An Understanding of Type 2 Diabetes
Published April 5, 2011Barton Home Care – providing premium home care, Castle Rock, CO
Type 2 diabetes is the most common form of diabetes. It is a lifelong disease that is marked by high levels of glucose (sugar) in the blood. It impacts the way the body metabolizes sugar, which is the body’s primary source of fuel.
Type 2 diabetes can be managed or, better yet, prevented. Exercising, eating healthy foods and weight management can often help with management. If diet and exercise are not enough, diabetes medications or insulin therapy may be needed.
Barton Home Care – premium home care, Castle Rock, CO
Common symptoms can include increased thirst and frequent urination, fatigue, weight loss, increased hunger, blurred vision, slow-healing sores, frequent infections and patches of darkened skin. In addition to weight and inactivity, other risk factors may include age, particularly after the age of 45, and family history. Though it is unclear why, certain races including Hispanics, Asian-Americans and Blacks are more likely to develop type 2 diabetes.
Prediabetes exists when your blood sugar level is higher than normal, but not high enough to be classified as type 2. If untreated, prediabetes can lead to type 2. Gestational diabetes, which can develop during a pregnancy, can increase risk for developing type 2 later in life.
If ignored, diabetes can impact major organs including your kidneys, eyes, blood vessels, nerves and heart. That is why controlling blood sugar levels is so important.
Gerri Tyber, Operations Manager
Barton Home Care – Castle Rock, CO
Denver Caregiver Alert – Common infections and Alzheimer Link
Published March 19, 2010The Alzheimer’s Society funded research at the University of Southampton in the UK which examined cognitive abilities of people with Alzheimer’s. It found a possible link between high levels of protein in the blood and increased memory loss. People with respiratory, gastrointestinal or other similar infections were more likely to have an elevated protein level linked to inflammation-like reactions in the brain. Research showed that people who caught an infection, such as a simple cold or stomach bug, had twice the rate of cognitive decline as healthy people.
The potential link between inflammatory processes and Alzheimer’s is not yet totally understood. Much more research is needed; however, the research that has been done establishes the importance that people with dementia treat any kind of infection seriously and seek medical help promptly.
The research from this study was published in Neurology journal, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. It raises the viewpoint that common anti-inflammatory drugs like aspirin and ibuprofen could be used in the fight against Alzheimer’s.
Gerri Tyber, Operations Manager
Barton Home Care – Denver caregiver
Senior Home Health Care Denver – A Better Understanding of “Empathy”
Published September 1, 2009Senior Home Health Care Denver – My Journey to Understanding the Challenges of our Seniors
The transition from a normal, independent middle-aged person to one with incapacitating Guillian Barré Syndrome is not a pleasant one. A three-week hospital stay and countless diagnostic tests resulted in my GBS diagnosis. This is an insidious immune system disorder that causes severe nerve and muscle damage. My case is much less severe than many who are afflicted with it, but it still caused a paralysis that made me fall numerous times ultimately resulting in a broken ankle.
I’m glad to finally be home, but I currently have to rely on a walker to move around. Daily mundane tasks like running the vacuum, driving a car and watering plants are still out of my ability range. My feet and hands are not working properly; the broken ankle is the least of my problems.
On a positive note, this experience has given me a new appreciation for the challenges that so many people face every day. I’ll never look at a person using a walker or a cane in the same way again; I will always wonder what chain of events led them to that predicament. Severe illness can take you to a dark place. I have been fortunate, until now, to be a very healthy adult and never visited this very frightening place before—one that forces you to realize that circumstances beyond your control can result in a loss of your independence.
Even though very little is known about the causes of GBS and there is no cure for it, the nerve damage generally reverses itself. The time frame for the reversal varies from individual to individual. There is hope for full recovery; many other illnesses do not offer this hope. This experience has taught me to “empathize” with those who are dealing with severe health issues. I have a better understanding of their fears and their hopes for recuperation.
Gerri Tyber, Operations Manager
Barton Home Care
