Diabetes In The Elderly Research Paper

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Diabetes in the Elderly What is diabetes? Diabetes is a common condition and becomes more so in the elderly. Diabetes is a disease that affects the way your body uses food. Your body turns the food you eat into a form of sugar called glucose. The bloodstream carries glucose to your body’s cells . Insulin ( made by the pancreas) helps glucose enter your cells where it is can be changed into energy for your body’s use or it can be stored for future use. If the body does not make enough insulin or if the insulin released from the pancreas does not work well, blood glucose builds up in the bloodstream causing the elevated blood glucose levels. What are some common risk factors? 1. Advanced age 2. Race ( African Americans,…show more content…
If you have trouble controlling your glucose levels and you are on some of the drugs that can affect those levels you can always talk with your prescriber about these alternatives. Another class of drugs causing elevated glucose levels are the antipsychotics. Zyprexa is an example. I know many elderly people on this medication. It just helps stable moods and make you feel more like yourself. However, this medication causes increased glucose levels, increase blood lipids and cause a person to gain weight. All of these can affect how you control your diabetes. This list of prescription drugs in not to be a comprehensive one but these are probably the most commonly prescribed medications altering blood glucose levels. One thing I’d like to add is about inhaled medications. Many of you are on albuterol, Advair and the like for asthma, copd, etc. You see that albuterol is a beta blocker and drugs like Advair or Flovent are steroids. Some beta blockers are specific meaning they will only work on a certain beta receptor. These inhaled drugs only work in the lungs. They do not enter the blood stream where the blood glucose levels are affected. We should also mention a few over the counter (OTC) products. Pseudoephedrine ( Sudafed) which you now have to get from the pharmacy counter, can increase blood glucose levels. Instead of this oral decongestant a diabetic might try a product that is even safe for people with high blood pressure, Coricidin HBP. This is also often kept behind the pharmacy counter. Another alternative to stuffy nose is using a neti pot (this cleans out the mucous and “junk” that accumulates in the nostrils). Saline drops or sprays also can clear up a stuffy nose. Most of you know cough syrups have sugar and alcohol components. There are products on the market that remove these offenders and are safer for diabetics. The boxes are usually clearly marked when

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