Unfortunately, not everyone does well in arithmetic or math in school, or may  be educated. This can prove to be a significant stumbling block for proper control of diabetes. Interestingly, much has been said lately about health literacy, being able to read the instructions from a doctor or how to take medications,. Not as much information has been placed on health numeracy, which is the ability to work with basic numbers.

Study Group

Researchers, who published their findings in the September 2009 issue of the journal Diabetes Care, were from Nashville, TN. They studied 398 adults adults who were receiving treatment for type 2 diabetes; 383 were analyzed for the study. To participate in the study, patients had to be African American or white. Sixty-two percent were taking insulin to help manage their diabetes.

The average age was 56 years; the group was split evening, 50/50 between men and women, and 35% of the group was African American. Fifty-six percent of all patients had higher than high school education, 31% less than grade 9 reading level, and 69% had less than a grade 9 numeracy level.

Tasks

The patients were asked to do the different tasks they needed to do to help regulate their blood glucose at home. This included knowing how to read food labels and interpreting them for calories and carbohydrates, as well a keeping of their blood glucose and the amount of insulin they would have to give themselves.

It’s already known that being older may contribute to lower education levels because of the way our society functioned a few generations ago. Lower income areas also have lower education rates and, as a result, this may happen within certain ethnic groups. This is what raised the interest among the researchers.

Special issues for African Americans

Doctors know that many African Americans have difficult-to-control diabetes. Because there are some illnesses that are worse in some races, such as hypertension in African Americans, the researchers wondered if this was the case with diabetes or if there could be other factors that played a role.

By investigating the race (African American and white), ages, education levels, reading levels and math levels, the researchers were able to find that there was a difference between ability to control the blood sugar and education. And, because the white group tended to be more educated, the African Americans, especially older ones, had poor blood sugar control. And, not surprisingly, they had the lowest literacy and numeracy scores.

Why are such studies important? Because if researchers can pinpoint these factors, programs can be developed to address the weaknesses in healthcare delivery. If what is needed is a push for education, then the researchers know where this education may be most important.

It’s no surprise that low literacy skills and low numeracy skills would make it more difficult to manage a chronic disease like diabetes. The trick is to now help work around that.

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Images: PhotoXpress.com, MorgueFile.com

Post from: Blisstree

Arithmetic Ability May Affect Diabetes

Type 1 Diabetes

Type 1 diabetes is different from type 2 – it’s caused by the pancreas’ inability to produce insulin. On the other hand, in type 2 diabetes, the pancreas does produce insulin but either not enough or the body can’t properly use the insulin that’s being produced.

It used to be that type 1 diabetes was called juvenile diabetes and then the name changed to insulin-dependent diabetes. Originally, it was thought that only children developed type 1 diabetes but now we know that people as old as their late 20s can develop it. Then, it was insulin-dependent because insulin is the only treatment for type 1 diabetes. This was changed eventually too, because insulin is sometimes used to treat type 2 diabetes.

Type 2 Diabetes

Type 2 diabetes used to be called adult-onset diabetes and then that name changed to non-insulin dependent. While it was true that mostly adults developed type 2 diabetes, people who were being diagnosed were getting younger and younger. In fact, now teens are developing type 2 diabetes. Non-insulin dependent was also a misnomer. Although people with type 2 diabetes usually start off by taking oral hypoglycemics, or pills to lower blood glucose levels, many end up taking insulin at some point because the medications stop being effective.

Insulin

Insulin is a life saver for people with diabetes. Without it, type 1 diabetics would die. It’s also considered the last resort for people with type 2 diabetes. Many people with type 2 fight being put on insulin because they feel that it means that they’re “really” diabetic, that they’ve failed, or that they’re getting worse.

Now, researchers are saying that insulin may not be a good idea for last resort for type 2 diabetes but, rather, as a first line treatment. Researchers wanted to know if using insulin early in type 2 diabetes could improve blood glucose levels, so they studied patients with type 2 diabetes who had not yet begun treatment for up to three years. The results of the study were published in the most recent onlin issue of Diabetes Care.

The researchers found that although the results (lower blood glucose) were similar between the two groups, more patients (83%) in the insulin group stayed with the treatment than the ones who took only pills (72%).

If the results are similar in terms of blood sugar control, but compliance is better with insulin, researchers suggest that insulin may be the best way to begin managing type 2 diabetes, rather than waiting to use it.

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Image: StockXchng

Post from: Blisstree

Insulin 1st-Line for Type 2 Diabetes?

If you’re diabetic and looking for a few extra bucks (and really, who isn’t in these tough times!?) this side gig may be of interest to you.

This ad on Craigslist says:

We are looking for people with diabetes (Type 1 or 2 diabetes, using a pump (if Type1 diabetes), using a Blood Glucose Meter or a Continuous Glucose Monitoring System or had gestational diabetes). We have a variety of review and content projects.

Our most recent project is the BGM review. You will receive $20 for your first BGM review, and $10 for the following reviews. The maximum is of $50. We pay via check.

More information (website and payment) will be provided once you contact us.

I have no idea if this gig is legit so proceed with caution. I can tell you that I often obtain writing gigs from Craigslist so it isn’t unusual for employers and organizations to post ads there.

If you do participate in this study, please write back and let us know how it went!

Post from: Blisstree

Diabetic Product Reviewers Needed

If you’re Type 2 diabetic, do you test your blood sugar? How frequently?

I talk to many Type 2’s who aren’t very good about testing. While it’s true they don’t need to test as often as Type 1 diabetics, testing provides a guide for how they are doing with control, when they should time their meds, and how stress and exercise affect their blood sugars.

Now a new program is helping Type 2’s manage their blood sugars by using the Internet. The program “gave patients access to the same medical records used by their primary care doctor, as well as the ability to e-mail health care providers. The program also provided feedback on blood sugar readings, a website with educational information on diabetes, and an interactive diary that allowed users to record information on diet, exercise and medications.”

This type of support could make all the difference between out of whack control and good control. That alone could help prevent complications.

Post from: Blisstree

Web-Based Program to Help Type 2 Diabetics

The new rage with diabetic metering is no-code meters. I can’t tell you how many times I forgot to reprogram my meter. I never understood why coding was necessary with digital meters.

Now there is a new meter from Diabetic Care Services and Diabetic Express called the WaveSense Jazz™. “In addition to featuring one of the largest backlit digits for easy reading, WaveSense Jazz is one of the first meters to provide a score for a user’s glycemic variability.”

Glycemic variability is used to show intense fluctuations in blood sugar, and could help with overall control.

No coding and better control? Sounds pretty good to me!

Post from: Blisstree

No Code Meter May Provide Better Glucose Control

Here’s some interesting news. “Diabetic persons spend an average of $11,000 more than persons without diabetes. Preventative programs with a fitness protocol could save the U.S. $20 million on diabetic patients alone.”

Well, that’s true. Much of our costs are in trying to be healthy and maintaining an ideal weight. However, much of the cost diabetics incur is due to things like test strips (so incredibly expensive it’s ridiculous), needles, and of course, insulin. So I’m not sure how much more we’d “save” by losing weight in terms of money.

But, it’s definitely worth it to lose weight and get healthy for EVERY OTHER REASON! Feeling good, avoiding complications, living a good life. And those are things you can’t put a price on!

Post from: Blisstree

Getting Healthy is Priceless

I was having a really bad day yesterday with my diabetes. REALLY bad.

It wasn’t that I ate poorly or failed to exercise, but I still had a hard time controlling my blood sugar. I got up and my blood sugar was 150. I took the proper insulin dosage, didn’t eat any breakfast, and then went to work. A couple hours later I worked out. When I tested after my workout, my blood sugar was 250!

Frustrating. But it didn’t end there. After my workout I was hungry finally, and now my blood sugar is high. I took my insulin, waited, and then ate lunch. A very healthy and sensible lunch. When I tested after that, my blood sugar was 228.

Now here’s the thing. I’m under a lot of stress this week and next. I’ve got a lot on my mind and tons of work to get done. I know that always affects my blood sugar. Besides that, I’m getting sick. Another thing that can send my diabetes up and down.

The problem is, I wonder how many non-diabetics would look at me with my high readings and shake their finger because my blood sugar is high? I wonder how many would be foolish enough to believe that I wasn’t eating right or exercising?

This is one of the most frustrating things about diabetes… that people just don’t get it. And I mean…. DON’T GET IT. It’s not just your average folk, either. It’s nurses, doctors, and other medical professionals and that sometimes treat us poorly because they lump all diabetics into a “brought it on yourself” kind of category.

So…. that’s my bad day. But here’s the thing, with diabetes I’m not allowed to get all down on myself and just give up. It doesn’t work that way. So I will try again tomorrow. I will try again the next time I test my blood and take a shot. I’ll try to do my best, and on days when things aren’t clicking, I’ll try to take it in stride. But I’ll always keep trying. I have to.

Post from: Blisstree

Did You Ever Have a Day Like This?

Since we’re coming up on the holiday season, I thought I’d remind all my fellow diabetics out there to be extra diligent about checking your blood sugar. If you’re anything like me, stress greatly affects your blood sugar.

I was reminded about that this past weekend. We had some sad family news and then I had the added stress of trying to bake, finish Christmas cards, and deal with an extra work project. In trying to “fit it all in” I found my blood sugars somewhat up and down, despite eating and working out the same.

My husband (smart guy that he is) suggested I take a rest. Ease up a bit. Change my attitude about “getting it all done” so that I could change the level of stress. When I did this, my blood sugars were much better.

This is one of the hardest things to try and make people understand about diabetes. That stress affects it. Stress can make it harder to control blood sugars.

I think sometimes when people hear that diabetics “aren’t controlling their blood sugar” that they automatically assume it’s because they aren’t exercising or eating right. But it’s so much more than that.

Post from: Blisstree

Stress and Diabetes