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December 22, 2008
Diabetes, as we all know is a very common condition. The word diabetes is a scary term for many of us because as far as our experience goes, diabetes is behind major turning points in people’s lives and invariably their health. Diabetes Insipidus is yet another form of diabetes characterized by increased output of urine. In this article we will focus on getting to know types of diabetes Insipidus while exploring diabetes Insipidus symptoms in detail.
Often shortened as DI, diabetes Insipidus is a very common disorder marked by three major features; increased urine output, increased fluid intake and increased thirst. While the disorder is classified in to four forms, the most common form is known as “Pituitary DI” because it is caused due to a lack of vasopressin; a hormone which ensures the healthy functioning of the kidney by reducing the urine output and increasing its concentration at the same time.
Although they share common symptoms such as increased thirst and increased urinations, by now you may have understood that diabetes Insipidus is different to diabetes mellitus which is commonly known as sugar diabetes. Therefore, if you find yourself urinating more frequently than before or becoming more thirsty than usual, it is not advisable to arrive at conclusions. This is because diabetes mellitus and diabetes Insipidus share very different treatment methods, although the symptoms may appear similar. Therefore, the best option available for you is to contact your physician at the onset of symptoms.
Coming back to the second type of diabetes Insipidus, it is commonly known as “Gestational DI”. This type of DI occurs during pregnancy and is an occasional development among pregnant mothers. The causes behind gestational DI is a lack of vasopressin as a result of a slightly damaged pituitary and/or if the placenta destroys vasopressin too rapidly.
The third type of DI is called primary polydipsia which is caused by suppression of vasopressin due to excessive intake of fluids. This condition mostly owes to a defect in the part of the brain which controls thirst. The fourth type of DI is known as nephrogenic DI and is another common condition among many sufferers. The main cause behind nephrogenic DI is the inability of kidneys to respond to what is known as an “anti-diuretic effect” of balanced amounts of vasopressin. This is the type of diabetes that can sometimes be cured because it is mostly caused by certain drugs or kidney diseases.
Now that we know about the four different types of diabetes Insipidus, it is now time to focus on the main area of our discussion: the symptoms. As discussed before, the universal diabetes Insipidus symptoms are increased thirst, urination and intake of fluids. Variable symptoms include, bed-wetting (also known as enuresis) and/or frequently waking up at night to urinate (known as nocturia). Diabetes Insipidus symptoms for children may vary and are occasionally accompanied by fever, vomiting or diarrhea. As these symptoms usually occur in the absence of high blood sugar and/or due to damage to other hormones or organs, it is difficult to determine if the diabetic condition will be temporary or permanent. Therefore, my best suggestion is that you seek medical advice and subject yourself to all recommended testing as soon as possible.
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December 12, 2008
Health insurance is something very essential for all of us. That’s why we all afford one (or provided by the employer) just to make sure that we have means of getting out of sicknesses. Anyway, getting health and life insurance quotes for people with illnesses have been always hard. This is because the insurance companies consider these people with an additional risk. Therefore getting insurance quotes are too expensive to afford.
A health insurance is very much different from home or auto insurance. For home or car insurance, there are risks already being defined and the levels of risk exposure are identified. Therefore, the auto insurance people will know exactly the risk they are running with. When it comes to diseases such as diabetics, it is very hard to quantify the level of the disease. Without this quantification, it is quite impossible for insurance companies to offer a sensible insurance quote. Sometimes, it looks quite unethical for assigning a number for the level of the disease.
Unlike cheap auto insurance, getting a health insurance is a complicated procedure. When the person who is getting insured a diabetic, things get worst. This person needs to go through a set of additional medical tests that the normal people will not go through. This is basically for measuring the potential risks the insurance company will have to bear. As a result, the patient will be offered an insurance package where the premium is quite high compared to the regular insurance packages.
It is true that the diabetic patient goes through a lot of torture when it comes to getting health and life insurance, but one of those is very much essential. Nowadays, all the medical treatments are quite expensive and the diabetic patients will be in deep trouble if they do not have a health insurance when they need it. There are so many health insurance companies who are willing to offer health insurance for diabetic patients for a reasonable premium. If you are a diabetic patient, you need to look for these organizations before settling for just another insurance company. Being vigilant of what these ‘diabetic friendly’ insurance companies offer you will keep you at definite advantage.
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December 3, 2008
Diabetes and kidney disease are two things that always go together at most of the times. When someone first get to know that they are diabetic, automatically they prepare themselves for the next event; kidney failures. But this is not true for some cases. There are many diabetic patients who will never get kidney related issues for their lifetime.
The two types of diabetics behave differently when it comes to kidney disease. The type 1 diabetics, the type of diabetics about 5% of all the diabetic patients include, has more issues when it comes to kidneys. It is found that about 40% of type 1 diabetic patients develop kidney related issues by the age of 50. For some patients, the kidney failures occur even before the age of 30. The type 2 diabetic is safer than the type 1 in this context.
Let’s see how the kidneys are failed due to diabetes. First of all, in the early stage of the disease, the blood filtering unites fail to filter the essential proteins of the blood so the protein is passed with urine. This can be detected by looking for the level of proteins in the urine. When the condition becomes worse, the kidneys lose the ability of filtering the waste from the blood such as urea. This stage can be detected by measuring the waste level in the blood. When it comes to this stage, the kidneys function at 10% to 25% of the original capacity and about to fail. Usually the kidney failure process is slow and could start from the early age of diabetes.
High blood pressure is one of the factors that make diabetes patients life a hell. When a diabetes patient has high blood pressure, then there is a high probability of getting kidney failures. If you are a diabetic and there are family members with high blood pressure issues, then you need to be very careful of your kidneys.
When it comes to prevention and control of kidney disease, there are a number of methods. One is blood pressure medicines. If the patient has blood pressure, then these medicines are given to regularize the blood pressure. Consuming a low protein diet is a method of controlling the kidney disease. Since blood contains fewer amounts of protein levels, the patient’s kidneys are less stressed for filtering them. These two are the most effective ways of controlling kidney disease. Contrast to the two treating methods indicated above, managing blood glucose properly is the best way to prevent the kidney disease for diabetic patients. This reduces the chance of getting kidney disease at early ages. Since diabetes and kidney disease have a close relationship you may have to keep an eye on your kidneys all the time.
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October 31, 2008
‘Nick Jones Diabetes’ has almost become a brand. Sure enough Nick Jones is cute and more popular these days. This young singer was diagnosed as having type one diabetes in year 2005. There are thousands of articles written and published on Internet and other media about him and his diabetes. What is so different about Nick from others?
Actually there are a few specialties when it comes to Nick Jones and diabetes. First one is that he has type one diabetes that needs extensive attentions. If someone has type one diabetes, then they need to be very careful of their condition and so they can have a normal life. What is normal to us is not normal to Nick Jones. He is a performer so his requirements to become normal are totally different from ours. As a performer, he needs to very energetic on the stage performing for hours. This requires high levels of blood sugar level for sustaining the energy. When the performer is a diabetic, the situation becomes worst. To become energetic, he needs more blood sugar and since he is a diabetic, he cannot afford to have high levels of blood sugar. So then, how does he manage his condition? That is why Nick Jones case is a special case in the work of diabetes.
When people become victims of diabetes, they try to minimize their social activities and try to be cornered. They keep away from the lifestyle that they used to follow. But in the case of Nick Jones, he continued his lifestyle while controlling his condition of diabetes thoroughly. This is one good example for youngsters, which shows that diabetes is not the end of their active lifestyle. Since Nick Jones is a performer, he takes extreme measurements to control his condition. As media says, he pricks his fingers twelve times a day to make sure he does not exceed the limits of blood sugar levels. There is a dedicated team (including health professionals) of Nick Jones team when he performs on stage. This is just for making sure that he is safe at any given moment. Nick Johns revels that he uses a catheter and an insulin pump while he performs for keeping the insulin levels stabilized.
As Nick Jones has said in one of the media interviews, he has had an emotional breakdown when he first heard the news about his condition. Then he has made his mind to fight against it and achieve what he wanted to achieve. Now he has become a strong advocate for fighting against diabetes and asks others not to themselves get down due to diabetes. So, Nick Jones diabetes story is one of the inspiring stories of fighting against diabetes.
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October 29, 2008
There are many charity organizations, free movements, public counsels and many other types of organizations for fighting against diabetes. They have different motives and visions for doing such things. Some organizations focus on diabetes prevention and the rest focus on welfare of diabetes patients and cure. Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation is one of the most respected centers which carryout diabetes related researches in the world. They have completed many research programs that have given the world of diabetes many cures and information from the time the center started. One of the main responsibilities of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation is to create awareness among the general public. Juvenile Diabetes “Walk for the Cure” is one of their main programs which are held across the United States for making many people knowledgeable about diabetes.
Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation is an international movement for fighting against diabetes. Therefore, there are many peoples participating for the activities and programs of the organization regardless of the part of the world that they live. Anyone interested in contributing to this walk can go to the official website of Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation and make a donation. But there is a difference in making the donation. As an example, many charity websites accept donations online via credit card payments, PayPal or many other methods. But Walk for the Cure donations should be handed over to a walker and the nearest walker to your location can be found from the foundation website.
Anyone interested in participating for the walk can get themselves registered through the foundation website. This walk takes place in many states of the United States so it is quite easy to find the nearest walk that you can participate. If you are interested in doing something more than making a donation, you can fill out the sponsorship form online which is available in the foundation website. There are many global and international partners sponsoring the walk such as Ford Motor Company, Advance Auto Parts, Marshalls, Turner, and Walgreens.
Walk for the Cure is not just limited for the adults; there is a kids walk too. This step is recognized as one of the most important part of Walk for the Cure as it makes the awareness among the young generation for preventing and controlling diabetes. The funds rose for the walk is used for finding cure for diabetics and spent in many national and international organizations. Kevin Kline is the current Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation’s National Walk Chairman organizing the Walk for the Cure walks all over the United States. There are many videos available in YouTube related to the walk and you can get an idea how the walk takes place for finding a cure for diabetes.
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