Type 2 Diabetes and Sleep Apnea

From Johns Hopkins Medicine - One in three adults with type 2 diabetes has sleep apnea.

Sleep apnea ... raises blood sugar ...

Treating your sleep apnea can also help control your blood sugar levels. In one
study, 25 people with type 2 diabetes used CPAP for their sleep apnea. They had
reduced sugar levels and improved control. Researchers don’t yet know how CPAP
caused these changes. Sleep apnea is stressful on the body. Higher levels of stress
hormones could make it harder to maintain blood sugar control. So once sleep
apnea is treated, it's easier to keep sugar levels in check. That's good news.

Full article: https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/diabete ... p_call.pdf

ChicagoGranny wrote: ↑

Fri Apr 30, 2021 1:27 pm

From Johns Hopkins Medicine - One in three adults with type 2 diabetes has sleep apnea.

Sleep apnea ... raises blood sugar ...

Treating your sleep apnea can also help control your blood sugar levels. In one
study, 25 people with type 2 diabetes used CPAP for their sleep apnea. They had
reduced sugar levels and improved control. Researchers don’t yet know how CPAP
caused these changes. Sleep apnea is stressful on the body. Higher levels of stress
hormones could make it harder to maintain blood sugar control. So once sleep
apnea is treated, it's easier to keep sugar levels in check. That's good news.

Full article: https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/diabete ... p_call.pdf

I can attest to the fact that cpap helps.
It is also a fact that close to a quarter of all people with diabetes
DO NOT KNOW IT.
Probably over 7 million people.

chunkyfrog wrote: ↑

Fri Apr 30, 2021 4:32 pm

I can attest to the fact that cpap helps.

I started this post because of your comments in another thread.

chunkyfrog wrote: ↑

Fri Apr 30, 2021 4:32 pm

It is also a fact that close to a quarter of all people with diabetes
DO NOT KNOW IT.
Probably over 7 million people.

I wonder how many people have sleep apnea and don't know it or shy away from treatment. The old died-with-a-CPAP-in-the-closet routine.

ChicagoGranny wrote: ↑

Fri Apr 30, 2021 4:46 pm

I wonder how many people have sleep apnea and don't know it or shy away from treatment. The old died-with-a-CPAP-in-the-closet routine.

me. if i hadn't had a sharp gp. i went in 6 years ago because i was having trouble taking deep breaths. he tested me(what i think he was looking for was copd) then questioned me closely. the one i remember was-

"how often do you get out of bed to urinate during the night?"

i was surprised. i thought that was part of aging. then he asked about any urinary problems other than that.

he wound up recommending to a sleep specialist.

but i didn't go in thinking i had sleep apnea. and would probably still think now it was just part of getting older.

zonker wrote: ↑

Fri Apr 30, 2021 5:44 pm

"how often do you get out of bed to urinate during the night?"

"Doc, I get out every time. How about you?"

Hi chunkyfrog,

With regard to 'a lot of people DO NOT KNOW IT', there's a new test available now for diabetes, pre-diabetes, and metabolic syndrome. It's a blood test called the HbA1c test – also known as 'the glycosylated haemoglobin test'.

It indicates the average blood level for the last three months, so it shows the pattern over time, and not just for today.

And the other beauty of it is that, this test for blood sugar doesn't require peeing into a cup or test tube, and juggling to catch the mid-flow.

And since you're at the doctor's, he or she can check for other things too.

ChicagoGranny wrote: ↑

Fri Apr 30, 2021 5:58 pm

zonker wrote: ↑

Fri Apr 30, 2021 5:44 pm

"how often do you get out of bed to urinate during the night?"

"Doc, I get out every time. How about you?"

this reminds me of a time when i went across the border into canada. the canadian border person asked me "how long have you been gone?". then shook his head and carried on with the questions.

when i told my step son this, he said "you should've asked him how long HE'D been gone.".

ChicagoGranny wrote: ↑

Fri Apr 30, 2021 4:46 pm

chunkyfrog wrote: ↑

Fri Apr 30, 2021 4:32 pm

I can attest to the fact that cpap helps.

I started this post because of your comments in another thread.

chunkyfrog wrote: ↑

Fri Apr 30, 2021 4:32 pm

It is also a fact that close to a quarter of all people with diabetes
DO NOT KNOW IT.
Probably over 7 million people.

I wonder how many people have sleep apnea and don't know it or shy away from treatment. The old died-with-a-CPAP-in-the-closet routine.

I certainly had it probably at least since my early 20s. It's just mind blowing to me how alert I can feel on my good days with this treatment, which hopefully becomes the norm when I get a new either APAP or BIPAP...

The grogginess and lethargy of those times was near constant. I wish I had those years back to live with a CPAP machine companion.

The test for A1c is easy, just a finger stick.
"You will feel a slight prick."
Don't be a baby--just DO IT.
They even make home kits.

At least 10 years and 3 docs before someone found very high blood pressure then asked about my sleep, sent me to a sleep doc. Got a sleep study, then equipment. Sleep doc said to wait a year before changing anything as my blood was like a chemical stew and could take that long for it to be straightened out. A year later, they diagnosed diabetes and a low thyroid system. The low thyroid comes and goes, I have to explain that to docs all the time as they have never dealt with someone like me who after months/years of high stress starts producing lots of reverse T3 which ultimately results in less conversion of T4 to T3, the active hormone; so it's back on supplemental hormone and Brazil nuts which are high in selenium that plays a critical, essential part in this pathway. The bad thing about low thyroid is that it blunts the brain's response to the chemical signal to breathe. It's all so freakingly complex.

rick blaine wrote: ↑

Fri Apr 30, 2021 6:21 pm

Hi chunkyfrog,

With regard to 'a lot of people DO NOT KNOW IT', there's a new test available now for diabetes, pre-diabetes, and metabolic syndrome. It's a blood test called the HbA1c test – also known as 'the glycosylated haemoglobin test'.

It indicates the average blood level for the last three months, so it shows the pattern over time, and not just for today.

And the other beauty of it is that, this test for blood sugar doesn't require peeing into a cup or test tube, and juggling to catch the mid-flow.

And since you're at the doctor's, he or she can check for other things too.

Most primary care physicians start running A1c's when people hit middle age, especially if they are obese. The problem with the A1c test is that they don't "declare" that you are diabetic until your A1c is at least 6.5. But most people have what is termed "diabetes in situ" long before that--impaired insulin metabolism which is the early stage of diabetes. And the A1c is an average, meaning you can have very wide swings of high glucose and episodes of hypoglycemia which average out to a so-called "normal" A1c. The "norms" for A1c have been developed on the general population, which likely has a very high number of undiagnosed diabetics. 6.5 is missing a huge portion of the population that is already on the "diabetes spectrum".

See the work of Dr. Joseph Kraft http://meridianvalleylab.com/wp-content ... -type1.pdf
And a good laymen's explanation here: https://profgrant.com/2013/08/16/joseph ... a-matters/ or here: https://thefastingmethod.com/understand ... tu-t2d-24/

The most frustrating thing is when friends or family tell me that their doctor told them they have "pre-diabetes" and "we're watching it". Watch it what???? They are watching and waiting for it to develop into high enough A1c to be labeled diabetic and so they can throw medication at it. By that time, a lot of organ damage has already occurred.

Janknitz wrote: ↑

Sun May 02, 2021 5:56 pm

Most primary care physicians start running A1c's when people hit middle age, especially if they are obese.

Gramps and I have never been able to get Medicare to pay for A1C because we don't meet the requirements.

Diabetes screenings
Medicare Part B (Medical Insurance) covers glucose laboratory test screenings (with or without a carbohydrate challenge) if your doctor determines you’re at risk for developing diabetes. You may be eligible for up to 2 screenings each year. Part B covers these lab tests if you have any of these risk factors:
High blood pressure (hypertension)
History of abnormal cholesterol and triglyceride levels (dyslipidemia)
Obesity
A history of high blood sugar (glucose)
Medicare also covers these screenings if 2 or more of these apply to you:

You’re age 65 or older.
You’re overweight.
You have a family history of diabetes (parents or siblings).
You have a history of gestational diabetes (diabetes during pregnancy) or delivery of a baby weighing more than 9 pounds.

https://www.medicare.gov/coverage/diabetes-screenings

There are online labs where you can get your own tests run (some states don't permit this) and you can even buy a home kit for testing A1c at home (accuracy is questionable though).