It is not a result of diabetes itself; after all, diabetes is a reflection of high levels of glucose in the blood. The problem is, so many things affect blood glucose levels, that whilst your doctor can prescribe, quite properly, drugs or insulin with the appropriate doses, some unusual exercise or skipping a meal, can cause the medication to lower the blood glucose to such an extent, that a “hypo” occurs.

These events are usually mild in nature, and easily rectified with a couple of glucose tablets or a sugary drink with about 15 grams of glucose in it. Generally you should then wait 20 minutes, particularly if you are operating machinery, including a car, and then take your blood glucose level again.

However, one of the side effects of a “hypo” is a slight loss of concentration or intellectual focus. It is therefore a good idea to tell friends and family about your condition, with particular reference as to what to do in the event of a “hypo”.

People will be glad to know and be able to help you if needed. Bear in mind, that although unlikely, the ultimate form of a “hypo” results in a diabetic coma!

It is important that if you become drowsy or unconscious during a hypoglycaemic episode, people do not try and feed you anything, as you may not be able to swallow.

It is also a good idea to carry an emergency kit, consisting of a sugary drink and chocolate or similar. This way you always have something on hand, should you feel the onset of a “hypo”.

In addition, a glucagon injecting kit is a good precaution. Glucagon is a hormone that increases blood glucose levels. The kit will have a syringe with 1 milligram of glucagon, which should be injected into the muscle. Some people are very squeamish when it comes to injections, but it’s a good idea to find someone at those critical places, like work and home, who you can show and depend on them to administer if necessary.

Glucagon takes about an hour to work. If you have none of these things to hand and you are really struggling, have someone dial for the emergency services, who can administer the necessary glucose intravenously.

Many parents’ worst nightmare is to have any type of disease diagnosed for any of their children. Diabetes happens to be one of those conditions where everyone has heard of it but very few actually understand it unless they must live with it on a day to day basis.

Because the news media, doctors or friends and family tend to talk about the “horror stories”, many people just do not realize it is a highly manageable condition with some time, energy and some education. Managing diabetes is like the pieces of a puzzle. Take all the pieces, arrange them in the correct order as if it was a set of building blocks and when finished, the end result yields a complete “design of excellence.”

Because your child’s nutrition habits has now become very important for the rest of their life, learning and finding some safe options for their snacks is of major importance. Every diabetic child has got to be taught the importance of eating well but also eating safe. This is especially true since diabetes is often described as a “silent killer.” This term references the fact high blood sugar levels over time will damage many of their internal organs. The pitfall here is very little to no outward symptoms are recognizable until it is actually too late to reverse the damage.

What Can My Diabetic Child Eat?
This has got to be the scariest line every parent asks their doctor for the first time. Many people believe the doctor is going to say:

• No candy
• No cookies
• No pizza
• No ice cream
• No french fries
• and on and on the list grows in their mind

Every mother is especially sitting there in the doctor’s office trying to determine in her mind how is she ever going to make this transition happen and then how is she going to be able to retain control of her child’s eating habits when he is away.

So some kid-friendly but diabetic safe snacks for the kids can be chosen from some of the following:

• air popped popcorn (with no butter), add spices for seasonings
• graham crackers
• fresh fruit with string cheese sticks
• low fat milk with vanilla wafers
• fresh peanut butter on celery, apple or banana
• low fat frozen yogurt
• baked seasoned tortilla chips with salsa
• low fat cheese cubes on whole wheat cracker
• all fruit jelly or jam with whole wheat crackers/bread
• oven roasted turkey breast on whole wheat bread
• baked tortilla chips with salsa

Give yourself as the parent some time and get some education by utilizing the multitudes of information avenues available to you and soon you will be experienced enough you won’t think twice about what kinds of snacks can my diabetic child eat!

Approximately 30% of people with type 2 diabetes develop some degree of kidney disease, and the same figure applies to patients receiving dialysis treatment.

It used to be thought that people with type 1 diabetes were the group most at risk, but over the years research has found that the chances of developing kidney disease are the same for both type 1 and type 2.

The job of the kidneys is to filter the blood, removing unwanted matter and passing it out of the body in urine. One of the symptoms of diabetes is the need to urinate frequently. This is because the kidneys are filtering out the excess blood glucose that is not being absorbed due to a lack of insulin or insulin resistance.

If you have high blood pressure as well as diabetes, this increases your risk of kidney disease significantly.

Nephropathy is a gradual process and starts with what is called hyperfiltration. As previously mentioned, excess sugar in the blood draws with it water, which the kidneys then filter, resulting in the waste being removed from the body by urination. In the early stages of diabetes, because the amount of glucose is so high, the kidneys have to work hard and they become swollen. This is hyperfiltration.

This can very quickly become what is called microalbuminuria, so fast in fact that some type 2 diabetics will already be at this stage when they are first diagnosed.

Because the kidneys are working so hard, part of the membrane that contains the glomeruli capillaries which do the actual filtration, can become damaged and protein starts to get into the blood.

This can then, in 25-50% of cases, lead to a condition called proteinuria. This is a result of further damage to the kidney membrane, and levels of creatine and urea rise in the blood. When this stage is reached, total kidney failure is likely within 7 years.

The next stage is called advanced clinical nephropathy, which is basically more of the same, but levels of protein, creatine and urea entering the blood are much higher.

Finally, kidneys function at 10-15% of their required level, and kidney failure is imminent. The only options are dialysis or a kidney transplant.

However, all of this can be avoided by controlling blood sugar levels, blood pressure and blood fats. Nephropathy is often caused by personal neglect when diabetes is diagnosed, and is completely avoidable.

Glucose is what gives the body energy, and is absorbed by the cells of the body. Insulin is the gatekeeper to the body’s cells, being the hormone that lets the glucose into the cells. When a person has no insulin, as in type 1 diabetes, no energy is provided to the body.

In type 2 diabetes, the person is “insulin resistant” and needs either drugs to make the insulin the body generates work harder, or extra insulin to allow the glucose to be properly absorbed.

Although your doctor will have prescribed drugs and perhaps insulin to combat high levels of blood sugar, it is not a precise science. Exercising or missing a meal for example can cause your blood sugars to drop dramatically, resulting in a “hypo”.

All people are all different, and diabetes is no exception. However, it is thought that, in general, a blood sugar level of 3.3mmol/l or less is a hypoglycaemic state for most people.

There are two main symptoms of hypoglycaemia; the first affects the brain, reducing intellectual function. These include headaches, fatigue, loss of concentration and visual disorders. Taking it to the extreme, it can result in a diabetic coma.

The second type are those that are due to side effects of hormones such as adrenaline. When glucose levels fall too far, adrenaline is produced to counter the effect. It usually occurs when the fall in blood glucose is rapid. The symptoms include rapid heartbeat, sweating, hunger, apprehension and palpitations of the heart. They can even make people appear drunk to other people, as the ability to think clearly is impaired.

As is so often the case in keeping diabetes under control, whether for short term side effects or the longer term health implications, frequent monitoring of blood sugar levels, maintaining regular exercise and eating habits and understanding your personal symptoms of hypoglycaemia, all combine to prevent “hypos” happening.

The author of this article was put on insulin some 2 years ago, and has been amazed at the general level ignorance as to what this means.

The author, and others like him who are insulin injecting type 2 diabetics, live a very near normal life. OK, we have to inject ourselves regularly but with the advances in insulin means that for many, this is only twice a day, with a special pen device which makes it easy and painless.

Also, although it’s true that a bar of chocolate is not good for you, a small amount is fine, so you don’t have to succumb completely to the food police just because you have diabetes and you’re injecting insulin.

You do however, have to pay very close attention to your blood sugars by regular checking during the day.

Even when you are on insulin, your blood sugars will still vary, depending on any extra exercise that may have been taken that day, or different foods.

However, a hypoglycaemic episode does not kill cells in the brain, another myth that gets trotted out from time to time. It is a fact, that a severe hypoglycaemic episode can have the effect of confusion or impaired clarity of thought, but the body also releases hormones that help the body recover from such an episode, and together with a dose of easily absorbed glucose, the body, and the brain, will recover with no damage or loss of cells!

Some say the diabetes destroys your sense of humour. There is a grain of truth in this.

Apart from the shock of being diagnosed with a chronic disease, the resulting attitude of the patient largely rests with them. One can choose to sink into a pit of despair, and indeed, one of the side effects of diabetes is hypertension, which can lead to stress and depression.

However, there are positives to take from a diagnosis of diabetes, in that given the need to keep to a healthy diet and exercise; it can be the motivation to finally start losing weight and getting fitter.