The Glucose challenge-a patient’s perspective

Glucose is such a strange commodity! Our bodies cannot do without it, yet we can die because there is too much of it in blood. Insulin produced by the pancreas is responsible for transporting this energy-giver from blood in to body cells. A shortage of insulin or an inability of insulin to discharge its function leads to piles of glucose lying in blood while cells just across a thin membrane die for want of it.

Doctors often ask for what is called a Glucose Challenge Test. You are asked to drink a fixed volume of the sweet stuff and then technicians measure how long a body takes to move the stuff out of the bloodstream. How about a new perspective on the term ‘Glucose Challenge’? Could there be a way out of the vicious cycle of too much glucose in blood while cells starve for want of it?

There is no universal answer but people in the pre-diabetes II zone can indeed reverse the progression towards the full-blown form of the disease. Reduction even a few pounds of body weight and moderate exercise improve insulin’s ability to move insulin from blood in to cells where they belong. Patient awareness and compliance with simple diet and lifestyle instructions can stave off Type II Diabetes in a majority of conditions. The disease is relatively easy to manage with oral medication if attended to in time. Type II diabetes tends to strike in middle-age and the elderly are vulnerable as well.

The versatile human body can make glucose from carbohydrates and from proteins as well. Sugar, oil and fat ate the three most common culprits for excess glucose in blood, so why not find ways to cut back if not cut out these extravagant food ingredients from our diet? Sugar is the easiest target with Aspartame, Stevia and Sucralose all vying to take its place. Honestly, sugar substitutes structured with additives such as micro cellulose are so good that it is sometimes difficult to tell whether delicious desserts have one of these substitutes or the old-styled sugar.

Grills, bakes, barbecues with low-fat margarine, mayonnaise and sauces are great switches from deep-fried food with greasy dressings. The lighter styles of cooking and eating make us more energetic and less drowsy, apart from the delight of a new wardrobe, one size smaller than we have been for years! You could see nutrition and diet expert recommended by your doctor and start a powerful campaign to keep Type II Diabetes away. This is especially important for people with a family history of diabetes, genetic pre-disposition to the disease or even a hint of pre-diabetes. Ask your doctor, if you do not exercise already, to check if you are well enough to start brisk walks at least thrice a week.

Sanguine diet and judicious exercise, under a doctor’s supervision, can help you take Glucose head-on, keeping it in cells where it belongs. A few people may need to pop pills and perhaps take insulin as well, but the effort pays rich and regular dividends in terms of longevity and quality of life, with savings in Health Insurance costs as well.

Do you have Mental Health coverage?

Ask this question of your circles of friends and colleagues and you could be surprised at the neglect of this vital health benefit.

Depression, stress and anxiety affect more of us than many people realize. A shocking 1 out of every 10 Americans suffers from one form or the other of Mental Disorder. A study has shown that almost 60% of absenteeism is due to psychological problems. Many of these conditions are eminently treatable but are allowed to aggravate as they are left either without diagnosis or benefits to cover the cost of treatment.

Children most often pay for our errors during open enrollment and some 10 million children suffer from mental ill-health. The condition of the mind affects our physical states as well, so people often see doctors with complaints that have roots in mental health. Mental conditions can provoke alcohol and drug abuse and result in suicide as well.

Medicine recognizes more than 100 different types of mental ill-health. Many of them have subtle beginnings that need expertise to diagnose in time. We may not be in peak mental condition, but tragically ignore the condition until it makes serious inroads in to our lives. Primary Care Physicians are trained to recognize symptoms of mental ill-health, but it is best to have a professional assessment by a Clinical Psychiatrist.

Mental Health Self Assessment Tools are a partial substitute for a professional evaluation by a qualified doctor. Visit http://www.albany.edu/eap/links.html and try the test for depression and some of the others as well. A helpful outcome of trying some of these tests could be a talk with your doctor to seek a GAF (Global Assessment of Functioning) score by a Psychiatrist that could keep you on the highway to Mental Health.

The best time to start planning for open enrollment…

…is today! It does not matter if your open enrollment closes tomorrow or opens after 6 months; you could do yourself a great favor and help the ones you love, by thinking through all the variables that will impact your next health insurance policy.

You could opt for an HMO (Health Maintenance Organization) or a PPO (Preferred Provider Organization). Choose between high deductibles and a whopping premium. Cover every eventuality or leverage your good health status for savings. The choices are endless and therefore confusing.

Start with a thorough assessment of your state of health. The easiest way is to spend time with your Primary Care Physician and get a dispassionate assessment of illnesses that could stop by your home. Is there a chance that diabetes will strike or that cancer could stop by your door? The future is not entirely known to mortals, but obesity and long-standing hypertension have some predictable consequences.

Doctors are busy and a consultation for open enrollment could set you back a bit. It is always a good investment, but you have many fine options of evaluating some of your health needs on your own as well. Try http://www.healthstatus.com/ for example. You should also review the claims that you have had occasion to make during the year gone by and weigh in family and work situation changes that could impact your health insurance product choice.

Most people know that you can win significant discounts by giving up on all forms of tobacco and thereby reducing your health risks in a meaningful way. Consider the other diet and lifestyle changes you could make in order not just to save on health costs, but to lead a better life in the main part. A BMI (Body Mass Index) of over 29 is a call to see your doctor and go on a diet. It is never too late to start a regimen of exercise, after a medical evaluation of course, if you have been a bit of a couch potato!

Do search this site or the entire web, to find a free BMI calculator and useful information on diet and exercise.

Remember that mental health needs careful consideration. Visit

http://my.webmd.com/hw/mental_health/aa79756.asp

Consult your Primary Care Physician or chosen health provider if you have not had an evaluation done during the year gone by.

Knowing the states of physical and mental health of each member of your family, gives you a head-start in planning for your next open enrollment. You will get vital leads to choosing a better product if the deadline is near and an annual plan as well, to plan for a better future.

Can Diabetes affect your health insurance benefits?

Read, check and ask about diabetes coverage when you enroll in a health insurance program!

More than 6% of all Americans have diabetes!
Almost one in three people with diabetes do not know about their condition!
The National Diabetes Information Clearing House has more of this worrying kind of statistics-visit the link provided on this page, to read more about this serious and expensive disease.
Diabetes often needs daily medication, with regular diagnostic tests and visits to the doctor. Expensive complications are likely if diagnosis of the condition has been delayed.
Health Insurance benefit providers will almost certainly expect you to pay an average of 20% of the cost of all diabetes care. You could find some essential aspects of management excluded altogether. Benefits may not apply at all for at least a few months after you have enrolled in a new policy.
Some minorities are genetically pre-disposed to diabetes and are more likely to suffer from it at some point in their lives. Some women may experience reversible episodes of diabetes during pregnancy, while the disease also attacks the elderly with impunity.
Some HMOs (Health Maintenance Organizations) may severely restrict the doctors and hospitals available for your treatment and care. PPOs (Preferrred Provider Organizations) and POS (Point-Of-Service) Plans may result in steep premia or a high rate of deductibles from bills. Diabetes is a chronic condition without a care as yet, and your decision on the health insurance product you choose for your protection and for those dependant on you, has relatively serious and irreversible consequences.

* Read the brochure on each health insurance product with care and in detail.
* Make a list of the services that are covered and the amounts that you must pay for yourself.
* Review the list of conditions that are not covered and weigh the annual and long term costs of their inclusion.
* Consult an authorized Agent and seek expert counsel.
* Compare products from various providers or options that your employer provides and make a considered choice in your best interests.

Post any questions here that you would like answered for free or share your own experience on reimbursement and coverage for all forms of diabetes.