Posts on "Diabetes Treatment" Category
Burning, Tingling & Bloating- Sugar Coated Nerves
Even mildly elevated sugar in the bloodstream sticks to the small nerve endings in the feet first. The sugar coated nerve endings cause the nerves to send out the wrong signals. These signals may indicate tingling or burning rather than touch. The sensations may be worse at night when the feet are not supporting the […]
Do You Have a Sweet Heart?
Just as syrup coats your pancakes, high sugar in the blood sticks to all the blood vessels in the body. Overtime, plaque builds up in the arteries. Inflammation and rupture of the plaque causes loss of blood flow to the heart or brain or extremities leading to tissue damage. People with diabetes are 2-4 times […]
Insulin… Friend or Foe?
Much has been written about the evils of making too much insulin. The Keto Diet is predicated on the fact that eating carbs therefore increasing insulin production will cause weight gain. Insulin is made by a very small number of islet cells living in the pancreas. They secrete insulin into the veins that go to […]
Why Are There so Many Medicines for Diabetes?
Theoretically, since there are at least 300 genetic defects which cause Type 2 Diabetes, over 300 different classes of medications should exist. One group for each defect. Not there yet. What do the drugs that we have do for someone with diabetes? Metformin is usually the first one used to treat Type 2 Diabetes. Why? […]
Diabetes 101: Back to the Basics
Anyone who has poured syrup on pancakes knows what happens if the coated pancake jumps off the plate into your lap. The syrup sticks to everything. You have a hard time getting it off. You wish you had not even put it on your food. Now you know what the inside of your body feels […]
Still scared of being a guinea pig?
When some people are asked if they are interested in participating in a clinical research trial, they often respond by saying, “No. I don’t want to be a guinea pig.” What do they mean by that? Do they worry that we will put them in a cage with a wheel or send them through an […]
Cirrhosis is not just for Alcoholics Anymore…
Say the word, “cirrhosis” and we think of alcoholic liver disease. However, alcohol is not the only cause of fatty liver and cirrhosis. Fat accumulating in the liver for any reason can cause inflammation and scar tissue known as fibrosis. When the fibrosis is severe, it can cause the liver to not work. Severe fibrosis […]
HELP YOUR DIABETES MEDICATION WORK
Current medications to treat diabetes are vast improvements over the past when all we had was insulin and sulfonylureas. Many medications now actually correct multiple underlying genetic defects which cause Type 2 Diabetes. Unfortunately, these new medications are NOT MAGIC!! They will not let you eat anything you want. They will not make you exercise. […]
What’s next after Metformin?
So many choices. Medications for diabetes have exploded in number over the past few years. Metformin, of course, is the first therapy for most people with insulin resistance, prediabetes or Type 2 diabetes. But if the sugar can’t be controlled, what do you do? If your A1C is still over 7% on metformin and is […]
Happy 95th Birthday, Metformin
The chemical metformin is contained in the French lilac and was used for 2000 years. In 1922, the molecule was isolated from the plant and used to lower blood sugar in rabbits by 1929. However, the discovery of insulin eclipsed all other diabetes medications until the 1950s. By the 1950s, researchers realized that Diabetes is […]