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Wednesday, November, 25, 2009
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Shedding Light on the Co-morbidities of DiabetesThe Complications of Having Rheumatoid Arthritis and Diabetes

Glucagon

Gretchen Becker
Gretchen Becker
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Author, Humorist, wildlyfluctuating.blogspot.com

Gretchen Becker studied biology for 8 years at Radcliffe/Harvard,...

Gretchen Becker

Friday, May 01, 2009
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Most of us have learned a lot about insulin, the hormone produced by the beta cells that works to let muscle and fat cells take up glucose from the blood, hence keeping our blood glucose (BG) levels at healthy levels.   We know that if we have diabetes we don't have enough insulin to keep thos...
  1. stepchild hormone
    frankenduf
    Friday, May 01, 2009 at 04:55 PM

    yeah, this is a nice highlight of a neglected metabolic abnormality- it reminds me of a common scenario where the patient comes in and complains- I eat like a bird in the morning and my sugar is still high!- the doctor raises his eyebrow- one might presume the doctor thinks the patient is 'embellishing' the food record, but some of these type of complaints may be due to inappropriate glucagon action

    Reply
  2. Byetta and Januvia
    Aggie
    Friday, May 08, 2009 at 12:19 AM

    Red flags are starting to come up concerning Byetta and Januvia. It is possible that these new drugs could increase the risk of developing pancreatitis or even pancreatic cancer. I think I agree with the doc who does not prescribe any drug for his patients unless it has been on the market for at least 10 years.

     

    Good post. There is more to the problem of diabetes than just blood sugar numbers or insulin resistance. When you change something in the body, there is often a counter-balancing reaction, and it may not be one you like. There is a really old book called Wisdom of the Body by a Dr. Cannon details this phenomenon.

    Reply
  3. Untitled Comment
    Mariela Lauria
    Tuesday, August 18, 2009 at 07:46 PM

    Very interesting. Thanks a lot for the tip. But I was wondering if you could tell me, why if I do a lot of work out, or burn a lot of calories by exercising, depending on the activity I have, after an hour high levels of glucose in blood??

    For example, if I play tenis, my blood sugar levels increase soon after I´ve played for two hours. Within 4 o 6 hours my glucose decrease. While if I do some aerobics activities, in almost an hour it comes down.

    I very much know how my body behaves in those cases, I´m very energetic and practise sports everyday. But I´d like a scientific explanation, if it was possible.

    Could you have an anwer like the one of the glucagon??

    Thanks a lot, and sorry to bother you with my question.

    I´m Mariela, from Argentina.

    Reply
    re: Untitled Comment
    Gretchen Becker
    Tuesday, August 18, 2009 at 09:07 PM

    Mariela,

     

    Stress makes blood sugar go up, and the body sees strenuous exercise as stress. I discuss this in my book The First Year: Type 2 Diabetes. It's not clear to me if you're from Argentina living in the US or if you're in Argentina now. If the former, check your local libraries, as many of them have copies of my book.

     

    You might enjoy the Diabetes World mailing list, which is run by a doctor from Argentina.

    Reply
    re: re: Untitled Comment
    Mariela Lauria
    Tuesday, August 18, 2009 at 09:27 PM

    Thanks a lot Gretchen!! I´m living in Argentina. I´ll try to find a copy of your book as soon as possible.

    Best wishes for you and I´ll keep on asking....

    See you.

    Reply
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