Brian May Reveals He Suffered A Small Heart Attack
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Delaying medical attention can lead to permanent disability or death once you’ve had a heart attack. Unfortunately, it’s not always obvious you’ve had one. Here are the warning signs of a ‘silent’ heart attack.
This type of myocardial infarction is more likely to happen to those who have type 2 diabetes.
Reasons being, diabetics those who have to monitor their blood sugar levels are prone to neuropathy.
Neuropathy is damage to the nerve cells, caused by excess levels of glucose in the bloodstream.
How Does Hyperglycemia Happen
Insulin is a hormone that lets your body use the sugar in your blood, which comes primarily from carbohydrates in the food that you eat. Hyperglycemia happens when your body has too little insulin to use the sugar in your blood.
People with type 1 diabetes can have episodes of hyperglycemia every day. Although this can be frustrating, it rarely creates a medical emergency. Not taking enough insulin can lead to hyperglycemia .
Other things that can cause hyperglycemia include:
- Caffeine
- Having trouble seeing or concentrating
- Experiencing stomach pain, nausea, or vomiting
- Having sweet-smelling or fruity breath
- Cuts or sores that do not heal, infections, and unexplained weight loss may also be signs of long-term hyperglycemia.
If you notice any of these symptoms, you should check your blood sugar. If your blood sugar is very high, you should also test for ketones in either your blood or urine.
Planning For Sick Days
Your diabetes management plan will help you know what to do when you’re sick. The plan might tell you:
- how to check your blood glucose levels and ketones when you’re sick
- which medicines are OK to take
- what changes you might make to your food and drink and diabetes medicines
- when to call your doctor
Also, people with diabetes should get the pneumococcal vaccine, which protects against some serious infections. You also should get a flu vaccine every year. These vaccines may help cut down the number of sick days you have and keep your diabetes under better control.
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When To Call A Professional
If you have type 1 diabetes and feel unwell, check your blood sugar levels often. Also test your urine for ketones. Call your doctor if you have:
- Unexplained nausea and vomiting with or without abdominal pain,
- Moderate or high levels of urine ketones, or
- Your blood sugar is high and you can’t lower it by adjusting your insulin dose.
Is Diabetes Causing My Nausea
Nausea comes in many forms. Sometimes it can be mild and short-lived. Other times, it can be severe and last for a long time. For people with diabetes, nausea is a common complaint. It can even be a sign of a life-threatening condition that requires swift medical attention.
Factors related to your diabetes may cause you to feel nausea.
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What Causes People With Diabetes To Get Diarrhea
The cause for the connection between diabetes and diarrhea isnt clear, but research suggests that neuropathy may be a factor. Neuropathy refers to numbness or pain resulting from nerve damage. If you have diabetes, high blood sugar levels can damage your nerve fibers. This generally occurs in the hands or feet. Issues with neuropathy are common causes for many of the complications that accompany diabetes.
Another possible cause is sorbitol. People often use this sweetener in diabetic foods. Sorbitol has proven to be a potent laxative in amounts as small as 10 grams.
An imbalance in your enteric nervous system can also cause diarrhea. Your ENS regulates the functions of your gastrointestinal system.
Researchers have also looked at the following possibilities:
- bacterial overgrowth
- fecal incontinence resulting from anorectal dysfunction
- Celiac disease
Management Of Refractory Dgp
Unfortunately, many patients with DGP will not experience adequate symptom relief despite education, dietary manipulation, and the use of prokinetic and antiemetic drugs. Thus far, there is no consensus on the proper treatment of patients with refractory disease. The therapeutic options available for these patients include combination prokinetic therapy, psychotropic medications, pyloric botulinum toxin injection, and gastric electric stimulation. Combination prokinetic therapy would involve agents that act via different mechanisms to enhance gastric emptying however, it should be noted that combination therapy has not been specifically studied for gastroparesis of any etiology. In a subset of patients with severe nonmedically responsive gastroparesis, feeding tubes or surgical interventions might be considered.
The efficacy does not appear to differ between tricyclic preparations. The key to this treatment approach is to go slow and low. The starting dose is usually 10 mg, taken 2 hours before bedtime. If the patient tolerates this dose, it can be progressively increased up to 50 to 100 mg. The low-dose tricyclics are usually well-tolerated, although excessive sedation and dry mouth occasionally limit its use. If these events occur, it may be helpful to switch to nortriptyline or desipramine, which are thought to have a lower incidence of adverse events.
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How To Treat A Low Blood Sugar Level Yourself
Follow these steps if your blood sugar level is less than 4mmol/L or you have hypo symptoms:
You do not usually need to get medical help once you’re feeling better if you only have a few hypos.
But tell your diabetes team if you keep having hypos or if you stop having symptoms when your blood sugar level is low.
What Does Diabetes Do To The Kidneys
With diabetes, the small blood vessels in the body are injured. When the blood vessels in the kidneys are injured, your kidneys cannot clean your blood properly. Your body will retain more water and salt than it should, which can result in weight gain and ankle swelling. You may have protein in your urine. Also, waste materials will build up in your blood.
Diabetes also may cause damage to nerves in your body. This can cause difficulty in emptying your bladder. The pressure resulting from your full bladder can back up and injure the kidneys. Also, if urine remains in your bladder for a long time, you can develop an infection from the rapid growth of bacteria in urine that has a high sugar level.
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My Sons Pump Malfunctioned Last Night In The Middle Of The Night And We Dont Know Exactly How Long He Was Not Receiving His Insulin He Woke Up With A High Glucose And An Episode Of Vomiting Being On Vacation We Did Not Have Ketostix But The Smell Of His Breath Gave Evidence To His High Ketones We Immediately Bolused Him Via Injection And Changed His Site We Continued Frequent Blood Sugar Checks And Started Pushing Fluids The Vomiting Continued For Two More Episodes And His Blood Sugar Finally Started Coming Down So He Stopped Vomiting And Was Able To Keep Fluids Down We Were With Extended Family Who Of Course Had Questions One Of The Questions Waswhy Do High Blood Sugars And Ketones Cause Vomiting I Realized That Even After Dealing With My Sons Illness For Eight Years And Working As An Icu Nurse And Treating Dka In Patients I Dont Know The Pathophysiology Of This Process My Guess Is It Has Something To Do With The Metabolic Changes And The Changeover To An Acid State In The Blood I Really Dont Know And I Cant Find The Answer Anywhere On The Net I Appreciate Any Information And Please Be As Technical As Youd Like
Answer:
First of all, a big thumbs-up to you for managing this degree of probable DKA in a levelheaded and successful way. But.a big thumbs down for traveling without ketone strips or back-up insulin . I preach that if you have a pump, then there should be some insulin glargine available in case of pump malfunction/misbehavior. I presume you travel with your emergency glucagon kit? All these things should be together.
Your question, somewhat surprisingly to me, is not uncommon. Why do those pesky ketones come about and why do they cause vomiting? They come about because with lack of insulin , the body metabolism switches to alternative energy sources and this means the breakdown of fat! Fat, as you know, is stored energy. But some of the consequences of fat breakdown include the production of acetone, beta-hydroxy-butyrate, and acetoacetate. Together, these chemicals are called ketones and thus leads to ketosis. Also, fat break down and lack of insulin leads to the accumulation of fatty acids and other acids which leads to the acidosis. The ketosis essentially always precedes the acidosis, but when both do occur, that is ketoacidosis. And, if diabetes is the underlying cause, that is Diabetic KetoAcidosis or DKA.
So, lessened learned for you, your family, and your son. Always have a back-up plan for potential pump failure. DKA can occur extremely rapidly if using an insulin pump and the pump fails as you just learned.
Diabetic Gastroparesis Causes Serious Abdominal Discomfort
It could be that you are one of the estimated 25-55% individuals with type 1 diabetics or the one-in-three people who have type 2 diabetes and experience symptoms of gastroparesis for which there isnt yet an effective treatment targeted to improve this gastrointestinal condition.3
Lets gain some perspective on the management of this gastrointestinal condition thats further complicated by the presence of diabetes. Patients who sought out Mahdusudan Grover, MD, an assistant professor of medicine and a gastroenterologist at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, hoping to gain relief from gastroparesis had only one option: metoclopramide , the only drug approved to help patients with the condition but it comes with serious potential side effects and black box warnings.
Dr. Grover explains that the procedure involves removing a part of the stomach called the pylorus to help the stomach empty into the intestines more easily. Unfortunately, he says its too soon to know which patients may benefit the most by having the operation.
However, there is an endoscopic procedure, called EndoFLIP, which can determine if there is problem with the way the pylorus is working, and by gathering this information, it will narrow the possibility to those patients who clearly have poor pyloric function.
Still, Dr. Camilleri says that the surgery looks promising and is largely safe, making it an encouraging option for those whose Endo-FLIP examinations show some pyloric dysfunction.
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Pre Diabetes Symptoms Trio Tingling Nausea And Dizziness
Pre diabetes is not necessarily a condition on its own. It is more a signal of a problem that demands immediate attention. It is a precursor in many cases to a diagnosis of diabetes. However, unlike most medical conditions, pre diabetes serves as an early warning system to a potential medical condition. It is a sign that some changes need to be made in order to prevent a future diagnosis of diabetes. It really can be considered a blessing because it provides people an opportunity to change their lifestyle quickly and severely and potentially delay or even stop the development of full blown diabetes. Few diseases provide this early window, and unfortunately some people miss it entirely and receive a diagnosis of diabetes before realizing that while their blood sugar was above 100 mg/dL to 125 mg/dL, they may have had an opportunity to stop the diseases progression. This is often because pre diabetes symptoms can be rationalized, dismissed or missed entirely.
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Treatment Options For Diabetic Gastroparesis
The principal goals for the treatment of gastroparesis are to correct fluid, electrolyte, and nutritional deficiencies, to reduce symptoms, and to identify and rectify the underlying cause of gastroparesis, if possible. This latter goal should be emphasized in clinical practice. Prior to any intervention, the underlying mechanism that may exacerbate an already existing gastroparesis should be managed, and clinicians should be aware that certain medications might exacerbate gastric emptying abnormalities, including H2 receptor antagonists, proton pump inhibitors, antihistamines, opioids, tricyclic antidepressants, benzodiazepines, and calcium channel blockers. In the case of diabetic gastroparesis , optimum glycemic control should be achieved, and repeated fluctuations in glucose levels avoided because gastric emptying is extremely sensitive to changes in the serum glucose levels.,
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What Are The Late Signs Of Kidney Disease In Patients With Diabetes
As your kidneys fail, your blood urea nitrogen levels will rise as well as the level of creatinine in your blood. You may also experience nausea, vomiting, a loss of appetite, weakness, increasing fatigue, itching, muscle cramps and anemia . You may find you need less insulin. This is because diseased kidneys cause less breakdown of insulin. If you develop any of these signs, call your doctor.
Signs And Symptoms Of Low Blood Sugar
Each person’s reaction to low blood sugar is different. Learn your own signs and symptoms of when your blood sugar is low. Taking time to write these symptoms down may help you learn your own symptoms of when your blood sugar is low. From milder, more common indicators to most severe, signs and symptoms of low blood sugar include:
- Feeling shaky
- Color draining from the skin
- Feeling sleepy
- Feeling weak or having no energy
- Blurred/impaired vision
- Tingling or numbness in the lips, tongue or cheeks
- Headaches
- Nightmares or crying out during sleep
- Seizures
The only sure way to know whether you are experiencing low blood sugar is to check your blood sugar, if possible. If you are experiencing symptoms and you are unable to check your blood sugar for any reason, treat the hypoglycemia.
A low blood sugar level triggers the release of epinephrine , the fight-or-flight hormone. Epinephrine is what can cause the symptoms of hypoglycemia such as thumping heart, sweating, tingling and anxiety.
If the blood sugar level continues to drop, the brain does not get enough glucose and stops functioning as it should. This can lead to blurred vision, difficulty concentrating, confused thinking, slurred speech, numbness, and drowsiness. If blood sugar stays low for too long, starving the brain of glucose, it may lead to seizures, coma and very rarely death.
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How To Test For Ketones
You can use a urine test strip or blood ketone meter and ketone test strip to test for ketones at home. Testing either urine or blood is important, but when possible, a blood test is preferred because it gives you and your care team more precise information about your ketone levels. Because urine may have been in the bladder for some time, the results from these tests may show levels that are either higher or lower than the ketone levels that are actually circulating in your body. It is also very important to know that urine test trips degrade over time, so if you are using this method, you need to look at expiration dates carefully.
Your diabetes care team can give you specific directions about when you should check for ketones, but in general, you should check for them when your blood glucose is 240 mg/dL or higher. You should also check for ketones if you notice any of the DKA symptoms listed above or if you are sick it is possible to have ketones while your blood glucose levels are within range .
At-home urine test strips will change color to show the level of ketones in the urine. They typically report results as negative, trace, small, moderate or large. Blood ketone meters will provide a number that indicates the ketone levels. The following ranges are generally used:
What Is Type 1 Diabetes In Children
Diabetes is a condition in which the body can’t make enough insulin, or can’t use insulin normally. Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disorder. The body’s immune system damages the cells in the pancreas that make insulin. Insulin is a hormone. It helps sugar in the blood get into cells of the body to be used as fuel. When glucose cant enter the cells, it builds up in the blood. This is called high blood sugar . High blood sugar can cause problems all over the body. It can damage blood vessels and nerves. It can harm the eyes, kidneys, and heart. It can also cause symptoms such as tiredness.
Type 1 diabetes mellitus is a long-term condition. It may start at any age. Insulin from the pancreas must be replaced with insulin injections or an insulin pump.
There are two forms of type 1 diabetes:
- Immune-mediated diabetes. This is an autoimmune disorder in which the body’s immune system damages the cells in the pancreas that make insulin. This is the most common kind of type 1 diabetes.
- Idiopathic type 1. This refers to rare forms of the disease with no known cause.
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A Low Blood Sugar Level And Driving
You may still be allowed to drive if you have diabetes or you’re at risk of a low blood sugar level for another reason, but you’ll need to do things to reduce the chance of this happening while you’re driving.
You also need to tell the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency and your car insurance company about your condition.
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