Diabetes mellitus

Diabetes mellitus is a condition in which the normal mechanism of the body for controlling the level of glucose (sugar) in the bloodstream has gone awry. A hormone called insulin, which is produced by the pancreas, is responsible for controlling the movement of sugar, in the form of glucose, across from the bloodstream into the individual cells of the body.  

Types:

1. Type 1 diabetes or formerly “insulin­-dependent diabetes mellitus” sometimes called juvenile diabetes: It means that your body can’t make insulin. Insulin helps your body turn the sugar from the food you eat into a source of energy. Type 1 occurs more frequently in children and young adults but accounts for only 5-10% of the total diabetes cases nationwide. The symptoms are often sudden and can be life-threatening if not treated. 

They can include: 

  • Extreme thirst 
  • Frequent urination
  • Sudden unexplained weight loss 
  • Extreme fatigue
  • Blurred vision 
  • Muscle cramps 
  • Nausea vomiting
  • Constant hunger

2. Type-2 diabetes results when insulin production is defective and tissue resistance to insulin develop: In type 2 diabetes, many people have no symptoms at all, while other signs can go unnoticed and mistaken as part of “getting older’. Common symptoms can include: 

  • Increased thirst 
  • Frequent urination 
  • Feeling tired and lethargic 
  • Always feeling hungry 
  • Having cuts that heal slowly 
  • Itching 
  • Skin infections 
  • Blurred vision 
  • Gradually putting on weight 
  • Mood swings
  • Headaches 
  • Feeling dizzy 
  • Leg cramps 

Normal blood glucose numbers:·       

  • Fasting- Normal for a person without diabetes: 70–99 mg/dl (3.9–5.5 mmol/L) Official ADA recommendation for someone with diabetes: 80–130 mg/dl (4.5–7.2mmol/L)  
  • 2 hours after meals - Normal for a person without diabetes: Less than 140 mg/dl (7.8 mmol/L)Official ADA recommendation for someone with diabetes: Less than 180 mg/dl(10.0 mmol/L)·        

HbA1c

  • Normal for a person without diabetes: Less than 5.7%
  • Official ADA recommendation for someone with diabetes: 7.0% or less 

Diabetes insipidus: 

A form of diabetes resulting from a deficiency of vasopressin (the pituitary hormone that regulates the kidneys); characterized by the chronic excretion of large amounts of pale dilute urine which results in dehydration and extreme thirst. 

Homeopathic medicines and Diabetes:

Homeopathic treatment can help improve the general health of a person with diabetes. If a person with diabetes is in good health, his or her insulin requirements will be steady and the blood glucose well controlled. If the general health is poor, it can be very difficult to achieve good control. This can be helped by administering a “constitutional” remedy, based on the totality of the patient’s symptoms and characteristics. The effect will be to improve the general sense of well-being, to improve diabetes control, and maybe to lower the insulin or drug requirements.

  • Abroma Augusta: It is the top natural Homeopathic medicine to treat Diabetes Mellitus. Its use is highly recommended in those patients who are losing flesh and suffer from extreme weakness due to Diabetes Mellitus. The patients who can greatly benefit from this Homeopathic medicine have an increased thirst with a dryness of mouth. They also have an increased appetite and the urination is very frequent day and night. Excessive weakness is felt after urination. Burning sensation in the whole body is a prominent general symptom that can be found in persons requiring Abroma Augusta.
  • Uranium nitrate: This remedy is praised highly in diabetes originating in dyspepsia. It has polyuria, polydipsia, dryness of the mouth and skin. It causes sugar in the urine. This remedy gives such universally good results; it lessens the sugar and quantity of the urine. 
  • Phosphoric acid: It corresponds to diabetes of nervous origin; the urine is increased, perhaps milky in color and containing much sugar. It suits cases due to grief, worriment, and anxiety, those who are indifferent and apathetic, poor in mental and physical force. It is unquestionably curative of diabetes mellitus in the early stages, great debility and bruised feeling in the muscles. There will be a loss of appetite, sometimes unquenchable thirst and perhaps the patient will be troubled with boils. When patients pass large quantities of pale colorless urine or where there is much phosphatic deposit in the urine it is the remedy.  
  • Lactic acid: An exceedingly good remedy in the gastrohepatic variety of diabetes and good results often follow its use. It has a fine clinical record. The symptoms are: urinates copiously and freely, urine light yellow and saccharine, thirst, nausea, debility, voracious appetite and costive bowels. Dry skin, dry tongue, gastralgia. 
  • Bryonia: No remedy has dryness of the lips as a symptom of hepatic disorder more marked than Bryonia, and this is often one of the first symptoms of diabetes. There is a persistent bitter taste, the patient is languid, morose and dispirited, thirst may not be extreme nor the appetite voracious, the patient may lose strength through inability to eat.  
  • Chionanthus: It is a remedy used by the Eclectic School upon the indications of thirst, frequent and copious urine; constipation with stools light colored, devoid of bile. Functional liver disorders. 
  • Argentum metallicum: Hahnemann suggests the use of this remedy in diuresis, it is decided for use in diabetes insipidus. The urine is profuse, turbid and of sweet odor. Micturition is frequent and copious. Insulin. it maintains the blood sugar at a normal level and the urine remains free of sugar. 
  • Syzygium Jambolanum: It is among the best natural Homeopathic remedies for the treatment of Diabetes Mellitus. It acts promptly and efficiently in decreasing the sugar levels. Excessive thirst and excessive urination are always present in the patient. It also gives wonderful results in the treatment of long-standing ulcers in a diabetic patient.

    There are many more remedies that are being used for Diabetes Mellitus according to the symptoms similarity. 
  • General management: Food Healthy eating is a cornerstone of healthy living — with or without diabetes. But if you have diabetes, you need to know how foods affect your blood sugar levels. As much as possible, plan for every meal to have a good mix of starches, fruits and vegetables, proteins, and fats, low in fats and with an average carbohydrate content. Avoid sugar-sweetened beverages. Eat foods with more fiber, such as wholegrain cereals, bread, crackers, rice, or pasta, drink water instead of juice and regular soda and alcohol. The liver normally releases stored sugar to counteract falling blood sugar levels. But if your liver is busy metabolizing alcohol, your blood sugar level may not get the boost it needs from the liver. Alcohol can result in low blood sugar shortly after you drink it and for as many as 24 hours more. 
  • Exercise: Physical activity is another important part of your diabetes management plan. When you exercise, your muscles use sugar (glucose) for energy. Regular physical activity also helps your body use insulin more efficiently. 

Frequently Asked Questions:

Q: Eating too much sugar causes diabetes.

Fact: There is no proof that sugar is the main cause of diabetes. Diabetes is more related to family history, wrong eating habits and little or no physical activity.

Q: Healthy foods don't raise blood sugar.

Fact: The fact is that all foods provide carbohydrates. And if there is enough insulin present in the body naturally or provided by injections, it will utilize the carbohydrates and consequently, the blood sugar will not rise. However, if your body is producing less insulin or not utilizing it sufficiently, then blood sugar is bound to rise even if you eat healthy foods.

Q: Only medical treatment can control diabetes.

Fact: Diabetes is a disease that requires dietary intervention along with medical treatment. Medications are only a part of the cure. What is also needed is a healthy lifestyle behavior that will allow the medication to work more effectively. This comes with a healthy, well-balanced diet as well as a regular exercise routine.

Q: Diabetics have to eat special foods.

Fact: Diabetics can eat the same food as non-diabetics but in moderation.

Q: No diet modification is required if external insulin's being administered.

Fact: Insulin is not replacing a meal plan or involvement in any physical activity. Thus diet modification is needed, irrespective of whether insulin is being given or not.

Q: Exercises are of no help in diabetes.

Fact: Exercise helps the pancreas to secrete more insulin, while at the same time, keeps the stress levels under control. Both these factors help to keep the blood sugar under control.

Q: People with diabetes can eat any number of sugar-free products.

Fact: Sugar-free does not mean calorie free. It is advisable to keep a check on the calorie product of the food, before consuming it. This way the total calorie intake can be kept under control and will further help in keeping a check on the blood sugar.

Q: I don't have a family history of diabetes, so I won't get it.

Fact: Some people are born with a greater chance of developing diabetes than others. However, plenty of people diagnosed with the disease don't have a family history of diabetes. Your weight and lifestyle can be factors in whether you develop diabetes. 

Q: The strain and stress of everyday life are not related to diabetes.

Fact: The fact is that everyday stresses, as well as emotional and crisis situation, can play a role in raising the blood sugar. Hence people with diabetes should take time out to relax and keep their stress levels under control.

Unfortunately, if the blood glucose level is not well controlled in diabetes, several serious complications can arise. It is important that people with diabetes have regular checks to detect any complications early. However, homeopathy can help to alleviate some of the symptoms of these complications.