SugarStats.com Launched! – Simple Blood Sugar Tracking. Online

We’re happy to announce we’re launching our blood sugar tracking and diabetes management website, SugarStats.com, to the online diabetic community.

Check out our shiny press release

With 194 million people worldwide and 21 million in the U.S. alone coping with diabetes daily, hopefully we can help make a difference and utilize all this great technology at our disposal to help keep things under control.

We built SugarStats to be simple and easy to use. You input and access your info via a web browser for easy access no matter where you are. So whether at home, on the road or in the office, you’re connected. You can then easily share your stats with your family, friends or health-care professional.

With SugarStats you will be able to:

• Bring your readings online. Get rid of that pen & paper log!
• Track & manage meds, foods/carbs and physical activity
• Drill down into specific time frames to get a clear overview
• Visualize your progress with easy to read graphs and trends
• Share your statistics with your family, friends or doctor
• Access your info from any modern web browsers
• Have a clear and easy-to-use interface to view your stats

Sign up Free – Takes less than 30 seconds

To create your free account simply go to:

http://manage.sugarstats.com/subscriptions

For more info on SugarStats go to http://www.sugarstats.com
or
Take a screenshot tour of at http://www.sugarstats.com/tour

Questions, Inquiry or Support

Any questions or troubles just email us at support@sugarstats.com
Need help? Drop by the Help Wiki: http://wiki.sugarstats.com/

Privacy Policy: http://manage.sugarstats.com/ToS.html#pp
Terms of Service: http://manage.sugarstats.com/ToS.html

We’re pretty excited over here as we’ll be shortly be launching SugarStats to the public. As a thank you to the community and those who have wanted to help with the BETA testing we’re going to offering something special for the next 6 days:

Free? Premium? Beta? Huh?

The free account in SugarStats includes pretty much all of the features we’ve spent the last year building up. We want to make it as widely available to the Diabetes community as possible. Our goal is to keep as much of the feature set included in the free plan now and in the future.

At launch we’ll also be introducing a Premium accounts upon launch for those wanting more for a low monthly/yearly cost. This plan includes everything the free plan has but adds a few more features (such as food intake and physical activity tracking) and convenience benefits such as being ad free and having secure SSL encryption.

Beta accounts are exactly the same as premium accounts, but as you’ll see below, include a little something special

Big thanks to all our BETA testers

Along the same lines as above, as a token of our appreciation in helping test and polish SugarStats, all current Beta testers will get all premium features free… Forever. This means all current premium features and all future features you’ll get free.

Thank you to the early adopters

Let me at it!!

Just go to:

http://manage.sugarstats.com/users/new

and fill in your info. We’ve made the validation string the same for everyone and it should be filled in when you go there. If it isn’t, type in: aloha. Complete the sign up form and you’re in.

Now whenever you want to login just go to:

http://manage.sugarstats.com/

Spread the word

This offer is open to every and anyone. Tell your friends, family, doctor, dogs, cats etc. Email it, digg it, share it, whatever (click the “share this” button below). Tell any diabetics you know might want to track their Sugars online, any one you know who might be interested. They are all welcome. Enjoy!

Diabetes stem cell cure

Via http://www.timesonline.co.uk/

“Diabetics using stem-cell therapy have been able to stop taking insulin injections for the first time, after their bodies started to produce the hormone naturally again.

In a breakthrough trial, 15 young patients with newly diagnosed type 1 diabetes were given drugs to suppress their immune systems followed by transfusions of stem cells drawn from their own blood.

The results show that insulin-dependent diabetics can be freed from reliance on needles by an injection of their own stem cells. The therapy could signal a revolution in the treatment of the condition, which affects more than 300,000 Britons.”

Using honey on diabetic ulsers to save amputation?

Via http://www.scienceblog.com/

“The sore on Catrina Hurlburt’s leg simply wouldn’t heal. Complications from a 2002 car accident left Hurlburt, a borderline diabetic, with recurring cellulitis and staph infections. One of those infections developed into a troublesome open sore that, despite the use of oral antibiotics, continued to fester for nearly eight months. Then Hurlburt’s physician, Jennifer Eddy of UW Health’s Eau Claire Family Medicine Clinic, suggested she try using topical honey. Within a matter of months, the sore had healed completely.”

Blood sugar measurement without needles using freakin’ lasers!

Via http://www.healthdecisions.org/

“Hong Kong scientists have invented a device to help diabetics measure their blood sugar painlessly for the first time without pricking their fingers. The size of a mobile phone, the instrument emits a weaker form of infrared, or near-infrared, which penetrates the skin on the finger and homes in on the bloodstream.”

Hospitalizations of Diabetic U.S. Children Surging

Via http://www.bloomberg.com/

“The number of U.S. children hospitalized by a form of diabetes almost tripled from 1997 to 2003, largely because of obesity, according to a study.

Children admitted with the ailment, Type 2 diabetes, had longer stays in hospitals and more diagnoses on record than patients with a different form of diabetes, researchers said in an abstract to be presented today at the Pediatric Academic Societies annual conference in Toronto. Children ages 9 to 12 years old had the highest hospitalization rates.”

Commentary: This is really sad to hear and something hopefully we as a diabetic community can change through education and better management. As someone who has been hospitalized for diabetes before I don’t wish this upon anyone, especially children.

Continuous Glucose Management (CGM) to change diabetes therapy

Via http://www.huliq.com/

“The convergence of small-scale electronics and sophisticated biocompatible product designs is giving hope for a better future to millions of diabetes patients worldwide and may provide possible future diabetes treatment and therapy.

Glucose monitors that are designed to be implanted and can continually measure glucose levels have the capability to improve glycemic control and patient wellbeing. By integrating the sensing element, electronics, and a power source in a single package, implantable glucose monitors are creating new options for caregivers and their diabetes patients.”

Commentary: This is something I’ve been pretty excited about lately. There has been a lot development and more and more devices being passed by FDA. It opens up a huge door to compile massive amounts of info daily on what is affecting your blood sugars and when. Hundreds of readings per day without having to poke your finger each time, awesome! I can’t wait to see what that will look like in SugarStats.

FDA passes approval for Dexcom’s 7-day Continuous Glucose Management System

Via http://www.shareholder.com/

“DexCom, Inc. (NASDAQ: DXCM) today announced that it has received Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval for SEVEN™, its 7-Day STS® Continuous Glucose Monitoring System. SEVEN is DexCom’s second generation device designed to help people with diabetes better manage their diabetes and control their glucose levels. Widely recognized as one of the leading causes of death and disability in the United States, diabetes is a chronic disease with no known cure that afflicts approximately 20 million people in the U.S., according to the Center for Disease Control (CDC). In the U.S., diabetes is the leading cause of adult blindness, end stage kidney failure and lower limb amputations. People suffering from diabetes are also more significantly at risk for cardiovascular disease and stroke.”

The high cost of diabetes

Via http://www.sugarstats.com/

“Nearly 3 out of 5 of the 18 million Americans with Type 2 diabetes suffer from at least one serious health complication such as heart attack or chronic kidney disease, according to a new study. Taken together, complications from the disease accounted for an estimated $22.9 billion in medical spending in 2006; annual health care costs per person were nearly $10,000, almost three times higher than for non diabetics.”

Find out about the sugar in your food

Via http://healthwealth.wordpress.com/

“Almost any food we eat may contain sugar. Even those with marketing ads saying the product is sugar free…may actually mean “no added table sugar” BUT contains other sources of sugar hidden under a different name so BE AWARE!

It is important to remember that sugar can come in many forms. You may think you are eating sugar free foods but hidden in the ingredients are the likeness of sugar that can still contribute to calories.”

Lifestyle changes for Type-2 Diabetics

Via http://www.rocklintoday.com/

“Type 2 diabetes (T2D), now epidemic in the United States, is a national tragedy, as 1 in 3 Americans – born in the 21st century – are expected to become diabetic, even young children.

I call it tragic because more than 90% of T2D cases are preventable – with fairly simple changes in lifestyle. Diabetes is the leading cause of blindness, kidney failure, non-traumatic limb amputation, and nerve damage. Diabetes increases the likelihood of stroke and heart disease by 2-4 times; Alzheimer’s disease is 60% more likely. There is no end to diabetes complications.”

FDA clears the New FreeStyle Lite

Via http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/

“Abbott Diabetes Care announced today the launch of its FreeStyle Lite™ blood glucose monitoring system for people with diabetes after receiving a 510(k) clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

The new FreeStyle Lite system has an innovative automatic calibration feature that eliminates the manual coding step usually required by most blood glucose meters before starting a new vial of test strips. The easy-to-use FreeStyle Lite meter allows people with diabetes to test quickly and more easily.”

Depression may trigger diabetes in older adults

Via http://www.eurekalert.org/

“Chronic depression or depression that worsens over time may cause diabetes in older adults, according to new Northwestern University research.

This is the first national study to suggest that depression alone—and not lifestyle factors like being overweight –can trigger Type 2 diabetes in adults 65 and older, a population with a high prevalence of diabetes and depression. The report will be published April 23 in Archives of Internal Medicine.

The study examined 4,681 men and women 65 and older from Forsyth County, N.C.; Sacramento County, Calif.; Washington County, Md.; and Pittsburgh, Pa., annually for 10 years.”

Scientists identify 7 diabetic genes

http://www.nytimes.com/ NYTimes Login Required

After doing some reflection and planning in order to further lower my own HbA1C levels, one thing I found made a bigger improvement over others. Thinking about it now it makes perfect sense. What is it you ask?

This may seem like common sense, you might even say DUH, but it actually takes a bit more organizational skill to actually implement. Thought this will probably benefit the type 1 diabetic the most, it could be valuable for all.

Quite simply it could be one of the easiest ways for a diabetic to lower their HbA1C levels and keep their overall levels in check. Most of our glucose fluctuations happen over the course of the day as we move about, eat meals, exercise etc. But when we sleep we’re doing none of that PLUS you don’t have all the temptations throughout the day that would otherwise affect your glucose levels. (Unless you count those middle of the night snacks )

What this does is basically is give your body a guaranteed 6-9 hours (or however long you sleep) of regulated glucose level with little distractions.

So what does it take to do this? I think it is highly variable between one person to another, but these tips work for me:

• Bedtime Glucose Check – Checking your glucose levels at bedtime (which you might be doing anyway).

• Middle of the night alarm – If you find yourself having trouble, one thing you could do is set an alarm to wake up and test in the middle of the night. Just take note of what it was at, what you ate and what medication you took at bedtime to compare things.

• Adjust medication – Make sure the insulin you take (short or long lasting) will cover you during the night. It would probably be best to consult your doctor.

• Adjust your Food – Keep an eye on what you eat a few hours before going to bed. Depending on the type of foods you at, how many carbs/sugars/fats etc they contained, it could come back to bit you in the middle of the night even if your glucose level at bedtime was good. This would be a good place to consult your dietitian to figure out what will work best for you regarding dinner and evening foods.

• Find the balance – Each body is different and your will respond differently to the foods you eat and medications you take. This really is about knowing yourself and knowing your body. Knowing how certain foods affect you and what affect certain dosages of your medication will have on you. To make this work the best you’ll have to find the right balance to keep a balanced glucose level through the night.

Overall a pretty simple but helpful tip. Be cautious though not to over compensate for any one thing, or you could end up dipping into a bad low during your sleep and you definitely don’t want that.

Just remember the overall goal is this: When you go to bed, make sure you glucose level is where it should be and it stays there through the night until you wake up

I found a nifty little website where you can convert your HbA1c levels to what you’re equivalent average blood glucose level would be in the same time period.

For example: An HbA1c level of 6% would be like having an average 114 mg/dL glucose reading. 8% would be like having an average 180 mg/dL glucose reading.

This will be quite a handy tool especially to help you with keep up with your targets and goals.

Check out the HbA1c converter here

If you do find you’re HbA1c levels are high, here are some tips:

• Take your diet seriously – Meet with a diabetic dietician to create a meal plan specialized for you and to lower your HbA1c levels. In case you haven’t heard it before, moderation is key.
• Start exercising – Focus especially on cardiovascular activity. If you’ve sustained high HbA1c levels for long periods of time, chances are you’ll have deterioration in your blood vessels and capillaries. Get that blood moving!
• Take more frequent glucose meter readings – (and record them into SugarStats ) In order to keep your sugars balanced in a day-to-day setting, this is important as each day plays its role in the overall picture.
• Implement Limits & Restrictions – If you get a meal plan setup then you’ve got a lot of ground covered. But you still need to be very conscious about everything else. Especially when it comes to snacks and alcohol. Moderation is key.
• Keep medication on hand, always. – In case you don’t already, get into the habit of keeping around medication wherever you go. If you do some research, you’re sure to find a semi-convenient way to carry/store your medication safely wherever you go. Because if you eat a small snack with lots of carbs and sugar, or seriously over-compensate for a low you had and it takes you 1-2 hours to get home then that is not good. Thats 1-2 more hours your glucose levels are going to stay elevated.
• Start making targets and goals – Part of any plan or project is that of setting targets and goals to meet and the project of managing your diabetes is no different. By setting goals for target blood sugars, target meals or meal sizes, target insert anything related to reducing your blood glucose levels here, you’ll have a clear picture of where you want to be and at the same time give yourself motivation to reach those goals.
• Bonus tip: If your’e a diabetic smoker, try to stop – When it comes down to it, everything is a conscious choice. Though some decisions we consciously made long ago and could have been making unconsciously ever since. One for example could be smoking, you decided to try at one point and just kept doing it. Well if you’re a smoker and a diabetic with elevated HbA1c levels then you’re doing a major double whammy to your body, cardiovascular blood circulation and blood vessels. If it is in your decisive will to do, quiting (or at least cutting down) on smoking is something that your body will thank you for.
  
  

Following up from a previous story I saw a few weeks ago about some Canadian scientists who had cured Type 2 Diabetes in mice, we now have new updates. They have now posted news that they have cured both Type 1 and 2 in these mice.

“Diabetic mice became healthy virtually overnight after researchers injected a substance to counteract the effect of malfunctioning pain neurons in the pancreas.

“I couldn’t believe it,” said Dr. Michael Salter, a pain expert at the Hospital for Sick Children and one of the scientists. “Mice with diabetes suddenly didn’t have diabetes any more.”

The researchers caution they have yet to confirm their findings in people, but say they expect results from human studies within a year or so. Any treatment that may emerge to help at least some patients would likely be years away from hitting the market.”

They say that they injected neuropeptide “substance P” into the mice and their diabetes “disappeared instantly” and stayed absent for as long as 4 months. Good to hear, but how long before a human solution is formulated?

Get the full story here