diabetes

Leave a comment Posted on Diabetes, Diet, Multiple Sclerosis, Patient Talk, Rheumatoid arthritis

Organic Food, Health and Diet – what would you recommend?


Organic food - more antioxidants?

Organic food – more antioxidants?

Organic food? Here to stay of a hippie-dippie fad?

Certainly diet is important for a range of medical conditions including rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis and, of course, diabetes!

I have to say that I’ve been following the debate over organic foods for around 20 years and have not yet really made up my mind on the subject.

Why?

Well the information seems to change all the time. That being said I read this article in last months Guardian by Damian Carrington and George Arnett which argues that organic produce is higher in antioxidants. You can read upon the benefits of antioxidants in a previous blog post.

That being said it does seem if sales in organic foods have been dropping over the last few years. Certainly the costs for both producers and consumers are higher than conventional foodstuffs. But this may be more a byproduct of the recession of the last few years.

So what do you think? Are organic foods better for us or do they make no difference.

To gauge the few of our readers we have set up a new poll to find out your thoughts. Please do take part below.

Also it would be great if you could share any more thoughts you may have on diet and health in the comments section below.



Leave a comment Posted on Cardiovascular disease, Diet

Ramadan – Fasting, Diabetes and Health.


Ramadan and Diabetes

Ramadan and Diabetes

Firstly can I send my best wishes to all our readers who will take part in the Ramadan fast which begins on Sunday.

I’d never really considered Ramadan from any but a straight forward religious perspective until a few years back. At the time I was working as a healthcare market researcher. A client gave me a call explaining that she would like to conduct 50 interviews with Muslims who were also diabetic.

“Ah” I said. “I thought that people with medical conditions like diabetes were excused from fasting during Ramadan”

“Not according to my client ” she said.

So I checked and it is possible. Indeed devout diabetics will do so if supported by healthcare professionals. You can read up a bit more about the requirements for diabetics fasting during Ramadan here.

What interests me (and I hope other readers) is how Muslim diabetics deal in a practical way with dealing with fasting during Ramadan. So I’m turning it over to you. What is it like for a diabetic to fast like that? Especially if you lice in, say, the UK with its long summer days. What tips have you got to share with your fellow diabetic Muslims?

Feel free to use the comments box below to share any part of your story which you many think will be of interest to our readers.

Thanks in advance and I hope your fast goes well this Ramadan.


Leave a comment Posted on Diabetes, Patient Talk

Diabetes Week – Find out more about diabetes and some shocking news from the UK.


Diabetes Week 2014

Diabetes Week 2014

As some of you may know this week is diabetes week. An awareness raising week run by Diabetes UK – the countries largest diabetes patient support group. Normally we would , of course , help raise awareness of the event within our reader communities!

However the morning news in the UK was all about some recent research from the British Medical Journal. The recently published paper tells us that over one third of the UK population was at risk of prediabetes. That is that they were close to contracting diabetes type 2 unless action was taken.

We thought therefore that it would be useful to mention a few of the warning signs of prediabetes. If you are concerned that you could be diabetic it is important that you see a healthcare professional as soon as possible.

a) You have a relative who has or has had type two diabetes.
b) You are aged over 4–45. Even earlier if you are of South Asian descent. the news this morning suggested 24.
c) Suffer from obesity ie are carrying too much weight.
d) Have high cholesterol
e) Given birth to a large baby

Have you been diagnosed with diabetes? Why not share your story in the comments box below.

It would also be great if you could share the graphic we have produced to promote Diabetes Week 2014.


4 Comments Posted on Autism, Diabetes, Multiple Sclerosis, Patient Talk

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT). Have you tried it? Does it work? Updated

Oxygen bubbles

Oxygen bubbles

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) (also called hyperbaric medicine) is the use of oxygen at higher than normally found in our atmosphere to treat medical problems.

Developed as a way of treating decompression sickness (otherwise known as “the bends”) in divers.  More recently it is also used to treat gas gangrene and carbon monoxide poisoning.

The basic principle is that the patient is placed in a chamber which provides an atmosphere high in oxygen.  Though in at least one Asian airport you can get an oxygen feed (in a bar as I recall) which claims that it can assist in overcoming your jet lagged.  I’ve tried it and I can’t say it worked.

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy has become fashionable in recent years as a treatment for a number of other conditions but the effectiveness is much disputed.  These include multiple sclerosis, diabetic wounds, intracranial abscesses; necrotizing fasciitis; refractory osteomyelitis; radiation injuries and skin grafts.  It has even been tried on children with autism.

As HBOT is seen as very controversial I felt it would be useful to find out more about our readers views and experiences.  It would be great if you could share the answers to the following questions in the comments box below:-

a)    Have you ever had Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy?

b)    What was your reason for choosing HBOT?  What condition were you hoping to treat?

c)    How successful was the HBOT?

d)    What was the process like?  Where did you receive the treatment?

e)    Would you recommend Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy to others and why?

Thanks very much in advance for sharing!

1 Comment Posted on Diabetes, Patient Talk

Diabetic foot ulcers – treatment and prevention!


Diabetic foot cream

Diabetic foot cream

Welcome to our latest blog post on the subject of diabetes.  This is the first in a series of posts looking at some the complications of faced by diabetics.    You can check out our previous posts on diabetes here.

As with all our blogs we like to encourage our readers to take part in the discussion and share their stories about treatments and successes.  So please feel free to use the comments box below to add anything you think will be of interest to our readers.

The main reason to spotlight foot ulcers that are caused by diabetes is that they can, in some cases, lead to amputation of the foot.

If you or a loved one have any worries at all about a diabetic foot ulcer or indeed a wound on your feet  please see a healthcare professional as soon as possible; as it has been suggested that one in ten diabetics will go on to develop diabetic foot ulcers.  In fact both Type 1 and type 2 diabetics are susceptible to diabetic foot ulcers.

So what is a diabetic foot ulcer and why is it of particular concern to diabetics? 

Clearly foot ulcers can happen to anyone.  That being said the problem here is that the fluctuation of blood sugar levels means that they are considerably harder to heal due to diabetic neuropathy (or nerve pain).  Because neuropathy can lead to deadened pain sensations this in turn means that even very mild injuries can turn into diabetic foot ulcers.

Clearly prevention is the key issue here.  In particular regular inspections of the feet for any signs of injury.  Another suggestion is daily application of a moisturising cream.

As we mentioned above a foot ulcer can lead to amputation or debridement (which is removal of the damaged flesh).  Before that of course antibiotics are often used as well.  Interestingly hyperbaric oxygen therapy can be used to reduce the risk of amputation.

As one of the aims of this post is to help our readers share their experiences of diabetic foot ulcers.  It would be great if you could use the following questions as a guide

  • What kind of diabetes do you have?  How long ago were you diagnosed?
  • Have you ever had a diabetic foot ulcer?
  • How the ulcer was treated and was it successful?
  • Have you used hyperbaric oxygen therapy what was it like?
  • What do you do now to prevent diabetic foot ulcers?

These questions are obviously only a guide so please use the comments boxes below to add any part of your story which you think will be of use to other readers.  Feel free to comment and share advice on other peoples comments.    Any links to other sites would be great as well.