Understanding Diabetes
Tom Rooney ·
Wednesday, November 12, 2008 · Filed Under Health and Fitness · 4 Comments
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Yesterday I posted an article that went into the past few weeks and the notification that I have type 2 diabetes. It covered the symptoms that I felt and what I did about it. For me it was as simple as setting up an appointment with my doctor and having some test that were mainly some blood work and a urine check. That was 5 days ago and I want to give you some information that will definitely help me by coming to grips with this disease and may help someone else.
First and most important, this is a disease, which left untreated can lead to some very harsh outcomes. Now I didn’t catch this like the flu and it’s not a rash that you just put some ointment on and it goes away. I didn’t get this by doing anything foolish like have unprotected sex nor did I contract this from touching a door knob or sitting on a public toilet seat. I got this because my pancreas doesn’t work like it should.
Diabetes comes in 2 types
There is type 1 or as its better known name “juvenile diabetes”. It’s called that because most individuals that have this type are children. They were born with a defect in their pancreas that does not allow insulin to be produced. Because of that they must inject insulin every day. Type 2 diabetes occurs usually in older individuals, comes on gradual and happens when the pancreas does not use the insulin it creates the right way.
What’s the big deal about the pancreas? Well your body needs insulin (a hormone that is manufactured in the pancreas) in order to live. You see insulin is kind of like a traffic cop in your blood stream that directs glucose (made from complex carbohydrates) into body tissue cells. The energy you get from those cells and need to exist, comes from that glucose. When type 2 diabetes sets in, the amount of glucose sent to those cells is dramatically decreased from what used to be allotted. You now have an over abundance of glucose in your blood and that can lead to some very bad complications, like blindness, heart disease and stroke, kidney problems, frequent infections and nerve damage.
Now type 2 diabetes gets some bad press by people thinking that only obese people are the ones that get this, but that’s not entirely true. Yes, weight control is one of the factors for people most likely to get diabetes, but there are other factors as well. Mostly type 2 diabetes is caused by heredity, and increases in likelihood in people over 50, or overweight, or those that may not have an any exercise routine. That means that any one or more of these factors can lead to this disease not necessarily all of them together. Statements such as eating too much sugar causes diabetes is a myth rather than reality.
Take my situation for instance; I am over 50 and not sure if someone in my family was diagnosed with diabetes or not. This goes back to parents, grandparents, cousins, nieces, nephews, etc. I’ve been active most of my life but about 25 pounds overweight according to the BMI scale. I exercise by using a treadmill and also walking in the evenings, so you wouldn’t consider me to be obese and live a sedentary life style. The pancreas in my body is not working the way it should. Sort of like a part that fails on a car only I can’t just run out to a human body store and get a new pancreas.
Now this is permanent and will be with me for the rest of my life, but it doesn’t mean that it’s a death sentence. If I get a lot of information and help from professionals I can live a fairly normal life. What I really need now is for anyone that reads this, is to get a check up for yourself or encourage one for someone you know that has symptoms of:
- Feeling tired
- Frequent infections
- Blurred vision
- Slow healing cuts or sores
- Numbness or tingling in hands or feet
- Dry, itchy skin
- Increased urination
- Problems with sexual function
- Increased hunger and thirst
There are over 6 million Americans that have this disease right now and are undiagnosed. Check out the website of The American Diabetes Association for some additional information or try this book The First Year: Type 2 Diabetes: An Essential Guide for the Newly Diagnosed .
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I Just Found Out I Have Diabetes - What Now?
Tom Rooney ·
Tuesday, November 11, 2008 · Filed Under Health and Fitness · 4 Comments
A few weeks ago I starting to feel a little dizzy while at work and my eyes were giving me some trouble, like pressure behind them, some tearing and a little out of focus. I put this off as a slight change in a blood pressure medicine I just started and figured I would be fine the next day. The next day came and I felt better, so I must have been right and I don’t think I even gave it a second thought. My hubris was short lived because the following day, everything came back with the same systems as before and now a headache too. I felt concerned that something was up, but not scared or worried more a feeling that I needed to check with someone that might know what this was.
Right after lunch I called my doctor for an appointment. The receptionist asked if this was an emergency and I said no, I was just not feeling so great, so they scheduled an appointment for the following Friday. When I got in to my doctor, my head was throbbing and I had that unsteady feeling while on my feet. My doctor asked me what brought me in today and I told him my symptoms. He asked some additional questions about getting up to urinate in the middle of the night and if I was scratching myself anywhere. I said that I was getting up more at night and that my scalp was driving me crazy. My wife and I were raking some leaves over the past weekend and I thought I must have gotten irritated from picking them up. He also asked me if anyone in my family had diabetes. I told him that I wasn’t aware of anyone but I have a rather large family.
He wanted to do some tests first and started with some blood and a urine sample Saturday morning after fasting from midnight. That Tuesday he called and asked me to stop back because the results were in. Now I don’t know about you, but when your doctor calls and asks you to “stop in” the wheels start spinning in your head and you start to think of all sorts of problems. (Doctor’s usually don’t call you back to tell you everything is fine. J ) Rational thinking was gone and now I was going to diagnose myself, by going to different Internet sites. Don’t tell me that I’m the only one that has ever done this either. I must have spent the rest of the day searching and checking before I left for my appointment.
My doctor told me the news as soon as he came into the exam room “Your blood sugar is 145 and I’m pretty certain that you have Type II Diabetes”. “What do you mean I have diabetes?” I said “I don’t eat too many awful things.” Of course my mind races back to Saturday night just a mere 72 hours ago as I was stuffing my pie hole with pizza. He told me that I didn’t do terrible things but that I was in the correct risk group for this disease. I’m a male over 50 years old, a little overweight and my exercise was OK, but I guess I wasn’t pushing myself like I should. He also explained that I was lucky since there are over 6 million Americans that have this disease and go undiagnosed and untreated.
He gave me some booklets to read and explained that my pancreas was not making enough insulin so that excess sugar was being released into my blood cells. When abnormal levels are high they can be related to heart disease, obesity, blindness, and kidney failure and also nerve disease. There is no real cure for this and it is a very serious disease, but it can be controlled and the first step is to do it with diet and exercise.
So today I’m on a 2000 calorie diet with daily exercise in order to lose 20 pounds. The information I got from I know diabetes was a great place to start to find out about diabetes and how to cope with this problem. Within the next few weeks I’ll be devoting some of my blog for the issue that go along with problem and I hope you’ll check back to offer some of your thoughts as well.
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Maintain Your Fitness With Home Gym Fitness Equipment
Tom Rooney ·
Monday, November 10, 2008 · Filed Under Health and Fitness · Comment
The wonderful advancements in technology that are enjoyed in the 21st century, have made many aspects of life much easier to shoulder. The drawback is, with all of these conveniences of modern life there also comes a significant reduction in the physical activity that is necessary to get through a day. Along with all the modern conveniences also comes a reduction in physical activity, making home gym fitness equipment popular for busy people.
Since technology now delivers so much to us with the simple push of a button or two, we are not often called upon to meet heavy physical demands in our regular, daily lives. While there are still many people who do have occupations that have them toiling and sweating, increasingly the average American worker does nothing more strenuous than changing the toner in the copier.
home gym fitness equipment
Having some good home gym equipment can help to offset this sedentary nature that so many people have become accustomed to in the new American lifestyle. This new more stationary and slow-moving lifestyle has lead to a significant increase in obesity, diabetes, heart disease and other health concerns.
With the busy schedules that most people keep, it is increasingly difficult to find the time to escape from the rat-race and get to the gym. As stress escalates, people are inclined to want to stay in the familiar comforting surroundings of their homes, giving rise to the increase in sales of home gym fitness equipment.
A good set up of home gym fitness equipment is one of the best things that a health-conscious person can do for themselves. Unlike the complex commercial fitness equipment that is used by the membership gyms, home gym exercise equipment is generally easier to use, is somewhat more compact to fit into the space requirements of a home, and is usually low maintenance.
home exercise equipment
Some of the newer pieces of home gym fitness equipment on the market have been designed to work the whole body. Home exercise equipment is a great boom to those who would prefer at home fitness routines, because with an investment in just one piece of home exercise equipment, you can address many different areas of your body that need to be toned and tightened.
It is much easier to find a bit of free space in your home for one single item of home exercise equipment as opposed to different units to exercise different body parts. Choosing the right home gym fitness equipment for your needs can often be somewhat bewildering because there are so many choices and so many companies that claim they have the one-and-only best home exercise equipment that you can find.
Things become even more muddled when you turn on the television and see infomercials or shopping channels that pitch the latest and greatest at home fitness device you have ever seen. What is amazing is that almost weekly some new breakthrough in home fitness exercise equipment is promoted, making it difficult for the average person to know what to believe.
fitness home gyms
One way to assure that you end up with the best home gym fitness equipment for your needs, is to seek out the advice of a professional trainer. You can locate trainers either at your local gym or in the phone book and they can provide you with their expertise in helping you to select the better home gyms.
Once you get the equipment installed, the personal trainer can also instruct you in the proper use of the equipment so that you get the most out of your investment.
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