Pregnancy can be a tricky time for most women, although it is not a pathological condition. One must be prepared for pregnancy with the best of health in the pre-pregnancy period. This also includes women who are suffering from diabetes. The complications during pregnancy and delivery increase manifold if one has not controlled the glucose and blood sugar levels before getting pregnant. So read on to know more about coping with the pregnancy if you happen to have diabetes.

Complications: Pregnancy with diabetes can cause severe complications if blood sugar levels are not controlled properly before pregnancy. This can cause diabetes to become even worse in the long run, with the onset of various other related ailments like kidney disease, heart disease, eye problems and more. It can also increase the risk of premature delivery, and too much birth weight of the baby as well as low glucose levels right after the baby s birth. Further, one can also lose the baby to a miscarriage due to excessively high blood sugar levels. This can also affect the glucose and blood sugar level of the baby as the glucose passes through the body.

Related conditions: If you happen to have high blood sugar levels, then you and your baby can get affected in an adverse way. To begin with, you may come down with severe depression regarding how you will be able to manage your diabetes and pregnancy together, and also due to the implications of the condition after the birth of the baby. It can also cause a condition called Preeclampsia in which the pregnant woman s blood pressure becomes high and too much protein starts to pass from the urine, which can also result in frequent urination and life-threatening defects and problems for you and the baby. In such cases, you will have to be hospitalised and the baby will need to be delivered via a C section or a Caesarean Section.



Planning ahead: If you know that you are trying to conceive, the best way is to be fully prepared well in advance. This includes planning ahead for managing the blood sugar levels and keeping the risk of other ailments at bay. You can start by losing excessive weight and seek treatment to bring down the blood sugar levels. Exercising and watching your diet are also some good ways to ensure that your Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes is in control.

Medical Team: It is pertinent to be in touch with your medical team on a constant basis. This team should include the obstetrician and gynaecologist as well as your regular doctor to whom you can report any changes.
Keep health close to your heart when you are pregnant by taking care of all existing ailments.

If you wish to discuss about any specific problem, you can consult a doctor and ask a free question.

Diabetes in Pregnancy - How to Tackle it?

There was an era where we had deadly infections like plague and polio causing death of thousands of people. We still have occasional outbreak of swine flu, but by and large, infections are quite controlled. The new killer diseases are caused because of the lifestyle we have adapted and the damage we have done to the environment. High intake of processed foods, artificial chemicals in our foods, sedentary lifestyle with very minimal to no physical activity, couching over the computers; the list is quite long. All these have led to diseases like diabetes and cancer that were not so common about say few decades ago.

Detailed observation has revealed that both these new epidemiologic diseases have a close correlation. There are factors, which induce diabetes and diabetes in turn and in some cases, diabetes inducing agents, can cause cancer also. It has also been observed that mortality is severely increased if diabetic patients are diagnosed with cancer. There are two types of diabetes. While type 1 is mostly hereditary, type 2 is lifestyle induced and the age at which this is being diagnosed is taking a severe plunge. Adolescents and teenagers are being diagnosed for diabetes. Cancer, on the other hand, is of various types (leukaemia, melanoma, etc.) and can affect various organs (lung, breast, prostate, stomach, liver, etc.).

The medical community is yet to decipher the disease pattern of both these conditions. While there is no definite correlation between diabetes and all types of cancer, some types of cancer are definitely correlated with a definite reason identified, pancreatic and liver cancer for instance. The high amounts of insulin that diabetic patients are exposed to causes changes in liver and pancreas including fatty liver and cirrhosis, here the incidence of cancer is higher. The linkage is not very clear in lung and intestinal cancers and also there is no link between prostate cancer and diabetes.

Diabetes is considered as a state of chronic inflammation and leads to conditions like hyperinsulinemia (higher levels of insulin in the blood) hyperglycemia (higher levels of sugar in the blood). These are believed to aggravate the neoplastic process of cancer formation, thereby inducing cancer at a greater pace and also increasing the mortality rates.

The following are risk factors that are applicable to both age, physical activity, diet, obesity, drinking and smoking. It is also possible that onset of one can be followed by the other. As noted earlier, more detailed research is awaited to establish a definite linkage, but the correlation cannot be ignored at all.

Both these new epidemics are here to stay and since they have a common set of factors, we need to work on ways to contain them.

Diabetes and Cancer: The New Epidemic?

At present 3 out of the 5 people are suffering from diabetes and it is the 7th leading cause of death worldwide. Moreover, it is no more restricted just to adults and affects children as well. Diabetes is a metabolic disease resulting in increase in the level of glucose in the body. Glucose is a source of energy for the cells making up the muscles and other tissues in the body. But if the level of glucose goes up, it shows the sign of danger. Diabetes is of 2 types: 

1. Type 1: body fails to produce insulin.
2. Type 2: Body fails to produce enough insulin which is required by the body.

There are no definite signs of diabetes. It simply varies from person to person. In many of the cases it goes unnoticed. Such signs are as follows:

1. Sudden weight loss: You might experience a sudden weight loss of 5 to10 kgs within a month. This happens when sugar metabolism ceases very quickly.  Insufficient insulin prevents the body from taking in glucose in the body cells from the blood to use as energy. In such a scenario the body starts burning fat and muscle for energy. This results in weight loss.

2. Intense hunger: The cells in your body might not get enough energy either due to absence or improper functioning of insulin in your blood. This makes you hungry quite often.

3. Excessive urination and thirst: Due to diabetes, the glucose level in the body goes up. The kidneys are overloaded with the burden of working overtime for filtering and absorbing the excess glucose in your body. The excess sugar, which the kidney cannot store is excreted out of your body. This makes you urinate frequently.  Due to frequent urination the body gets dehydrated which makes you feel thirsty more often.

4. Blurred vision: Due to the high level of glucose in your body tissues gets pulled away from the lens of the eyes. This results in vision issues. If not treated on time, it may even lead to blindness.

5. Increased fatigue: The cells in your body might not get enough energy either due to absence or improper functioning of insulin in your blood. This makes you restless more often and you may even feel too weak to do your regular activities.

If you notice any of these signs, get the level of sugar in your checked and take the required remedies. It is good to get it treated as early as possible rather than facing immense trouble in future.

5 Common Signs of Diabetes That Often Go Unnoticed

Performing physical activities on a daily basis always have its benefits, but doing exercise in a well-planned manner is essential for those people who suffer from either type-1 or type-2 diabetes. Becoming more active helps lower blood sugar levels and keep diabetes under control.

Relation between exercise and sugar levels
The food we consume contains sugars which are stored in our blood in the form of glucose. This glucose is absorbed by the muscles in our body, but body fat is the enemy of this absorption process. An obese person is prone to type-2 diabetes since excessive amounts of fat are present in the body which does not allow the muscles to absorb the glucose from the blood. This results in more glucose or sugar level in the blood which leads to diabetes.

By regularly exercising, a person not only burns his/her excessive body fat, but also makes use of the muscles in his body thus allowing the muscles to absorb the glucose present in the blood readily. This helps reduce the sugar level in the blood. Moreover, doing exercise on a regular basis helps increase insulin sensitivity. It helps cells to use available insulin in taking up glucose during and after physical activity.

Understanding blood glucose reaction
The duration for which you perform physical activities will determine your blood glucose level. Physical activity has its effect on your blood glucose level and can keep it in check for up to 24 hours by increasing your body s insulin sensitivity. Every individual needs to monitor how his body responds to physical exercise by regularly monitoring the blood sugar level before and after exercise or as advised by the doctor.
Once you are familiar with the results you achieve with respect to duration and types of exercises you perform you shall be able to control your blood sugar levels more effectively and prevent your sugar levels from going either too high or too low.

Hypoglycemia and physical activity
People who have diabetes should be prepared to treat hypoglycemia or low blood sugar level. Hypoglycemia is more common in people with type-1 diabetes, and people with type-2 diabetes are at lesser risk unless they are on insulin. Individuals who experience Hypoglycemia during or after exercise should consult a doctor immediately.

If you choose to resume your exercise routine, make sure you take a break and treat your low blood sugar level. Once your sugar level gets normal, you can begin your physical activity. What you need to know is that a drop, in sugar level, can occur just after exercise or even long after exercise.

Chances of a drop, in sugar level, occur in those diabetic people who either take insulin, skip meals, or exercise for too long or too hard. If you are finding it hard to keep your sugar level in check, consult a doctor immediately and follow his advice diligently.

In order to avoid hypoglycaemia, you can eat a fruit or nuts before exercise. It is also very important to hydrate yourself during the exercise. Ideally, take a fruit half hour before exercising. Keep yourself hydrated during the workout. Avoid energy drinks.

Why Exercising Is Important In Reducing Sugar Level In Blood?


Many overweight and obese people have darkened and a rather flaky texture behind neck, darkening in armpits and other parts of body with creases and folds like elbows, knees or knuckles. This is commonly mistaken as smudge of dirt, uncleanliness or lack of hygiene. Some people think that it is due to repeated friction caused by necklace or chains etc. In fact it is a sign of'diabetes' which is already developed or might develop in future.

This darkening is due to excessive cell growth and differentiation of fibroblasts caused by excess of insulin in the body especially in obese individuals and type 2 diabetes patients.

In obese individuals and type 2 diabetes patients excess amount of fat especially abdominal fat (tummy fat) causes resistance to action of insulin secreted by pancreas and tends to hamper its action. In return, body produces more and more insulin from pancreas to keep blood sugar under control. This excess amount of insulin secreted by body promotes this skin cell growth leading to the visible condition called'acanthosis nigricans' in medical terms.

After producing excess amount of insulin pancreas start exhausting, this converts into diabetes. At this stage diabetes can be prevented by simple lifestyle modifications &amp; focussed weight loss.

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Are Dark Cracks Behind Neck A Sign Of Diabetes?

Type II Diabetes is also known as Non-Insulin Dependent Diabetes Mellitus (NIDDM) or Adult-onset Diabetes. Diabetes mellitus is a syndrome characterized by increased level of sugar (glucose) in the blood due to deficiency or inactivity of hormone 'Insulin' that is absolutely necessary to monitor glucose metabolism of body. This is a metabolic disorder that is primarily characterized by insulin resistance, relative insulin deficiency and consecutively hyperglycemia. Diabetes is prevalent worldwide and if not attended properly, it may lead to serious complications.

Causes of Type II Diabetes:

Diabetes basically occurs due to defective insulin secretion combined with defective responsiveness of the body to the insulin (also called Insulin resistance). Due to both these factors, hyperglycemia starts occurring in the body. It is strongly associated with obesity and with increasing age. A strong inheritance pattern has been noted in cases of type 2 diabetes. Sedentary lifestyle, pregnancy, hypertension, cardiovascular diseases, etc pose as risk factors for developing Diabetes.

Type 2 diabetes can begin at any age though it is not very common in childhood. It usually begins with insulin resistance, a condition in which the body does not use insulin properly. At first, the pancreas keeps up with the added demand by producing more insulin but later it loses the ability to secrete enough insulin in response to meals. This ultimately results in Hyperglycemia (high levels of glucose in circulation).

Homeopathic Treatment for Type II Diabetes:

Diabetes is a constitutional disorder as it is an offshoot of constitutional defects (genetic factors, altered immunity) having an impact on the entire constitution of an individual. Hence it calls for an in-depth constitutional approach for its management.

Homeopathy is based on the principle that disease is a total affliction of body. Moreover, homeopathy recognizes importance of the underlying causes such as genetic and inherited factors as the root of any ailment of the body. Homeopathic medicines prescribed on such criteria plays a crucial role in management of many deep-rooted, chronic, difficult diseases; one amongst them being Diabetes.

When we talk about diseases like diabetes, we talk in terms of management rather than cure. Homeopathic treatment along with intake of hypoglycemic drugs and/or insulin can prevent the progress and the complications associated with this condition. Moreover timely administered homeopathic medicines help in maintaining the levels of exogenous insulin and hypoglycemic drugs at minimum possible dosage and in preventing the further progress of the disease. However, it may be noted that there is no substitute to insulin in homeopathy. The role of a healthy diet and exercise cannot be underestimated along with all the above treatment measures.

Diet Food For Diabetes

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