Posts Tagged ‘diabetic testing supply’
Why Are Diabetics Always Tired?
Diabetes is one of the most common diseases today, wreaking havoc on the lives of millions of Americans each year. Fortunately, unlike in previous years, today there are free diabetic testing supplies available to manage the illness to the point where a diabetic can live a pretty much normal life.
Diabetes is often triggered by an insulin deficiency. With such a deficiency, your body is no longer able to store or use glucose. If the body can use it, the only recourse is to hold it in the bloodstream until it can eliminate it. Generally, the kidneys can easily handle excess glucose in the bloodstream by simply filtering it out. But, when the glucose level reaches 180 mg/dl or higher, a tipping point is reached and the kidneys become overloaded and can no longer perform their filtering function. The extra glucose, having nowhere else to go, enters the bloodstream. It’s at this point that diabetes complications usually start to occur.
Generally, because of the excess glucose in their bloodstream, diabetics experiences some common symptoms. One of the more prevalent ones is that they become extremely thirsty and as a result have to urinate a lot. One of the side effects of excess blood glucose it to cause water to be extracted from the blood. The water is then excreted from the body in the form of urine. The loss of water from the blood leads to dehydration and feelings of thirst. Too frequent urination can be a problem because along with the excess glucose, the urine is also carrying out sodium and potassium, important nutrients for the body.
Another symptom that you’ll often hear people with diabetes express is a feeling of fatigue. It’s not surprising because of the effect that glucose has on the body. Normally, the food that people eat is converted into glucose. The insulin in the body then converts the glucose into a fuel source that can be used to power the body. A person with diabetes, however, because they have insulin problems, the glucose in their body can’t be converted to energy. In other words, they have no power – no energy. It’s like putting gasoline into a car where the carburetor or fuel-injector is not working. The car has plenty of fuel, but is unable to convert it into useable form.
One of the symptoms of diabetes for women is an increase in vaginal infections. The reason is that the deficiency in insulin cause glucose level to rise in the blood, including vaginal secretions. Fungi and bacteria love high glucose areas of the body, it’s an excellent food source for them, making it the perfect environment for them to grow.
One of the most devastating facts about this disease is that out of all the people that have it in this country, 50% of them are totally unaware of it. If it’s not treated, it can lead to serious difficulties such as glaucoma, blindness, kidney disease, nerve damage, and more. Of course, if someone is unaware that they have it, they can’t begin treatment. To be tested for diabetes is no longer a big deal. In fact, many doctors include it as part of a normal yearly physical exam. Ignoring a disease that is so easily treated is a mistake that no one should make.
It’s A Shame Not to be Tested For Diabetes
Diabetes is one of the most devastating diseases one can have. But although a growing number of people are diagnosed with it every year. not many people really know what it is. The phrase diabetes mellitus has an intriguing origin. The word “mellitus” comes from a Greek word that means sweet. “Diabetes” is the Greek word for siphon. Somewhere in their history the Ancient Greeks found out that when some people drank a lot, the liquids nearly immediately left their body in the form of urine – just as though it were being siphoned from their bodies.
In addition to the frequent urination, the Greeks noted that the urine from these people had a slightly sweet taste. Hence the phrase “diabetes mellitus” or sweet flavored siphoned liquid. So what were the ancient Greeks doing tasting urine? They used it as a mouthwash, to prevent the formation of cavities. Remember, this was before the name brand mouthwashes that are so popular today.
Diabetes is a slow developing disease. By the time it’s diagnosed, the body has already been going through changes for many years. Together these signs are often known as pre-diabetes. To test for pre-diabetes, you first have to find the blood glucose levels in your bloodstream. You can locate low cost diabetic testing supplies in medical supply houses and drug stores.
Researchers have defined a blood glucose level threshold that defines diabetes. They’ve also defined a glucose level below which a person is considered normal. If your blood glucose levels fall in the middle of these ranges, you will most likely be diagnosed with pre-diabetes.
But just because you have been diagnosed with pre-diabetes doesn’t necessarily mean that you’re doomed to get diabetes. But it does mean that you should begin to watch your lifestyle. Many people after being diagnosed with pre-diabetes make lifestyle changes and never experience diabetes.
Diagnosis of diabetes can be tricky and has changed through the years as science has advanced. A diagnosis of diabetes means that you have a high percentage of glucose in the bloodstream. The percentage of sugar that experts recognize as diabetes has been continually lowered throughout the years. Today, the American Diabetes Association has set the threshold to be a blood glucose level of 200 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dl) when the patient is given the Oral Glucose Tolerance Test.
But one test is not conclusive. In order to be 100% that a person has diabetes, that person will need to have multiple tests. That’s because a diabetes test can give you a false positive.
A lot of of the problems caused by diabetes is the result of the body being unable to process the glucose that’s in the bloodstream. If the body is unable to process glucose, the cells can’t get nutrients. As a result, the person will usually feel tired or listless. The reason for the body being unable to process glucose is often a deficit of insulin in the body.
Insulin is the magic hormone that breaks down glucose into glycogen, a form of fuel that can be stored in the body as fat and used when needed. Insulin also is the magical chemical that changes the structure of the body’s cells so that they can accept nutrients.