Posts Tagged ‘diabetes testing supplies’

How Liberty Can Help You With Diabetes Management

December 30th, 2009

Diabetes is one of the most common diseases in the United States, affecting over 18 million people. According to The Center for Disease Control in Atlanta, Georgia, approximately 6% of the US population suffers from diabetes. Since diabetes has such a high occurence, several companies have been looking for a way to help diabetic patients better manage their health. One of the best is Liberty, a medical supplier that focuses on diabetic customers.

Liberty has impressively managed to amass one of the country’s largest inventories of diabetes testing supplies. Customers can order these supplies over the phone or can place an order online at libertymedical.com. Liberty provides their customers with award-winning delivery service after an order has been placed. Liberty recognizes that many of their customers are elderly and in general poor health and leaving the home may be a difficult, if not impossible, process for them. Since such a service is generally not available for more traditional medical supply sources like pharmacies, Liberty is recognized as having a cornerstone in its delivery system.

Liberty offers a variety of supplies so that their customers can ensure that they stay in optimal health through every step of the process. Certain diabetics have to deal with insulin production problems. This pancreas-produced hormone is necessary for assisting the body in processing sugar. Using blood sugar in an effective manner is crucial for the body to produce necessary proteins and to maintain the individual’s energy levels. Liberty offers many ways for their diabetic customers to maintain insulin levels. For the customers who need it, Liberty offers insulin pumps that administer a continuous stream of insulin into the bloodstream. Another option that many Liberty customers use is manually injecting synthetic insulin directly into their body with needles and syringes. Liberty provides its customers with the necessary supplies and equipment to perform these tasks.

It is difficult to measure insulin levels directly; however in order for diabetics to know when they need to introduce more insulin into their system, they must have a way to find their body’s insulin levels at any given time. One of the best ways to do this is by monitoring glucose levels. Liberty offers glucose meters, meters which can take a few drops of blood to determine glucose levels, to its customers. In order to get a few drops of blood on a test strip, Liberty customers simply prick their finger. The glucose meter can read the test strip to determine glucose levels. A1c kits are also one of the ways to measure insulin levels. Even though A1c ktis are more accurate than glucose monitoring, they required the use of expensive lab analysis, until recently. Liberty does, however, pride itself on having the best diabetic equipment available to their customers, including a more recent offering of an at-home A1c kit.

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Always Tired and Thirsty? Have Yourself Checked For Diabetes

September 20th, 2009

Every year, diabetes impacts the lives of millions of Americans. For many years, there was little that one could do if they had the disease. Today, however, unlike in years past, there are free diabetes testing supplies available to treat the disease so that a diabetic can live a pretty much normal life.

When you have an insulin deficiency, your body is not able to store glucose. As a result the glucose level in your bloodstream begins to rise. Normally, the kidneys can handle excess glucose in the bloodstream by filtering it out. However, when the glucose level reaches 180 mg/dl or above, a tipping point is reached. At this point the kidneys are overloaded and can no longer perform their filtering function. The excess glucose, having nowhere else to go, begins to enter the bloodstream. It’s at this point that diabetes complications usually start to occur.

Generally, because of the excess glucose in their bloodstream, diabetics experiences some common symptoms. One of the more prevalent ones is that they become extremely thirsty and as a result have to urinate a lot. The reason is that glucose causes water to be extracted from the blood which is then excreted from the body in the form of urine. The loss of water from the blood leads to dehydration and feelings of thirst. Too frequent urination can be a problem because along with the excess glucose, the urine is also carrying out sodium and potassium, important nutrients for the body.

Diabetics often feel “run down” and tired and don’t understand exactly why. But because of the effect that glucose intolerance has on the body, it’s not that surprising. In just about everyone, the foods that they consume is converted to a glucose. The insulin in their body then converts the glucose into a fuel source (glycogen) that can be used to power the body. The process is different with people with diabetes, however, because of their insulin problems. This prevents the glucose in their body from being changed into glycogen or energy food. In other words, even though they’re eating, there body is not able to use the food. It’s like putting gasoline into a car where the  carburetor or fuel-injector is not working. The car has plenty of fuel, but is unable to convert it into useable form.

A woman who is having vaginal infections and is at a loss to understand why, may want to be tested for diabetes. The reason is that the deficiency in insulin cause glucose level to rise in the blood, including vaginal secretions. Fungi and bacteria love high glucose areas of the body, it’s an excellent food source for them, making it the perfect environment for them to grow.

One of the most devastating facts about this disease is that out of all the people that have it in this country, 50% of them are totally unaware of it. If it’s not treated, it can lead to serious difficulties such as glaucoma, blindness, kidney disease, nerve damage, and more. Of course, if someone is unaware that they have it, they can’t begin treatment. To be tested for diabetes is no longer a big deal. In fact, many doctors include it as part of a normal yearly physical exam. Ignoring a disease that is so easily treated is a mistake that no one should make.

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The Changes In Your Body Can Be A Clue To Diabetes

September 15th, 2009

Diabetes is one of the most devastating diseases one can have. But although a growing number of people are diagnosed with it every year. not many people really know what it is. The phrase diabetes mellitus has an intriguing origin. The word “mellitus” comes from a Greek word that means sweet. “Diabetes” is the Greek word for siphon. Somewhere in their history the Ancient Greeks found out that when some people drank a lot, the liquids nearly immediately left their body in the form of urine – just as though it were being siphoned from their bodies.

In addition to the frequent urination, the Greeks noted that the urine from these people had a slightly sweet taste. Hence the phrase “diabetes mellitus” or sweet flavored siphoned  liquid. Now, you may well ask why were the ancient Greeks tasting urine? They used urine as a mouthwash, to prevent cavities from forming. Remember, this was prior to us having the many mouthwash name brands that are so popular today.

Diabetes is a slow developing disease. By the time it’s diagnosed, the body has already been going through changes for many years. Together these signs are often known as pre-diabetes. To test for pre-diabetes, you first have to find the blood glucose levels in your bloodstream.  You can locate diabetic testing supplies in medical supply houses and drug stores.

Researchers have defined a blood glucose level threshold that defines diabetes. They’ve also defined a glucose level below which a person is considered normal. If your blood glucose levels fall in the middle of these ranges, you will most likely be diagnosed with pre-diabetes.

But just because you have been diagnosed with pre-diabetes doesn’t necessarily mean that you’re doomed to get diabetes. But it does mean that you should begin to watch your lifestyle. Many people after being diagnosed with pre-diabetes make lifestyle changes and never experience diabetes.

Diagnosis of diabetes is easy today, but it use to be trickier. A diagnosis of diabetes means that you have a high percentage of glucose in the bloodstream. Over the years, however,  standards have changed over the year. And levels of blood glucose that in the past were not considered diabetic are now considered diabetic. Today, the American Diabetes Association has set the threshold to be a blood glucose level of 200 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dl) when the patient is given the Oral Glucose Tolerance Test.

However, one test is not enough. You need to have multiple diabetes tests before you can be 100% confirmed as having diabetes. That’s because a diabetes test can give you a false positive.

A lot of of the problems caused by diabetes is the result of the body being unable to process the glucose that’s in the bloodstream. If the body is unable to process glucose, the cells can’t get nutrients. As a result, the person will usually feel tired or listless. The reason for the body being unable to process glucose is often a deficit of insulin in the body.

Insulin is the magic hormone that breaks down glucose into glycogen, a form of fuel that can be stored in the body as fat and used when needed. Insulin also is the magical chemical that changes the structure of the body’s cells so that they can accept nutrients.

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