Here we are. The Friday before Christmas. Do you belong to the put-it-off-to-Christams-Eve Shopping Club? If you do, I hope your Tuesday goes extremely well. But, meanwhile, we are back here at Friday and you know what we here for, so let’s get to it.
In Praise of Metformin. “… metformin, the inexpensive drug that is often the “starter” medicine for people who have been newly diagnosed with diabetes. (It’s also a standby for a lot of us type 2s who were diagnosed years ago–10 for me. I take four metformin pills daily, a routine that’s as normal for me as drinking my morning coffee and downing a kid’s-size aspirin tab.)” With so many new drugs on the market, metformin just does not get the respect it deserves sometimes. It’s kind of like the Rodney Dangerfield of Diabetes Drugs. And, yet a lot of drugs combine with good ol’ metformin because of the way it works and it plays well with others. An easy read and interesting.
Metformin May Offer Defense Against Dementia for Type 2’s “Not only can the diabetes drug metformin help control blood sugar levels, it may also reduce the risk of dementia, a health risk that’s elevated for those with diabetes.” What’s better than one article about metformin? Two articles about it! It seems like I read articles almost every week (okay, not quite that often) about other gifts from this little wonder drug. Great information!
A New Paradigm in Dosing drugs for Type 2’s “Which is better, adding medications one at a time or all at once? It’s a question physicians will be pondering as they discuss the results of an ongoing study into how to dose oral medications for people with type 2 diabetes.” New drug therapies are being found everyday and new ways to use them. The object is to control Diabetes, so as the saying goes, “…when diet and exercise aren’t enough…” But, please use diet and exercise – you can do so much with them to control Diabetes and avoid the terrible complications the disease can bring. It’s a great read into what is on the forefront of drug therapies.
Bluetooth Meters Test Drive “Can it be true? Finally, the day of wireless Bluetooth diabetes data beaming has arrived! Two new glucose meters now at our fingertips can instantly send our blood sugar results to a smartphone or tablet, with no need for manual re-entry or that connect-to-communicate step that pretty much all other meters require. Woot!” There’s bluetooth everything else – finally glucose meters are a reality. We depend on our phones for so much; but just think of the ease of glucose control if you have information at your finger tips…pun intended. I just could not help myself. Read this review of two bluetooth enabled contenders.
Seeking Approval for Diabetes Inhaler System “Drug developer MannKind is trying to revolutionize the treatment of diabetes with Afrezza, an inhaled form of insulin powder. It would eliminate the need for most injections.” I used to think that insulin was not important to Type 2 Diabetics. How wrong I was. Did you know about 30% of Type 2’s use insulin? Now, MannKind has developed a new system to inhale an insulin powder – No more injections. Read about the company and the development of the system.
You can find more articles here.
As always, thank you for reading.
I am not a doctor or health professional. I am just a guy who is working everyday to control Type 2 Diabetes. My goal is to offer hope, help and solutions for day-to-day living for the diabetic. The disease can be controlled. It can be managed. And, you can do it!
War On Diabetes 
Hi Phil, and thanks for the usual interesting Friday round-up. I have my presents done, but food shopping beckons, later today. I hope you and your family have a great Christmas, and send my best wishes to you all from England. Pete.