Reduce Your Risk of Nerve Pain and Damage From Diabetes

If you have diabetes, chances are good that you already have some form of nerve pain or nerve damage, called diabetic neuropathy. “People with diabetes have about a 60% chance of getting neuropathy of any kind,” says Dace L. Trence, MD, an endocrinologist and director of the Diabetes Care Center at the University of Washington Medical Center in Seattle. “It’s probably an equal risk of getting neuropathy with type 1 and type 2 diabetes.”

You may have tingling, pain, or numbness in your feet and hands — common signs of the diabetic nerve damage called peripheral neuropathy. Or you may have damage to the nerves that send signals to your heart, stomach, bladder, or sex organs, called autonomic neuropathy. Nerve damage can also be “silent,” meaning you have no symptoms at all.

Sometimes, nerve damage starts even before a person is diagnosed with diabetes, Trance tells WebMD. “Even somebody with prediabetes may have neuropathy,” she says. As many as 79 million Americans have prediabetes — a condition where blood sugar levels are abnormally high, but not high enough to qualify as diabetes — says the American Diabetes Association (ADA). Add to that the nearly 26 million Americans already coping with full diabetes, and you can see how common nerve pain may be.

The good news? Many of the risk factors for diabetic neuropathy are under your control. So while you may not be able to prevent nerve pain and damage completely, you may be able to help slow it down. You can reduce your risk of nerve damage and other diabetes complications by keeping your blood sugars under tight control, says the National Diabetes Information Clearinghouse (NDIC).

Trence agrees. “The better the blood sugar control,” she says, “the less likely neuropathy is to progress.” A healthy lifestyle helps lower your risk of heart disease, stroke, and other diabetes complications, as well. So know your risk for complications, and work to control the ones you can control.

Are You at Risk for Diabetic Neuropathy?

Reduce Your Risk of Nerve Pain and Damage From Diabetes | GoldenEraMart Health Junction

12 Possible Heart Symptoms Never to Ignore

Why is heart disease so deadly? One reason is that many people are slow to seek help when symptoms arise. Yes, someone gripped by sudden chest pain probably knows to call 911. But heart symptoms aren’t always intense or obvious, and they vary from person to person and according to gender.

Because it can be hard to make sense of heart symptoms, doctors warn against ignoring possible warning signs, toughing them out, waiting to see if they go away, or being quick to blame them on heartburn, muscle soreness, or other less serious, noncardiac causes. That’s especially true for men and people over 65, as well as for people with other cardiac risk factors, such as high cholesterol or blood pressure, obesity, smoking, diabetes, or a family history of heart disease.

“The more risk factors you have, the higher the likelihood that a symptom means something is going on with your heart,” says David Frid, MD, a cardiologist at the Cleveland Clinic. “People often don’t want to admit that they’re old enough or sick enough to have heart trouble. Putting off treatment for other medical problems might not be so bad, but a serious heart problem can mean sudden death. It’s better to go in and get it evaluated than to be dead.” Full article.

Truth About Juices | GoldenEraMart Health Junction

 

 Juice Wars: What’s In Your Glass?

Who doesn’t enjoy a tall, cool glass of juice? The color is vibrant, the taste sweet, and it’s good for you, too. Not so fast, say some dietitians. Although the best kinds of juice deliver a bounty of vitamins, the worst are hardly better than liquid candy. WebMD helps you spot the difference.

Truth About Juices | GoldenEraMart Health Junction

Tips for Good Cholesterol | GoldenEraMart Health Junction

Facts About “Good” Cholesterol

• HDL cholesterol normally makes up 20%-30% of your total blood cholesterol.
• There is evidence that HDL helps protect against the accumulation of plaques (fatty deposits) in the walls of coronary arteries.
• Research suggests that a five-point drop in HDL cholesterol is linked to a 25% increase in heart disease risk.
• In prospective studies — that is, studies that follow participants for a period of time to watch for events like heart attacks or death from heart disease — HDL usually proves to be the lipid risk factor most linked to heart disease risk.
• HDL cholesterol levels are thought to be impacted by genetics.
• Women typically have higher HDL cholesterol levels than men. About a third of men and about a fifth of women have HDL levels below 40 mg/dL. Doctors consider levels of less than 40 mg/dL to be low. Read complete article

Tips for Good Cholesterol | GoldenEraMart Health Junction

High Blood Pressure and Hypertensive Crisis | GoldenEraMart Health Junction

 Hypertensive crisis is an umbrella term for hypertensive urgency and hypertensive emergency. These two conditions occur when blood pressure becomes very high, possibly causing organ damage.

High Blood Pressure and Hypertensive Crisis | GoldenEraMart Health Junction

How Diabetes Affects Men | GoldenEraMart Health Junction

The rates of diabetes have dramatically increased in all states.  
Twenty-six million children and adults in the United States — 8% of the population — have diabetes.
The risk for type 2 diabetes typically increases with age. In the absence of risks, testing should begin after age 45. One of the biggest jumps in type 2 diabetes was among men.
The risk factors for type 2 diabetes include: Read complete article.

How Diabetes Affects Men | GoldenEraMart Health Junction

Myths and Facts About Your Bladder | GoldenEraMart Health Junction

 

Some people blame a small bladder for frequent leaks, but your body’s normal “capacity” is rarely the true cause of a life-disrupting problem. In healthy people, that capacity ranges from 1 to 2 cups. The real culprit is more likely to be weak muscles, medication side effects, infection, or nerve damage — and effective treatments are available. Myths and Facts About Your Bladder | GoldenEraMart Health Junction