At present, the number of diabetics in China has exceeded 100 million, and the number of potential patients in pre-diabetes is even larger.
Many people have many questions about diabetes. Therefore, Dr. Clove specially invited Dr. Zhang Zheng from endocrinology department to answer everyone’s doubts.
Selected Questions and Answers
Q: Is xerostomia a disease of diabetes?
Dr. Zhang Zheng: Dry mouth is one of the most common symptoms of diabetes. However, not all diabetic patients will feel dry mouth. The occurrence of dry mouth does not necessarily mean that they have diabetes.
Q: Do diabetes have early symptoms?
Dr. Zhang Zheng: Common early symptoms of diabetes include excessive drinking, eating, urination, weight loss, skin pruritus, dryness, blurred vision, fatigue, hunger, etc. If there are similar manifestations, blood sugar examination should be performed to confirm the diagnosis.
Q: My father is 52 years old. Last year, he began to have high fasting blood sugar. He took a tablet of metformin every day. He didn’t eat much sweets and fruits. He exercised regularly every week. Now his blood sugar is relatively stable, but he is especially thin. He lost a lot of weight in a year. Dr. Zhang, is this a normal phenomenon? Is there a what way to gain weight?
Dr. Zhang Zheng: The ideal state of diabetic patients is to keep their weight relatively stable (overweight and obese patients lose weight moderately). Therefore, diet control should not be harsh, and daily necessary nutrition intake should be ensured depending on individual conditions. If there is no special reason for obvious emaciation in the near future, it is recommended to see a doctor in the hospital, find out the reason and treat it in time.
Q: Taking metformin will cause vitamin B12 deficiency. How long does it take to supplement B12? Due to the lack of vitamin D, oral supplementation is currently underway. Will taking these drugs increase the burden on the liver? Can good blood sugar control prevent complications?
Dr. Zhang Zheng: Long-term use of metformin will affect the absorption of vitamin B12. It is recommended to supplement vitamin B12 (mecobalamin) 1000 g at the same time every day. Good blood sugar control will effectively delay and avoid the occurrence and development of complications.
Q: Hyperglycemia does not take medicine. Will it improve to normal through some antioxidants, such as coenzyme Q10?
Dr. Zhang Zheng: No, if it is found that the decline has nothing to do with medication, it may be due to self-regulation, lack of food intake, or consumption of activities.
Q: Fasting blood glucose refers to no calorie intake for 8 ~ 12 hours. Does drinking cold water count?
Dr. Zhang Zheng: Measuring fasting blood sugar requires not eating, but drinking water.
Q: I have never taken medicine for diabetes for 10 years. Fasting blood sugar is about 9.8 and postprandial blood sugar is about 12. Do you still need medicine?
Dr. Zhang Zheng: Why don’t you take drugs? Don’t reject the benefits of medical development to human beings. One-sided resistance to medication will bring serious harm to one’s own health and the progress of diabetes.
Q: Does insulin kill sperm?
Dr. Zhang Zheng: Why did you say this?
Q: Is there the best medical technology in what for type 1 diabetes?
Dr. Zhang Zheng: Continuous subcutaneous infusion of insulin pump. This is the most effective method to treat type 1 diabetes at present. Stem cell transplantation and immunotherapy are not yet fully mature, but they represent the main development direction of future treatment.
Q: My first child has gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). Now my second child is 8 weeks old. I measure my blood sugar at home at 5.1 on an empty stomach and 7.4 after meals. Is this GDM? What should I do now?
Dr. Zhang Zheng: The diagnostic criteria for gestational diabetes mellitus are: the blood sugar level should not be greater than 5.1, 10.0 and 8.5 before and 1 hour and 2 hours after taking 75 g glucose. Any one exceeding the standard can be diagnosed. You should now scientifically manage your diet, exercise moderately, and conduct oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) examination in obstetrics on time.
Q: Why do pregnant women require less than 8.5 hours after meals and less than 6.7 hours after meals? Is insulin resistance stronger as you go to the second trimester of pregnancy?
Dr. Zhang Zheng: The former is the diagnostic standard, The latter is the control goal. In order to ensure the safety of pregnancy and childbirth, In order to reduce maternal and infant pregnancy complications, it is suggested that patients with gestational diabetes mellitus should control their blood sugar to: fasting blood sugar ≤ 5.3 mmol/L, 2 hours after meal ≤ 6.7 mmol/L, night blood sugar not lower than 3.3 mmol/L, HbA1c < 5.5%, and pay attention to avoid hypoglycemia. The demand for exogenous insulin may increase in late pregnancy, which will be significantly improved after delivery.
Click here > > Dr. Zhang Zheng has more popular science articles
Copyright of Clove Garden. No reprinting is allowed without permission.