FAQs on Endocrinology and Diabetes

Q- Diabetes & exercise

Ans- It's important to keep in mind that if you have diabetes, you always need to be prepared

 before exercising. Always speak with your diabetes care team prior to starting a new fitness routine.

 Keep in mind these points before starting your exercise session :

• If blood glucose levels are less than 90 mg per dl & you are on oral medication- take 3-4 tsp
• sugar before leaving for exercise.
• If blood glucose levels are less than 110 mg per dl & you are on insulin- take 3-4 tsp
• sugar before leaving for exercise.
• If blood glucose levels are more than 300 mg per dl (in case you are on insulin)- don't go for
• exercise until you speak to your healthcare team for further management.
• Make sure you are carrying some sugar or fruit or non diet soft drink or toffee (sugar candy)
• with you while working out because your sugars might just go low in between or after a work- out.
• Bring your glucose meter, since you'll want to check your glucose after every 30 minutes of exercise.

Sick day action plan for managing your diabetes.

Sick day management is important for people with diabetes in order to avoid hospitalization.

When you fall sick your body is under stress, due to which it releases some hormones to get rid 

of this stress condition. These hormones can lead to unexpected changes in the blood glucose levels.

Moreover, during illness, your appetite might vary, along with changes in your exercise or drug routine.

These changes can lead to further complications like Ketoacidosis etc. Thus keeping your blood

sugars under control when sick will prevent a lot of serious complications.

Please read the points mentioned below to manage your diabetes when sick:

Continue your diabetes medicines. Stress of being sick can cause blood sugars to increase unusually.

If you take oral diabetes medication, you will have to continue taking it. In case of stomach

upsets or vomiting or breathing difficulty, you might have to change some medication, for which

you should immediately consult your doctor. You may also need to start with insulin 

for a short period of time depending on your blood sugar control. In case, you are already

on insulin, you need to get your dose revised you're your doctor considering your present

sugar levels, even if you cannot eat your regular food.

FAQs on Endocrinology or Diabetes

Q- Guidelines for insulin

Ans- Insulin hormone is produced by our pancreas in response to our blood sugars. 

Insulin acts like a key, unlocking doors that allow glucose to enter cells. In diabetes,

 either pancreas is unable to produce insulin or the cells are unresponsive to insulin's effect.

Insulin is the safest medicine that your doctor can give you & your body does not get

 used to it. If your body is not producing insulin at all, you will need it for lifetime. Other

 conditions that might need insulin are: Gestational diabetes, diabetes complications where

 in oral diabetic drugs have some side-effects, infections, surgery etc.

How to handle insulin ?

 Insulin is a hormone, which is easily damaged by mishandling & extreme temperatures.

To keep insulin in good condition, remember :

• Avoid excessive physical trauma to insulin such as by vigorous shaking before injecting.
• Avoid excessive heat - like closed cars in warm weather, exposure to direct sunlight
• Avoid excessive cold - like freezer compartment in refrigerator, cargo compartment of air craft.

How to store insulin ?

Unopened vial- can be stored at room temperature for up to 1 month & in the door compartment

 of the refrigerator till the expiry date.

Opened vial- can be stored for 28 days at room temperature & till the date of expiry in the door

 compartment of the refrigerator.

Insulin pen- can be stored in the door compartment of the refrigerator or Air-conditioned room.

 Pen can tolerate up to 30 degree centigrade of temperature.

Insulin cartridges- should be stored in the door compartment of the refrigerator.

While traveling...

While traveling by air, insulin should be kept in the handbag & not in the luggage compartment.

While traveling by train, bus or car, insulin should be kept in a pouch with ice pack or gelpack or

 dry ice....

Modes of insulin injection :

• Syringe
• Insulin pen
• Insulin pump

FAQs on Diabetes or Endocrinology

Q- Type 1 diabetes information for parents.

Ans- If you're like most parents who have just been told your child or teen has type 1 diabetes,

 it is a complete shock. Only about 10 percent of the time do we find a family history of type 1 

diabetes. There is more to learn about what causes, prevents and cures type 1 diabetes.

In the meantime, we must all work together to help your child live a long and healthy life.

And yes, that is a realistic goal. Research studies show that people with type 1 diabetes

 who aim to keep their blood glucose levels as close to normal as possible can significantly

 lower the chances of life-threatening complications related to diabetes.

What goes wrong ?

The diagnosis of type 1 diabetes was made because your child's level of glucose (sugar)

 in the blood was above normal. This indicates that the metabolic system of checks and

 balances in the body is not working. Insulin is not being produced. Insulin is essential to

 escort the glucose from the foods we eat into cells of the body where it is critically needed

 to function properly. As a result, glucose builds up in the bloodstream.

Your child may still be producing some insulin at this point, but in type 1 diabetes the 

pancreas loses all ability to produce insulin. The islet cells in the pancreas that produce

 insulin are gradually all destroyed, a process that we cannot at this point stop. Injections of insulin

 or an insulin

 pump are then needed to survive.

Why not an insulin pill ?

Insulin can't be given orally because it is a protein and would be digested instead of getting to

 the blood stream where it is needed. Just about all of the commercially available insulin

 now are genetically engineered as human insulin. Insulin comes in a variety of preparations that

 differ according to how fast it takes effect, when that effect is the greatest, and how long it

 continues to work in the body.

Living with diabetes.

What seems overwhelming now will eventually become routine. One of the first hurdles to 

get over is that to help your child, you must prick him or her with a needle. This will get easier for

 all involved. There are new devices as well as some in development that make blood 

glucose testing and insulin injections less painful, easier and more precise.

To live successfully with diabetes essentially means to learn how to be a pancreas.

 You have to learn how to monitor blood glucose levels and adjust the levels of insulin

 needed accordingly. To do this,you must consider several factors :

• Blood glucose levels, measured several times a day.
• The timing and content of meals eaten (specifically, considering type and amount of 
• carbohydrates in the foods).
• The amount of physical activity, which requires more glucose and thus more insulin.
• And then based on need, getting doses of insulin through multiple injections or an insulin 
• pump into the body multiple times a day.