"This blog was developed to provide medical updates that are important and have my perspective as additional insight."
The newer diabetes medication Januvia was recently found to cause severe joint pains in a few patients (28 cases) and it made the news as a result. The FDA came out with a warning about this association and concern that this may be seen more commonly as it is an unexpected side-effect not seen during …
Dr. Howard Baum is a close friend of mine and an outstanding endocrinologist who is on the faculty of Vanderbilt University Medical Center. During a recent visit I was able to ‘pick his brain’ on three topics of importance and interest to many patients who see me. Check out his podcasts on: Hypothyroidism Diabetes Osteoporosis …
Read More “EXPERT ADVICE FROM AN OUTSTANDING ENDOCRINOLOGIST”
I always liked that saying about the canary. Perhaps it wasn’t such a good job being the canary, but the idea of a simple measure to assess a situation is a great idea, and the latest information on diabetic patients gives us just such information. Diabetic complications have fallen sharply over the past few decades, …
I’m not a big shopper….but I do love a bargain. Probably comes from traipsing around with my mom when I was a kid, or now with my kids when they are shopping. If it’s a sale item it looks so much better! I’ve told you all before about shopping for best prices at Costco through …
Certain Whole Fruits Linked to Lower Diabetes Risk By Amy Orciari Herman (www.jwatch.org website) Adults who frequently consume certain whole fruits, including apples, grapes, and blueberries, have a significantly lower risk for type 2 diabetes than those who eat little fruit, according to a BMJ study. Three cohorts of U.S. healthcare professionals, comprising nearly 190,000 adults without …
Read More “FRESH FRUITS PREVENT DIABETES DESPITE CONTAINING NATURAL SUGARS”
Peripheral Vascular Disease, also called PAD (peripheral arterial disease), is characterized primarily by issues with bloodflow to the legs, leading to claudication (pain with walking distances that ameliorates with resting), but there are other aspects of this condition which include carotid artery disease and aortic aneurysm. To determine who is at risk we generally look …
Type 2 diabetes is due to a relative lack of insulin effect, which is often connected to an individuals weight. We all know that being overweight is a risk for developing diabetes and that losing weight, therefore, should prevent the development of diabetes. In a large study from Sweden, recently published in the New England …
Read More “BARIATRIC SURGERY WORKS TO PREVENT DIABETES—NO SURPRISE”
ACTOS (Pioglitizone) is a medication for Type 2 Diabetes that works by making your own insulin work more effectively in muscle, fat, and liver tissues. It is a very effective and tolerable medication, but there are some controversies. It has been available for over a decade and is now going generic. Since this medication is …
Read More “ACTOS GOES GENERIC…..WITH COMMENTS ON SIDE- EFFECTS NOTED”
Recent reports have confirmed that statin medications, like Zocor and Lipitor, do increased a person’s risk for developing diabetes over their lifetime. This is an important issue and any negatives from the medication need to be weighed against their positives. For cholesterol medications, in most instances, the benefits ‘do’ outweigh the negatives. A recent study …
Metformin (Glucophage) is a medication used in treating diabetes for the past 50 years. It has a great track record of safety and is very inexpensive. It has always been recognized as a ‘first line’ therapy, as it reduces the body’s insulin levels and helps in losing weight. If that weren’t enough, recent studies have …
Exenatide is an injectible medications used for Type 2 Diabetes that has been available for a few years in the form called Byetta. Injectible, but not insulin, it is a medication that improves blood sugar by increasing the body’s own insulin production and blocking the secretion of the counter-hormone glucagon. Effective and proven in twice …
Read More “ONCE WEEKLY INJECTION FOR DIABETES HOLDS INTEREST”