Diabetes, Cataracts, blood pressure and Mt. Rianier

Sunday 29 March

Manchester.

 

Good Morning!

 

mydiabetes is for patients, family members, friends and healthcare professionals and is about providing support and encouragement to each other along the diabetes journey.  It’s also about sharing our good and sometimes not so good news with each other.

 

The clocks have sprung forward and it’s a beautiful sunny day here in Manchester. The daffodils are in bloom and the trees are showing signs of turning green. The forecast is for settled weather and fingers crossed spring has won its battle with winter. Much like the battle with our health, diabetes, diet exercise etc it’s not always easy and but the spring sunshine tells me to keep going with the battle!

 

How are you getting on with your diabetes this week?

Free blood pressure monitor competition

 

We have some Omron blood pressure monitors which will be sent to members who submit the best poems. Either add your poem to this link or send them by e-mail to poems@mydiabetes.com we will announce the winners next week.

 

Cataract Operation

 

Val has had her first cataract operation (have a look her post)

 

 

Inspirational pictures

 

Alan has shared with us some more stunning photographs

 

 

Useful Links

 

We are in the process of putting together a listing of useful web links and it would be great it you could help by passing on any links or web site addresses that you think might be helpful.

 

http://mydiabetessocialnetwork.ning.com/forum/topics/useful-web-links-please-can

 

Call to action!

 

Our membership is growing rapidly and for the site to be most benefit we need to encourage new members. Other patients, our friends, our family members and healthcare professionals are all welcome. There is an invite page on the site. (The link is here).  It explains how you can send an invite card to the contacts in your e-mail address book.

 

http://mydiabetessocialnetwork.ning.com/main/invitation/new

 

Best wishes and we look forward to seeing you on www.mydiabetes.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The temptation of chocolate

During Lent the Christian tradition is to give something up. This year I’ve given up chocolate. So far so good but it’s getting difficult. I heard that it takes 30 days to establish a habit.  By the time we get to Easter 40 days will have passed and hopefully, for me, so will the temptation of chocolate.

One of the churches in Modena Italy has asked it’s congregation to give up texting on Fridays. The church seems to think that technology has got a hold of its congregation and that giving up texting on Fridays will act as a reminder to the members of the church to rid themselves of the temptations of wealth and material goods. Maybe the Diabetes community could give up television and electronic gadgets once a week and spend the time getting some of that exercise the Diabetes educators constantly remind us all about.

As spring approaches should we take the opportunity to spend a little less time with our televisions and electronic gadgets and get out doors and enjoy the sights, sound and smells of nature a little bit more?

Amanda’s Photographs on our  site www.mydiabetes.com always remind me of how beautiful the outdoors is. http://mydiabetessocialnetwork.ning.com/profile/Amanda28

How are you and your diabetes getting on this week?  Here is the link to our forum where you can share your story. http://mydiabetessocialnetwork.ning.com/forum/topics/how-are-you-and-your-diabetes

Have a great week

Will chocolate tax help with the diabetes epidemic?

I wonder if the Idea of a tax on unhealthy food or "chocolate tax" might help with the diabetes epidemic that is facing the western world.  I've not yet decided however the prospect of McDonald's, Burger King and Waffle House being closed down would not cause me too many sleepless nights.

Courtesy of the BBC www.bbc.co.uk  12 March 2009

Scottish GPs have voted against a proposal for chocolate to be taxed in the same way as alcohol and cigarettes to tackle increasing levels of obesity.

Dr David Walker, a GP in Lanarkshire, warned that chocolate had lost its status as a "treat" and had become a harmful addiction for some people.

However, his motion calling for a tax on chocolate was defeated by two votes at a BMA conference in Clydebank.

He said he was "disappointed" but glad his suggestion had provoked debate.

People have been lulled into a false sense of security about chocolate  Dr David Walker

Speaking after the vote, Dr Walker, who is also a trained food scientist and nutritionist, said: "A little of what you fancy may do you some good, but as nearly one in four people in Scotland are obese a lack of physical activity, an unhealthy diet and larger portion sizes are clearly taking their toll on the health of Scotland.

"Chocolate has lost its status as a special treat and I think that if we charged a tax on it then, over a number of years, we could restore that status."

He had earlier told the BBC news website that obesity was a "mushrooming" problem, and Scotland risked heading the same way as the United States.

He added: "There is an explosion of obesity and the related medical conditions, like type 2 diabetes. I see chocolate as a major player in this, and I think a tax on products containing chocolate could make a real difference."

Dr Walker said that a 225g bag of chocolate sweets contained almost 1,200 calories - almost half the recommended daily calorie intake for a man - and could be eaten incredibly quickly.

I suppose the good doctor has a point but a life without chocolate?

He warned that many people were consuming this amount of chocolate on a daily basis, as well as their normal meals, and were unaware of the harm it was doing.

He said: "There is lots of negative publicity about other fast food and junk food but chocolate is sneaking under the radar.

"People have been lulled into a false sense of security about chocolate.

"I had one patient recently who said to me she thought chocolate was good for you. People are being brainwashed into believing this."

Under Dr Walker's proposal, presented at the annual conference of Scottish Local Medical Committees, revenue raised from taxing chocolate products would be used by the NHS to deal with the health problems caused by obesity.

He also argued that the extra money raised could be spent on increasing and improving sports facilities.

FROM THE TODAY PROGRAMME More from Today programme

Dr Walker said: "After eating a bag of chocolate sweets you would have to walk continuously for three hours to burn off the calories consumed.

"It is simply not enough to say people should get more exercise. They also need to moderate their chocolate intake and this tax would help them do that."

But representatives from the food and drinks manufacturing industry dismissed Dr Walker's suggestion.

Julian Hunt, of the Food and Drink Federation, said: "Introducing regressive taxes on the foods that consumers love would result only in lighter wallets, not smaller waists - particularly as we already have to pay VAT on all our chocolate purchases.

"While good for grabbing headlines, there is no evidence to suggest that such 'fat taxes' would actually work in reality.

"Indeed, when the BMA debated a similar motion in 2003 its members voted against such an idea on the grounds that such a taxation policy would have no effect on obesity, would hit lower income groups hardest and would be a bureaucratic nightmare."

Making your “atmosphere” the right one.

Question: Why is there life on earth and no life on the moon?

Answer: Because of the atmosphere on earth.

Human life needs a specific atmosphere to support it including nitrogen, oxygen, traces of argon and carbon dioxide with some water vapor. We have that kind of atmosphere here on Earth and the moon doesn’t.

We often take the earth’s atmosphere for granted and only really pay attention to it at times of severe weather conditions or natural disasters like hurricanes, droughts and bush fires. Most of the time we go about our day to day lives breathing in the oxygen and drinking the water without giving it too much thought.

Occasionally we may think about the greenhouse effect or global warming.

The Diabetes Atmosphere

Managing our own health and our own lives requires an “atmosphere” too. We need to make and create the kind of surroundings around ourselves the support and encourage each of us much in the same way that oxygen and water help to sustain life on our planet.

Our diabetes “atmosphere” includes the choices we make, the food we eat, the exercise we can take, the advice from our medical professionals, medication where required, our friends, our neighbors, our family members and our community.

We often take our own “atmosphere” for granted and as spring starts this seems like a good opportunity to have a look at the things around us and pay attention to our own diabetes “atmosphere”.

One way may be to talk about the good choices we are making at the moment. For example the changes in diet that we have made so far, the care that we are taking with looking after our feet or even our increasing knowledge of diabetes. Spend a little time appreciating these things because like the oxygen in the air we may sometimes take the good choices and changes we have made for granted. At the same time we might want to think about getting to grips with the things that we have not yet addressed. For example can we move away from choosing those fizzy drinks or the temptation to choose to ignore some of the advice from the nurse educator?

I’m sure that you have many many ideas about your own diabetes “atmosphere” and I look forward to learning all about them.

The purpose of mydiabetes is for patients, family members, friends and healthcare professionals to support and encourage each other along the diabetes journey and to add a little to the “atmosphere”.

Please continue to write about your own experiences, share your stories, swap ideas and pass on the http://www.mydiabetes.com/ details to anybody who you think may be interested.

Members are the "atmosphere" of mydiabetes.com and it was brilliant to learn that this week 20 more members joined our community.

Diabetes Drugs Given Too Soon?

here is an article published on the BBC.co.uk web site today. Interesting for the members of www.mydiabetes.com is the reference to the support of behavioral change amongst the diabetic population.

Diabetes drugs given 'too soon'

One in three people with type 2 diabetes are given medication too soon, instead of being urged to eat better and do more exercise, a study suggests.

A study of 650 people in south west England found 36% were put on tablets within a month of being diagnosed, a Diabetes UK conference heard.

Yet UK guidelines recommend patients should first try to make lifestyle changes to control the condition.

The Royal College of GPs agreed diet and exercise should come first.

More than 400 people a day are diagnosed with type 2 diabetes in the UK.

“ When people are diagnosed, they're ready to make a lot of changes but if you give them a tablet, you're saying it is not their lifestyle that is the problem ” 
Dr Rob Andrew

It is often associated with obesity, and attempts in recent years to screen people for the disease has increased the number of people being diagnosed.

In the latest study, researchers found that in many patients lifestyle management was not given a chance, despite being widely recognised as being the initial first "treatment".

Metformin is the first drug of choice, but more drugs can be added if that is not doing enough to control blood sugar levels.

The researchers found that 13% of participants were actually on two types of tablets within the first few weeks of being diagnosed with type 2 diabetes.

Lifestyle

Study author Dr Rob Andrew, a senior lecturer at the University of Bristol, said they had not expected the figures to be quite so high.

"There is quite clear guidance that says when you're first diagnosed, you should have the opportunity to concentrate on lifestyle then if that doesn't work the next stage is metformin.

"When people are diagnosed, they're ready to make a lot of changes but if you give them a tablet, you're saying it is not their lifestyle that is the problem."

He added that incentive payments to encourage GPs to reduce blood glucose levels in patients with diabetes, a lack of NHS resources for lifestyle support and a cultural attitude that people will not make the necessary changes are probably all to blame.

Simon O'Neill, from Diabetes UK, said they were concerned that in some cases medication seemed to be the first port of call.

"A healthy, balanced diet and doing physical activity should always be the foundation of good diabetes management.

"Type 2 diabetes is a progressive condition - the longer a person has diabetes, the more likely they are to need tablets, and eventually insulin.

"Even if people are on tablets, medication should not simply replace diet and physical activity."

Professor Steve Field, chairman of the Royal College of GPs, said there was probably a case of jumping in too quickly with pills.

"It is a reminder for GPs and nurses managing newly diagnosed diabetes that lifestyle advice is the most important component."

He added that in some areas of the country there was a lack of resources for supporting behavioural changes.

Virus link to type 1 diabetes

Today published in  Diabetoliga and reported on the BBC 

A common virus may be the trigger for the development of many cases of diabetes, particularly in children, UK researchers have reported.

Signs of enteroviruses were found in pancreatic tissue from 60% of children with type 1 diabetes, but in hardly any children without the disease.

They also found that 40% of adults with type 2 diabetes had signs of the infection in insulin-producing cells.

The study published in Diabetologia raises the possibility of a vaccine.

Although genetics is known to play a fairly substantial role in a person's risk of developing diabetes, environmental factors must also be involved and the idea of a viral cause of diabetes has been considered for decades.

Diabetes Time Bomb for England

The Manchester Evening News published this article today about the diabetes "Time Bomb"  in Greater Manchester and the United Kingdom.

The true cause of diabetes is unknown however there are without doubt clear links between Type II diabetes, diet and our sedantary lifestyle.

Here is the article.

A RISING tide of obesity is fuelling an increase in the `time bomb' disease of diabetes.

More than 100,000 people in Greater Manchester have the condition and it is becoming much more common in younger people and even children.

Nationally, the number of newly-diagnosed people has jumped 63 per cent in one decade and experts warn that if the rise continues as predicted, the NHS will not be able to cope.

Dr Martin Gibson, of north west diabetes research network, said: "There is no such thing as `mild' diabetes, it is all very serious. It is crucial to work more on prevention, not just on cure.

"We need better information, better education and better planning to help children live healthier lifestyles, eat better and exercise more."

Experts found the number of men, women and children with Type 1 diabetes, which usually develops in childhood, and Type 2 diabetes, which is linked to obesity, rose dramatically between 1996 and 2005.

'Sad indictment'

In the six years between 1997 and 2003, the number of new cases leaped 74pc, and rose 63pc across the decade.

The figures were based on new and existing cases of Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes recorded by more than 300 GP surgeries. Over the decade, 49,999 people who already had diabetes were registered, along with 42,642 newly-diagnosed.

Of the newly diagnosed, 1,256 had Type 1 diabetes - and 41,386 had Type 2.

In Bolton, 4.5pc of people have the disease, one of the 20 highest rates in the country. 

There are also high levels in Oldham, Rochdale and Wigan and all 10 Greater Manchester health trusts have higher levels than the national average, with 111,294 in total, figures show.

Douglas Smallwood, chief executive of Diabetes UK, said: "This is a sad indictment of the state of the nation's health - we know soaring rates of Type 2 diabetes are linked to the country's expanding waistline.

"It is imperative to raise awareness of the importance of a healthy, balanced diet and doing at least 30 minutes of physical activity a day if we want to defuse the diabetes time bomb."

Diabetes and the UK

BBC Article about the explosion of diabetes in the UK

The UK is seeing an explosion of diabetes linked to growing obesity rates, experts are warning.

From 1997 to 2003 there was a 74% rise in new cases of diabetes.

And by 2005, more than 4% of the population was classed as having diabetes - nearly double the rate of 10 years earlier.

The bulk of cases are type 2 diabetes -which is linked to being overweight or obese - the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health reports.

This research is a sad indictment of the current state of the UK's health  Douglas Smallwood, chief executive of Diabetes UK 'Diabetes makes me cry'

The findings suggest that rates of diabetes are increasing at a faster rate in the UK than they are in the US, where prevalence of the disease is already one of the highest in the world.

Of more than 42,642 people who were newly diagnosed with the disease between 1996 and 2005, just over 1,250 had the "insulin-dependent" type 1 diabetes, and more than 41,000 had later-onset type 2 disease, which is linked to lifestyle.

While the numbers of new cases of type 1 diabetes remained fairly constant over the decade, the numbers of new cases of type 2 diabetes did not.

These shot up from 2.60 to 4.31 cases per 1,000 patient years, equivalent to an increase of 69% over the decade.

The researchers from Spain and Sweden who analysed the data from almost five million medical records say the trends are not due to increased screening or the UK's ageing population, but from rising obesity rates.

'Time bomb'

Over the course of the study, the proportion of patients newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes who were obese increased by a fifth.

The researchers said: "Our results suggest that, although the incidence of diabetes remains lower in the UK than in the USA or Canada, it appears to be increasing at a faster pace."

Tam Fry of the National Obesity Forum said projections suggested the worst was yet to come: "Rates of obesity and diabetes will continue to rise unless we do something urgently."

Douglas Smallwood, chief executive of Diabetes UK, said: "This research is a sad indictment of the current state of the UK's health. Sadly, the statistics are not surprising as we know that the soaring rates of type 2 diabetes, are strongly linked to the country's expanding waistline.

"Research shows that losing weight can reduce the risk of developing type 2 diabetes by 58%. It is imperative that we raise awareness of the importance of eating a healthy, balanced diet and doing at least 30 minutes of physical activity a day if we want to make any headway in defusing the diabetes time bomb."

Professor Alan Maryon-Davis, president of the UK Faculty of Public Health, said: "Early detection and treatment are crucial. We must do whatever we can to find the half-million people who don't know they've got it."

Rates of obesity and diabetes will continue to rise unless we do something urgently  Tam Fry of the National Obesity Forum

There are currently over 2.5 million people with diabetes in the UK and there are more than half a million people with diabetes who have the condition and don't know it.

Type 2 diabetes usually appears in people over the age of 40, however, recently, more children are being diagnosed with the condition, some as young as seven.

Although obesity is a risk factor, not all people with type 2 diabetes are overweight.

According to Diabetes UK, statistics show that over 80% of people diagnosed with type 2 diabetes are overweight.

The NHS is spending £1m an hour - 10% of its yearly budget - treating diabetes and its complications, according to the charity.

A Department of Health spokesperson said the rise in recorded diabetes cases was partly due to improvements in diagnosis, along with rising rates of obesity and an ageing population.

As a result, more people were getting the support, advice and treatment required to prevent or delay complications.

"We are committed to working with the NHS to help prevent people from developing diabetes," the spokesperson added.

Shadow Health Minister Anne Milton said: "We need to see proactive policies which look to reduce obesity rather than policies that simply treat the effects of it."

Rebecca's Story

Rebecca shared with us her story on our social network site mydiabetes.com and I share it with our blog readers this morning.

Rebecca writes;

"My name is Rebecca , I'm 39 and have been type 2 insulin required diabetic since Feb 1988.I have had a lot of up and downs in the past 21 years. But, the most recent is this past year I lost my right leg just below the knee. I had 2 diabetic ulcers caused from a rusty nail I stepped on in 2004. I walked on it for a week before anyone found it. By then it was so black I thought I was going to lose it then. But, with the luck of my doctors the where able to save it for a few years After the infection was out of the sore it healed up. Then December of 2006, I got a little sore on the bottom of the right foot again. We battled with it for 2 years in and out of the hospitals and nursing homes. In May of last year I got down real sick I thought it was the flu here my foot had gangrene in it( I found out later). I went to the doctor and one look he said to the hospital you go. We are removing the foot in the morning. I was so scared I had nobody to talk to except the nurse's on my floor. And of course they where busy. But, one of them did come in after shift and talked to me. After being in the hospital for 2 weeks I went back to the nursing home again for another 4 months for rehab. Now , I am home and I have a prosthetic leg and I can walk again after 2years. And I can even dive into a swimming pool again. They are even getting ready to make me a new leg cause the first one is getting to big."

GMR Heather Stott and www.mydiabetes.com

It was a real pleasure to be interviewed this morning by the ubiquitous Heather Stott about www.mydiabetes.com. 

Prepared to talk about the myths of diabetes, reasons  f0r blood sugar control, the importance of exercise and the challenges of the "healthy diet". I arrived early at the headquarter of the BBC in the center of Manchester. 

The interview lasted all but two minutes and at the very least I managed to explain what diabetes means to most people. Fear, shock, anger, resentment. I also explained that our community has the purpose of letting patients, family members, friends and health care professionals share their stories and provide support and encouragement on the diabetes journey.