis C.L. MacQueston, Old Towne Director of Development.

The patient population also tends to be fairly transient. Of the 400 diabetes patients that Robinson follows, between 250 and 300 come regularly, meaning every three to six months.

For those who stick around for a while, control is pretty good, Robinson said.

But the attrition rate is high, and they constantly get new patientsespecially young adults who were obese in childhood and carried that into adulthood, she continued.

According to the Virginia Atlas of Community Health, six percent of the population over age 19 in Williamsburg has type 2 diabetes, and 25 percent of the population between the ages of 14 and 19. In James City County, ten percent of the adult population has diabetes, and 37 percent of teenagers.

Many patients test for diabetesat one of Old Townes free walk-in clinicswhen they already have tell-tale signs of the disease, like blurry vision or frequent sweating, Robinson said.

We check their blood sugar, and its off the charts, she added.

Another program in Williamsburg at the Peninsula YMCA called the Diabetes Prevention Program tries to help people before they even get to that point. It enrolls people with prediabetes, which can morph into diabetes, usually within five years, if left untreated.

The program is nationwide, has beenimplemented in 252 YMCAs throughout the U.S., and follows CDC guidelines, saidMichael Bennett, the regional director of operations and chronic diseases at the Peninsula YMCA.

Bennett said theyve enrolled 32 people locally.

So far weve had really good stories, he said. The facilitator gives them tools, and the participants help each other out. They become a support system for each other.

The goal is for people to lose five to seven percent of their body weight, and engage in 150 minutes of physical activity each week.

The Williamsburg Health Foundation gave the YMCA a $45,000 grant to sign up 75 new people by the end of the year, Bennett said.

Were trying to encourage people to nip it in the bud, he said.

For more information on the YMCA program, people can call 757-342-5338, or visit the YMCA web site: http://www.peninsulaymca.org/diabetes/.

More:
Group medical visits key with managing diabetes - Williamsburg Yorktown Daily

Men's Health

Drink This to Stop a Drastic Blood Sugar Spike Men's Health The glucose builds up in your blood, which can lead to prediabetes or diabetes. But consuming the black tea polyphenols seems to reduce the blood sugar spike you'd normally experience after drinking something sugary. That may be because the black tea ... and more »

Follow this link:
Drink This to Stop a Drastic Blood Sugar Spike - Men's Health

April 1, 2017 11:04 PM By Susan-Elizabeth Littlefield

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) Good news for some locals who suffer from a common chronic disease.

Diabetes patients can get free medicine and more care as part of a University of Minnesota research study.

Doctors are trying to figure out which medication combinations best fight Type 2 Diabetes.

Its called GRADE: Glycemia Reduction Approach to Diabetes: Effectiveness Study.

Participants meet with entire teams of experts monthly. Hugo resident Larry Bock is a participant of the program. He has lost 90 pounds since enrolling and has his blood sugar under control.

My journey with the GRADE study has been nothing short of amazing, Bock said. The study has not only taught me how to manage my diabetes, but has taught me to manage a life style living with diabetes. I hope the GRADE study will be embraced by others wanting to make a change.

Dr. Betsy Seaquist is behind the program.

Im very excited about this study because it will really change clinical practice, and it is wonderful seeing all of these people enrolling in this study losing weight, getting their blood sugars down to normal and remaining that way for years, Seaquist said. Its a very exciting thing to do.

Click here for more information on the GRADE study.

Susan-Elizabeth Littlefield never imagined she'd be in the Twin Cities, but this is exactly where she says she wants to be. She says in her travels as a journalist, one common denominator was that she always really liked the people she met from...

About Us

FAQ

Broadcast Feedback

Advertise

Business Development

CBS Television Public File

CBS Radio Public File

Read the original:
'U' Needs Type 2 Diabetes Sufferers For GRADE Study - CBS Minnesota / WCCO