Tag: Healthy Lifestyle

Achieving Healthy Pregnancy Despite Diabetes

Among diabetic pregnant women, the most common problem when it comes to their babys health is the condition called macrosomia or having a baby with large body. This is because the blood of the mother with diabetes is interchanged with that of the baby inside the womb. As a result, the baby will produce insulin to be able to glucose and this will lead to fat deposits, which causes the baby to grown larger compared to the regular ones.

What you can do

For a healthy lifestyle during pregnancy, it is ideal to maintain an appropriate weight gain, average consumption of various foods from different food groups, timely and prescribed vitamin and mineral supplementation, and lots of fluid intake. Sweets and fats should also be kept to a minimum level of consumption. The following are just some of the guidelines that pregnant women with diabetes can use to achieve healthy pregnancy despite the chronic disease:

1. Follow the appropriate meal plan religiously. More than ever, pregnant women should pay attention to what they eat and their eating patterns in general. This is very important because this stagepregnancy itselfrequires strict control of blood glucose levels in order to ensure that both the mother and baby are getting the right amount of key nutrients needed. In coming up with the right diet plan, it is best to seek the help of diabetes educator or a licensed dietitian to create the necessary adjustments needed to accommodate the needs not only of the fetus inside the womb but of the mother as well. In your meal plan, take note of calorie, carbohydrates and protein requirements every day because these will help you maintain normal blood glucose levels.

2. Regular Self-Monitoring of Blood Glucose or SMBG. Experts say that the only way to tell if the woman is successful in controlling her blood glucose is by monitor their levels by themselves regularly. Since being pregnant is a sensitive condition, soon to be mothers should monitor their blood glucose levels more frequently. Ideally, SMBG should be monitored four to 10 times a day.

3. Knowledge in administering insulin injections and adjusting the doses based on the results of SMBG. Sufficient supply of insulin is very crucial for pregnant women so they must know how to administer insulin injections by themselves in case no one is around when they need it. They should also ask from their physician how to adjust the doses of insulin after they are through with the SBMG. Knowing how to adjust the doses of insulin needed is very important to ensure that the bodys supply of insulin is stable.

4. Treating or controlling hypoglycemia. Pregnant women who are diabetics are more prone to hypoglycemia because of the hormonal changes in their body. Although studies show that there are no know effects of hypoglycemia in the baby, it is best to control or treat it as soon as possible so the soon to be mom wont be having troubles during the course of conception.

5. Maintaining regular set of exercise or physical activities. This is also very important for pregnant women with diabetes because through this they can reduce the risk of hypoglycemia as well as being overweight. Since it is hard for pregnant women to do strenuous workouts, it is best to maintain the hobby of having light exercises that will keep the body moving.

Medications And Treatments For Diabetes

What is sad about people who are suffering from diabetes is that many of them remain undiagnosed mainly because of lack of knowledge on the disease and lack of resources to even visit a doctor and know their real condition. In fact, more often than not, diabetics or the people who are suffering from diabetes only know about their condition once their bodies exhibit signs and symptoms that can no longer be ignored. These include extreme blurring of vision, excruciating pains especially in the legs, and cuts or sores that takes time to heal and worse, wounds that dont heal at all and needs to cut to avoid other affected cells from spreading to other parts of the body.

Treatment and medical options

Since diabetes is a chronic disease, people who are suffering from it should be more vigilant about their health more than ever. It means that they should visit their doctors more often, maintain a healthy lifestyle and take the necessary medications or undergo needed treatments for them to stay healthy.

Before taking in any medication or undergoing a specific treatment, it is a must that person knows what type of diabetes he or she is suffering from. Basically, there are three types of diabetes: type 1 diabetes wherein the persons body doesnt have the capability to produce insulin, which is crucial for sugar to turn the food into energy; the type 2 diabetesthe most common typerestricts the persons pancreas to produce enough supply insulin for the body to use well; and the gestational diabetes which occurs among pregnant women and can lead to type 2 diabetes eventually if not monitored immediately.

Experts say that people with diabetes should aim for healthy diet and getting regular exercise to control the illness. At times, there will be the need to take in some medications or undergo treatments. The following are just some of the common medications advised for people with diabetes:

1. Insulin shots. Since insufficient insulin levels in the body cause diabetes, insulin itself can solve the problem. For diabetics, insulin is very important because it lowers the blood sugar in the body by moving the sugar from the persons blood into the cells. Insulin should be taken at least two times daily to ensure that there will be stable blood sugar control. It should be taken at least 30 minutes before each meal or should be taken before one eats especially if she or he takes a fast effecting type.

2. Oral medications. People with type 1 diabetes are not advised to use oral medications since insulin shots are injected in their bodies 24/7 in order to survive. Oral medications work best to people with type 2 diabetesespecially those who have high blood sugarbecause these can serve as a supplement for them. The most common oral medications include sulfonylureas which forces the pancreas to produce more insulin to lower the blood sugar levels; siguanides which helps achieve lower blood sugar by stopping the liver in producing too much sugar; metformin which helps the person lose weight which is the common cause of diabetes; thiazolidinediones which helps the cells develop higher sensitivity to insulin which moves the glucose from the blood; and meglitinides which is responsible for helping the pancreas produce more insulin immediately after each meal to effectively lower blood sugar levels.