STOP DIABETES!!

Hello everybody!

Hope you all are enjoying life!

Over the past 3years I have written my small bit about Diabetes. I have written about Diabetes, Its Manifestations, Complications, Treatment options and also about the drugs and devices we can expect in future. But we live in an era of prevention it’s a crime if I don’t talk about it.

Diabetes cannot be cured but can surely be prevented!!!

Why talk about prevention?

In the city where I live around 20% people are diabetics. That’s close to 1.2million diabetics in the City of Chennai alone. Out of this big number approximately 50% will be taking treatment and only 50% of these patients will be on regular treatment.  I feel that this number is only the tip of the iceberg.

 The real area of concentration should be those who are at risk of developing diabetes and those in PREDIABETES. Prediabetes stage can be as long as 10 years. This gives us the most valuable time to correct the risk factors for developing Diabetes. If these clients (I address this group as clients because technically speaking they are not suffering from disease) undergo proper testing we can delay the progression of Prediabetes to diabetes and in some cases even prevent the conversion of Prediabetes to diabetes.

What do we get by doing so??

First Satisfaction that I have helped somebody!

Next we can provide them a Healthy, Productive & Stress free life!

We can also reduce the economic burden (because finally Money Matters!!)

Detect Prediabetes and you reduce

• ·         Stress due to health related issues
• ·         Expenditure on medication
• ·         Expenditure on visits to clinic
• ·         Expenditure on blood tests
• ·         Needle pricks
• ·         Leave from work
• ·         Irritability
• ·         Inferiority complex
• ·         Chances of developing Sexual problems
• ·         Chances of developing Hypertension
• ·         Chances of getting a Heart attack
• ·         Chances of developing Neuropathy, Retinopathy & Nephropathy
• ·         Stress to the partner and family
• ·         Insurance premium (just kidding!!)

So how exactly we find out Prediabetes??

Simple!!

Go to a certified lab and do OGTT (Oral Glucose ToleranceTest) 3 intervals.

Sample 1 - Blood test taken in fasting

Sample 2 - one hour after taking 75gms of glucose

Sample 3 - 2 hours after the fasting sample.

 It’s always a good habit to combine this test with HbA1C.

People tell me doing OGTT is tough...

Its al in the way you see it...

Normally we do fasting and postprandial blood sugars

OGTT is just one extra prick but.....

This test can tell you with high level of confidence about your Sugar status.

So THINK....... PLAN...... TEST .......& PREVENT when you have the chance!!

Further Reading!!!

HbA1C

Diabetes Commercialised

sexual problems

Diabetes risk factors

Metabolic syndrome

CANAGLIFLOZIN - ONE MORE SOLDIER TO BATTLE DIABETES!

 Canagliflozin - This new compound has been recently approved by FDA for use in Diabetes.


Technically speaking it’s a Selective sodium-glucose transporter-2 (SGLT2) inhibitor.

This group of drugs are considered to provide a novel approach to treatment of Diabetes.


 So what do these drugs do?


To put in very simple terms these drugs reduce the tolerability of kidney to sugar in the system so more amount of sugar is excreted in the urine thereby reducing the levels of glucose in the blood.


Many molecules are under research and some of them have reached the stage of clinical trials


To name a few


Remogliflozin
 

Sergliflozin
 

Dapagliflozin

Many other molecules are yet to be named...


The one successful candidate which had obtained FDA approval is Canagliflozin.


As I said earlier it’s a Selective sodium-glucose transporter-2 (SGLT2) inhibitor indicated as an adjunct to diet and exercise in treatment of Type 2 Diabetes


Dosage is 100mg per day taken before first meal of the day. Dose can be raised upto 300mg/day.


As like any other medicine known to man this drug also comes with some side effects


Around 10% patients, especially the females faced problems with associated genital fungal infections. Other minor (1-6%) side effects were increased urination, fungal infections in males, vulvovaginal pruritis, thirst, constipation, nausea, and abdominal pain


LIKE FOR ANY OTHER DRUG EVEN THIS DRUG HAS TO BE TAKEN UNDER PROPER MEDICAL SUPERVISION


We are yet to get reports about long term safety and about the usage of this drug in pregnant women and children. Also before we start using this drug we will have to see the effect of this drug in Indian population. So till we get the results let’s keep our fingers crossed and hope that this drug or other molecules of this family succeed. These drugs will give us more confidence to deal with Diabetes in a much more affective way and give all our dear patients a better future!