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Treatment and Support

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Diabetic Feet

If you have diabetes, here’s a way to keep standing on your own two feet: check them every day—even if they feel fine—and see your doctor if you have a cut or blister that won’t heal. There’s a lot to manage if you have diabetes: checking your blood sugar, making healthy food, finding time to be active, taking medicines, going to doctor’s appointments. With all that, your feet might be the last thing on your mind. But daily care is one of the best ways to prevent foot complications.

About half of all people with diabetes have some kind of nerve damage. You can have nerve damage in any part of your body, but nerves in your feet and legs are most often affected. Nerve damage can cause you to lose feeling in your feet.

Feeling No Pain

Some people with nerve damage have numbness, tingling, or pain, but others have no symptoms. Nerve damage can also lower your ability to feel pain, heat, or cold.

Living without pain sounds pretty good, but it comes at a high cost. Pain is the body’s way of telling you something’s wrong so you can take care of yourself. If you don’t feel pain in your feet, you may not notice a cut, blister, sore, or other problem. Small problems can become serious if they aren’t treated early.

Learn More About Diabetic Feet HERE

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Diabetic Hands

Diabetes mellitus is associated with a variety of musculoskeletal (MSK) manifestations affecting the hand, which can significantly affect a patient’s quality of life. While a great deal of attention is paid to the chronic microvascular complications of diabetes, the MSK complications are often ignored in clinical practice. It is important to diagnose them as their presence has been found to correlate with chronic microvascular complications of diabetes especially retinopathy. We describe a case of a young male with long-standing type 1 diabetes mellitus and chronic microvascular complications, who presented to us with several manifestations of diabetic hand syndrome.

Diabetes mellitus is associated with a constellation of debilitating musculoskeletal (MSK) disorders affecting hand, commonly referred to as diabetic hand syndrome. These include limited joint mobility (LJM) (also known as diabetic cheiroarthropathy), Dupuytren’s contracture, stenosing tenosynovitis (trigger finger), carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS), Charcot neuroarthropathy, reflex sympathetic dystrophy and a variety of hand infections which these individuals are predisposed to [1-3]. Timely recognition of these conditions not only helps in instituting proper treatment to decrease morbidity and disability, but also aids in early identification of vascular complications of diabetes which are found to be related to hand symptoms. 

Learn More About Diabetic Hands Here

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Clinical Trials

Insulin Pumps

What are clinical trials for diabetes?

Clinical trials are part of clinical research and at the heart of all medical advances. Clinical trials look at new ways to prevent, detect, or treat disease.

Researchers also use clinical trials to look at other aspects of care, such as improving the quality of life for people with chronic illnesses. Find out if clinical trials are right for you.

Watch a video of NIDDK Director Dr. Griffin P. Rodgers explaining the importance of participating in clinical trials.

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Insulin Pump

An insulin pump is about the size of a small cell phone. It gives you a basal dose of short- or rapid-acting insulin per hour. When you eat or when blood sugar is high, you calculate the dose, and the insulin in the pump delivers the bolus.The pump delivers insulin through a thin plastic tube placed semi-permanently into the fatty layer under your skin, usually in the stomach area or back of the upper arm. Your doctor or health education specialist will show you how and where to place the tube.

Advantages of insulin pumps

  • Have been shown to improve A1C.

  • Deliver insulin more accurately.

  • Deliver bolus insulin easier.

  • Eliminate unpredictable effects of intermediate- or long-acting insulin.

  • Provide greater flexibility with meals, exercise, and daily schedule.

  • Can improve physical and psychological well-being.

Disadvantages of insulin pumps

  • May cause weight gain.

  • Can be expensive.

  • May cause infection.

  • May cause diabetic ketoacidosis (very high blood sugar) if the system is stopped or stops working correctly.

  • Can be a constant reminder of having diabetes.

  • Training is necessary.

Make sure to talk to your doctor and diabetes educator when your lifestyle or needs change. They will know about the latest devices and have tips to make taking insulin and all aspects of diabetes easier to manage. Need help finding a diabetes educator? Find a diabetes education program in your area.

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Your Pharmacist

November is Diabetes awareness month, and it is the perfect time to review the key role that pharmacists play in helping patients manage this chronic condition.

 

Diabetes has widespread effects, especially in the United States, with 11.3% of those 20 and older having type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM). And this percentage is growing. For every 4 people who have type 2 DM, about 1 is undiagnosed. Some of the factors that put a person at risk for diabetes include a family history of the disease, obesity, physical inactivity, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol. Pharmacists are in a prime position to identify these and other risk factors in patients. However, not all patients have textbook presentations.

 

The disease can sometimes go undetected and without symptoms until it reaches an emergency state. This is particularly true in patients who do not receive routine medical care or have an established relationship with a primary-care physician. Routine and simple tests such as blood glucose testing conducted at health fairs and wellness clinics at pharmacies across the country are an example of how a simple test conducted in the pharmacy or by the pharmacy team may provide an efficient method for identifying a patient with a potential diagnosis and help direct them to appropriate medical attention.

 

Because pharmacists are the most accessible health care providers, they are key players in the betterment of patients’ health, not just in terms of screening but in the lifelong management of the disease. For those who are diagnosed, pharmacists are able to provide counseling about monitoring glucose levels and how to manage out-of-range levels, including developing an action plan for what to do if sugar levels go too low. Pharmacist can help patients select the most appropriate hypoglycemic management strategy on an individual basis. Pharmacists can counsel on an appropriate diet and exercise routine to compliment medication management in treating diabetes. This can be especially useful in underserved areas where access to nutritionists or dieticians may be unavailable. The number of treatment options for diabetes has increased substantially over the past few years, and pharmacists are best positioned to help patients understand the fundamentals and intricacies regarding the medication as well as helping them understand which medications may be best suited for them. Pharmacists can also help guide patients through the management of adverse effects, knowing when and how to treat these so that therapy can be continued and when it might be better to switch to an alternative treatment regimen. For patients requiring insulin, the pharmacist can help instruct the patient on how to administer the medication, as well as answer common questions and concerns.

 

With prompt diagnosis, proper lifestyle changes, and appropriate pharmacotherapy, patients can minimize and/or delay the complications that uncontrolled diabetes can cause. Integrating simple ways to ensure that pharmacists follow up with diabetic patients, not just when new medications are prescribed but at each and every refill, can help improve the health and quality of life for these patients and make every month, not just November, one where they are aware of, understand, and are invested in the best possible management of the disease.

Source: pharmacytimes.com

 

This article was co-written by Lauren Speakman, PharmD candidate at the Harrison School of Pharmacy at Auburn (Alabama) University.

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Your Diabetes Care Schedule

There’s a lot to do to manage diabetes. Starting with daily care you do yourself, to lab tests and visits with your health care team, all are important for diabetes management.

Use this list to stay on schedule with self-checks, exams, and appointments throughout the year.

Got questions about everyday diabetes care? Ask your doctor about a referral for diabetes self-management education and support (DSMES) services. If you already have a referral, find a diabetes care and education specialist.

Every Day

  • Blood sugar checks
    Check up to several times a day as directed by your doctor. Keep a record of your numbers and share with your health care team during your next visit.

  • Foot check
    Use a mirror if you can’t see the bottom of your feet or ask a family member for help. Let your doctor know immediately if you have any cuts, redness, swelling, sores, blisters, corns, calluses, or other change to the skin or nails.

  • Diabetes medicines
    Take the amount prescribed by your doctor, even when you feel good.

  • Physical activity
    Get at least 150 minutes a week of moderate activity, such as brisk walking or riding a bike.

  • Healthy eating
    Eat healthy foods that give you the nutrition you need and help your blood sugar stay in your target range.

Every 3 Months

  • A1C test
    If your treatment has changed or if you’re having trouble meeting your blood sugar goals, have this test every 3 months.

  • Doctor visit
    If you’re having trouble meeting your treatment goals, visit your doctor every 3 months. Your blood pressure and weight will be checked, and your self-care plan and medicines will be reviewed. Ask your doctor to check your feet if you’ve ever had diabetes-related foot problems.

Every 6 Months

  • Dental exam
    Get your teeth and gums cleaned at least once a year (more often if your doctor recommends), and let your dentist know that you have diabetes.

  • A1C test
    If you’re meeting your treatment and blood sugar goals, have this test every 6 months.

  • Doctor visit
    If you’re meeting your treatment goals, visit your doctor every 6 months. Your blood pressure and weight will be checked, and your self-care plan and medicines will be reviewed. Ask your doctor to check your feet if you’ve ever had diabetes-related foot problems.

Every Year

Learn More HERE

Source: cdc.gov

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Diabetes Emergency Kit 

As we’re living through a global pandemic and various natural disasters, emergency preparedness has taken on a whole new significance. While emergency situations are stressful and challenging for anyone, they can be potentially life-threatening to a person with a chronic medical disease such as diabetes.  

Diabetic symptoms can occur anytime, and if you or a loved one has hypoglycemia or other insulin reactions, your symptoms can quickly become severe, causing you to faint, go in shock, or even lead to dangerous health problems. That’s why advance preparation is a key defense for chronic disease management during emergencies.  

​Whether an unexpected natural disaster occurs such as a blizzard, hurricane, flood, earthquake, fire, tornado, or an unforeseen situation of dealing with an auto breakdown, having an emergency diabetes kit can save your life.

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