Archive for December, 2010

Type 2 Diabetes – Are Your Blood Sugar Levels Normal?

Monday, December 20th, 2010

If you are a diabetic, monitoring your blood sugar levels regularly is essential in keeping you health problem in tight control. In fact, according to the American Diabetes Association, your reading is a reflection of your total health condition.

Diabetics who need regular blood sugar monitoring are the following:

Anyone who is:

* taking insulin injection therapy
* taking oral hypoglycemic drugs
* diabetic and pregnant
* experiencing uncontrolled blood sugar
* experiencing episodes of severe hypoglycemia
* known to have asymptomatic hypoglycemic episodes

There are several methods you can use:

1. Regular monitoring: Your glucose meter is a handy tool that you can use to regularly check your blood sugar levels. This will always give you an accurate reading anytime you want to. You can even record the readings and show them to your doctor to give him a total picture of how you manage your blood sugar levels at home. So, how do you know your blood glucose is under control by using your glucose meter? Taking your blood sugar before a meal must have a result of 70 to 130 mg/dL (3.89 to 7.2mmol/L). Having your level monitored after your regular meal must reflect a value of less than 180mg/dL (10mmol/L).

2. HbA1c: Whilst checking your blood sugar regularly is essential for your diabetes management, however, if you want to know how well you are doing with your diabetic management plan for the last two to three months, the best option for you to do is to check your HbA1c. And so, how does this A1C testing work? You see, red blood cells are carrying hemoglobin, the oxygen carrying component within each individual red blood cell. Anyone with uncontrolled diabetes has too much sugar in their blood stream. The excess sugar is absorbed by the red blood cells and this links up with the hemoglobin component of these blood cells. The excess blood sugars usually stay linked with hemoglobin for a couple of months. Thus, by measuring your HbA1c, your doctor can analyze your ability to stick to your diabetic diet plan for the last two to three months. The HbA1c test is currently one of the best ways to check your diabetes is under control. According to the American Diabetes Association, the accepted value for the HbA1c level must be below seven percent.

Knowing your blood sugar values is an essential component for the proper monitoring of your diabetes status. With proper control of these levels, the possible complications of Type 2 diabetes can be avoided.?

Testing Blood Sugar at Home in Diabetes

Monday, December 13th, 2010

Home glucose testingTesting Blood Sugar at Home in Diabetes has become a mainstay of the management of diabetes for many patients. In type 1 diabetes, where knowing your blood sugar helps you to know how much insulin to inject prior to each meal, this is a key part of controlling diabetes. In type 2 diabetes most patients do not adjust their medication daily based on their blood sugar numbers, and so frequent home testing does not lead to direct management decisions.

Finding the right balance between having no idea when your blood sugars are normal and when they are too high or low, and testing more frequently than you need to make good choices can be confusing for many diabetics. It is easy to fall into the trap of frequent testing, feeling good that your results are usually in a good range, and so you keep testing a lot because it makes you feel good about yourself. This can be a very expensive reassurance. Doing a single finger stick test, just for the cost of the test strip, is usually more than $1.00. This can add up to hundreds of dollar a month, and thousands a year for a patient who tests 4+ times daily.

Insurance companies try to put limits on how often they will pay for testing, but often patients request that their physician appeal this decision. Most of the time the more frequent testing is not helpful, and there is really no evidence that home testing of blood sugars in type 2 diabetes leads to better outcomes. Be smart and discuss with your physician how often you should test to find the right balance for you.

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Test

Tuesday, December 7th, 2010

Unfortunately, those who suffer from Chronic Fatigue Syndrome have no definitive way to test for the condition to see if they truly have it. The only true way to really check to see if you are suffering from Chronic Fatigue Syndrome is by professional observance of the symptoms you are having, and to undergo a blood test at your doctor’s office. Viruses such as the Epstein Barr virus, chemical imbalances in the body, or other illnesses such as cancer or infections has been thought to contribute or to cause the condition.

Since there is no definitive test that can tell whether or not a person may have it, there are some common symptoms associated with CFS such as extreme tiredness, weakness, drowsiness, depression, anxiety, appetite loss, mood swings, body aches, constant headaches, memory loss, and confusion. Compiling these symptoms along with blood work can be an indicator that a person may have the condition.

A blood test to determine if your body is chemically balanced is often recommended by physicians. If there is a chemical imbalance, certain supplements or foods can be added to your diet to help balance it out. Some health care professionals believe that a chemically imbalanced body can cause Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.

Undergoing a simple wellness checkup by your doctor may help determine whether or not you are suffering from CFS. During your wellness checkup, symptoms can be documented that may point to CFS. Some doctors may then determine to test for viral or bacterial infections as well. They may even do blood test or some other test to see if you possibly could have cancer or a disease that could be causing symptoms of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.

Once the symptoms and causes are determined, the condition can often be treated or sometimes even cured. If you are suffering from the symptoms of this condition, be sure to consult with your doctor about the best way to test for and treat Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.

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