U.S. FDA OKs New Drug for Diabetes

A new type of diabetes drug that helps the body control blood sugar won U.S.
Food and Drug Administration approval, the agency said on Tuesday. Merck &
Co. Inc.'s oral diabetes drug Januvia, generically known as sitagliptin, is
the first in a new class of drugs that aims to treat the disease with fewer
side effects. The FDA approved the once-a-day drug to treat type 2 diabetes,
which affects the majority of the nearly 21 million Americans with the
disease.

Learn more>>

U.S. FDA OKs New Merck Drug for Diabetes

New website

I made a new website it is mainly for my granddaughter she is one year old.  She has severe allergies. Buying food she can eat is a pain at times.  Especially around the holidays, birthdays and such.  Many have seen the website already, and they really like the setup.  I hope you do too.  There are many pictures of my granddaughter, on the website and even a slide show for you to view.  I hope you enjoy it.   Post any comments you have here, let me know what you think.  I did post a few things about diabetes on the website.  Not much though.  I still need to tweak it some. 

 

 

http://littlebit.byethost31.com/

NYC eyes ban on restaurant trans fats

NEW YORK (AP) -- Three years after the city banned smoking in restaurants, health officials are talking about prohibiting something they say is almost as bad: artificial trans fatty acids.

"The city health department unveiled a proposal Tuesday that would bar cooks at any of the city's 24,600 food service establishments from using ingredients that contain the artery-clogging substance, commonly listed on food labels as partially hydrogenated oil."

CNN: NYC eyes ban on restaurant trans fats

This is great there are many studies out that claim this is the worst thing a person could eat.  The body doesn't know what to do with it other than coat your veins with plaque.

 

Type 2 Diabetes That Develops Early More Likely To Worsen

     People who develop type 2 diabetes when they're younger than 50 years of age are more likely to experience a worsening of their disease than those diagnosed at an older age, according to research presented in Copenhagen at
the 42nd annual meeting of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes.

     Dr. Targ Elgzyri from Lund University, Malmo, Sweden, who presented the data, told Reuters Health: "The idea of the study came when we found, as previously shown, a progressive rise in HbA1c over time in newly diagnosed patients with type 2 diabetes despite different modes of therapy."
Learn more>>
Type 2 Diabetes That Develops Early More Likely To Worsen

 

 

Self-monitoring Doesn't Help People Living With Type 2 Diabetes

"Seventy percent of patients reported performing self-monitoring of blood glucose at study entry, with an average of four tests per week. Predictors of blood glucose monitoring included shorter diabetes duration; attending diabetes education sessions or diabetes-related clinics; seeing medical specialists; taking insulin with or without glucose-lowering oral drugs; and self-reporting episodes of low blood sugar."

 

"Current American Diabetes Association recommendations are that self-monitoring of blood glucose should be performed three or more times per day for type 2 diabetic patients using multiple insulin injections, but that for patients using once-daily insulin, oral (glucose-lowering) agents, or diet alone, there is low-level evidence of benefit," Davis and colleagues note."

 

Self monitoring doesn't help for type 2 because studies done on the individuals is not taking more seriously.  Testing four times a week is a joke.  They should be testing at least three times a day if they are under control, and more often if they are not under control.  Diabetes may have a different number attached for each group... (type 1 and 2)  But the disease is still called diabetes, and should be treated the same for both types.  Having type 2 diabetes doesn't mean your diabetes is any less than a type 1. Not monitoring can have devastating effects on their body.

 

I can't laugh at these studies because diabetes is a serious disease, and should be taken serious regardless of the type.  But at times I wish there was a butt to kick because between the ADA and lots of doctors, you might think the patent had just a ingrown toenail vs. a infected ingrown toenail.  There is a problem, but its only Type 2, so we don't have to treat it the same as the type 1.  

 

For me the first six or so months was learning what foods affect my sugar levels the most.  learning to spot the signs that my sugar was up was also a plus.  Because this enabled me to realize that I needed to test, and note what I had at a meal.  Like for instance, for me I can't  eat carrots very well.  I limit them to like five or six slices, because anymore will send my sugar over the edge. Rice also sends me over the edge, but I found out if I rinse the rice before cooking it, and limit the portion I can handle it a lot better. Diabetes is not a no warning sign disease.  They all have warning signs that their sugar is up.  It's learning the signs your own body has that will benefits you, along with good meal management, and testing, exercise, and staying under a doctors care. 

 

I sure wish I had the means to start my own diabetes support clinic.  I would follow these guidelines for all the type 2's in my clinic. Hell with what the ADA thinks is best they to me have no clue on how to handle a type 2 patient.  Plus their studies are a joke.  The studies are set up to fail for the type 2 because they use the bare minimum of testing etc to do their studies.  They for some reason think a type 2 should be treated differently.  I would like to see a study done with my approach for the patient.  The only way to do such a study is to have them go into a controlled environment, where their testing, food, and the like are all monitored. I bet they would see a change then.  I also bet quite a few would be able to loose the diabetes drugs.  Except for those that clearly have a body system out of control.  I don't expect this approach to work for everyone, but from the other diabetics I have met, and observed this past year and a half a lot of the misconceptions about type 2's would be solved and this would flush out who really needs more drug management under a doctors care.  For you die hard's that think the ADA is G-d sorry I busted your bubble.  I wont recant on my stance for the type 2.

 

I have seen plenty of type 2's that have a clear disregard for diet, and so on.  For some it was the spouse that was causing the problem, or it was the patient that caused the problems.  Lack of caring about their diet is number one reason why some of them have the diabetic complications.  Some don't monitor what they eat, and expect their doctor to fix them.  Then they wonder why later they lost a foot, or their toes, or worse a leg.  I know several people like this that are type 2's.

 

Self-monitoring Doesn't Help People Living With Type 2 Diabetes

Stem Cell Legislation finally gets a vote in the Senate!

The American Diabetes Association supports the use of stem cell research in biomedical research, provided such use is consistent with federal guidelines relating to the bioethics for their use.  read the rest by clicking the link below...

 

Stem Cell Legislation

Scientists See Success in Trials for Diabetic Nerve Therapy

A potentially ground-breaking treatment for nerve damage caused by diabetes
has shown promising results in preclinical and early patient trials. A
University of Manchester team has discovered that injection of a novel
therapeutic that works by stimulating a person's genes may prevent nerve
damage - primarily to the hands and feet - caused by the disease.

The positive preclinical results - reported in the journal "Diabetes" are
further evidence that the research could lead to a new treatment for diabetic
nerve damage or 'neuropathy'; initial-stage clinical trials on patients in
the United States have also been encouraging. Lead researcher Professor David
Tomlinson said the study has massive potential for managing the condition and
preventing thousands of foot amputations each year.
Learn more>>
http://main.diabetes.org/site/R?i=fbRIaGhwGx0N1LCfx03LQg 

An Email Hotline for Diabetes Info

From the ADA newsletter:

 

Since 1995, you have been able to reach the American Diabetes
Association's Diabetes Information Representatives was through our
hotline, 1-800-DIABETES to get answers to your questions regarding
diabetes and diabetes-related topics.  Now you can get that same high
level of service through email. With this new feature we are able to give
timely answers, in 24 hours or less. At AskADA@diabetes.org our goal is to
provide you with quick answers to the
questions that matter to you.

Send Email to Ask ADA:
AskADA@diabetes.org

 

FDA rejects green tea health claims

WASHINGTON - There is no credible scientific evidence that drinking green tea reduces the risk of heart disease, federal regulators said Tuesday in rejecting a petition that sought to allow tea labels to make that claim.

The Food and Drug Administration said it reviewed 105 articles and other publications submitted as part of the petition but could find no evidence to support claims of the beverage’s health benefits.

click here to read more at MSNBC

I have heard about articles, but I have not heard about blind studies, and just what the benefits may be.  I am weary when they say 105 articles have been reviewed but no one says just whom those articles belonged too.  This is clearly not how you evaluate a possible tea that "could" have some type of benefits.  I  feel as though the FDA has let us all down and the review was set up in a way to be sure it failed.

 

 

Enzi bill

A majority of people in the USA pay for insurance.  Their premiums are high, and so are their deductibles.  In the past you paid for your health care and you never questioned the cost because everything was laid out in black and white on paper for you to view.  Insurance for the most part was affordable. Each payment on paper looked fine.  The itemized list looked fine also. 

 

Now days everyone questions why a persons medical bill is higher than say their neighbors?  Or why certain test cost them cheaper than say what a non insured worker may of been charged?  The insurance companies say the reason is because they can state they will pay a certain amount, and as you may know a insurance company does well at paying the amount set.  But a non insured worker has no one on their side to help with the cost so the Hospitals can add extra charges along with higher amounts per day per room, and for the medical test etc.  So the non insured worker pays out the butt for the same service that a insured worker receives.  Is this right?  I don't think so.  I don't think it is fair because the non insured may be living paycheck to paycheck, and they can't afford to hire someone to keep their health cost down.  So to me  They are paying the extra because they can't afford to pay someone to haggle the price.  They are being stomped on twice.  Once by the health care system, and once just because they are poor, or they are living paycheck to paycheck.  It's like the health care system is telling the poor they don't like them, and because we still have to serve your needs then we are going to charge you extra.  And as you may already know the health care system does have to serve their needs if they recieve State or Federal money. 

 

Enter the Enzi Bill.  This bill will create a new bunch of people with insurance but their insurance will be limited.  They may have a high deductible, certain things wont be covered, and they will be getting a heftier bill than the ones that are paying for premium insurance.  They also may be tied paying extra cost as in higher prices for the same health services that a person is receiving under the premium.  Why?  Because the hospitals  can do this crap and get away with it.  They will call these people a higher liability, and then stick the higher cost on them.  This is how our so caring health system works.  They did it to the non insured and got away with it, they will do it to the ones with limited insurance too.  So everyone is saying that the ones paying the higher cost for premium insurance will have to fork over the money for the ones that have a much less than premium insurance.  No it wont.  You don't slap the hand that feeds you well. You want the premium holders to come back for service again.  The ones that are not insured or have less than premium insurance you don't care if they come back or not. So what if their bill is 33%+ higher than then premium insurance holders is.  

 

I also suspect this will create families that will have to have two medical insurance policies in order to cover their health care needs.    Because some insurance companys will charge more for certain health care coverage services, others wont cover certain ailments. 

 

U.S. Senate May Gut State Healthcare Rights Acts

 

Senate Bill Would Override State Health Coverage Rules

Enzi Health Insurance Legislation Would Jeopardize Lifesaving Coverage

Bill, S.1955, would allow health insurers to circumvent existing laws in
46 states that guarantee coverage for diabetes medications, supplies and
training

The American Diabetes Association (ADA) expressed its strong opposition to
proposed federal legislation that would enable health insurers to bypass
existing state health insurance regulations. In doing so, the "Health
Insurance Marketplace Modernization and Affordability Act" (S. 1955) would
result in the loss of critical health coverage guarantees for millions of
people with diabetes. Forty-six states and the District of Columbia
require insurers to provide coverage for diabetes supplies, medication,
equipment and education, but S. 1955 would undermine those basic
protections. The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP)
Committee, chaired by bill sponsor Senator Michael Enzi, will mark up the
bill Wednesday morning. At the markup, Senator Jeff Bingaman will offer an
amendment to protect the diabetes coverage benefit in the states where it
is maintained in state law.

"These protections were enacted over the past decade with the bipartisan
support of legislatures, governors, and state insurance commissioners," L.
Hunter Limbaugh, the ADA's Chair for Advocacy, today wrote Sen. Enzi. "It
has been the Association's experience that without these protections,
state-regulated insurers often do not provide adequate diabetes coverage.
Indeed, in the four current states without mandated diabetes coverage,
insurers often do not provide these life-saving diabetes provisions."
Learn more>>
Legislation Would Jeopardize Lifesaving Coverage

Bristol-Myers Warns People with Diabetes About Tequin: FDA

Drugmaker Bristol-Myers Squibb is warning against the use of the
antibiotic drug Tequin in diabetic patients after reports of several
fatalities, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said on Thursday.

The company is adding a contraindication warning for people with diabetes
to the drug's label as well as strengthening its warning that Tequin can
cause both low and high blood glucose levels in patients, the FDA said.

The label will include warnings that patients who are older, have renal
insufficiency and take other medicine that affects glucose levels can also
be at risk, according to the agency.

"The FDA will continue monitoring Tequin's safety to ensure that its
benefits outweigh the risks to patients," the FDA said in a statement.

Bristol-Myers spokesman Eric Miller said the company's warning was
prompted by reports of "serious cases" of high or low blood glucose among
Tequin patients.
Learn more>>

Bristol-Myers Warns People with Diabetes About Tequin

warning signs

Ever sense I was diagnosed with diabetes I have noticed signs that in the past I had asked my doctor about, but he had no clue why I was having them.

 

I now know what it was about.  Because I had these symptoms for at least a few years.  I know now my diabetes was unmanaged for some time. 

 

The symptoms I had were:

 

Restless leg syndrome

 

numbness in my hands and feet

 

unexplained tiredness

 

tingling in my feet and hands

 

aching feet and swelling

 

leg cramps

 

nausea

 

headaches

 

I am not sure if my symptoms were just a oversight of my doctor?  Or that my symptoms are not the norm?   What I do know is I did see my doctor on several occasions explaining to him these symptoms, and yes blood work was done.  Perhaps he didn't run the right blood test?  I am not sure.  But till this day if my sugar gets a little high one or two of the symptoms will pop up.  The higher my sugar goes the more symptoms I have.   Which leads me to believe to a certain extent that other diabetics may also have warning signs for them to look for. 

 

I am a Type II so I am not sure if a Type I could benefit in knowing what to look for in the line of symptoms.  Or even to look out for symptoms that plague them.  What I do know is I don't think the numbers the doctor gives you for safe levels work for everyone.  My symptoms begin when my sugar is at 139.  So I believe this is my warning level my sugar is too high.  Yours may be different but it's worth a try to check into.  My doctor said my warning level is 200.  So now as you can see the vast difference in the numbers.  

 

This is just my point of view.  Plus what I have observed on my own.  Your mileage may differ.  But I would like for you to prove me wrong.  :)

 

 

Accu-Chek Blood Sugar Meters Recalled

Meters With Certain Serial Numbers May Have Electronic Malfunction. 

Jan. 20, 2006 --The FDA and Roche Diagnostics have announced a voluntary worldwide recall of specific Accu-Chek Aviva meters, which are used by people with diabetes to measure blood sugar levels.

The recall is due to the potential for the meters to have an electronic malfunction, which can cause incorrect readings or make the meter shut down and become unusable. Click for more below...

Accu-Chek Blood Sugar Meters Recalled

FDA Approves Inhalable Insulin

WASHINGTON -- The first inhalable version of insulin won federal approval Friday, giving millions of adult diabetics an alternative to some of the injections they now endure.

The Food and Drug Administration said the Pfizer Inc. insulin, to be marketed as "Exubera," is the first new way of delivering insulin since the discovery of the hormone in the 1920s.  ...

 

This is so cool!  I sure hope this drug doesn't try to kill all of us!  If it doesn't it will be the best thing to happen sense apple pie!  With todays new drugs though you just never know what will happen till you take it. 

FDA Approves Inhalable Insulin