Type 2 Diabetes – taking control of your life

At the age of 27 I was diagnosed to have Type 2 Diabetes. Having a family history of having diabetes doesn’t surprise me much. But having it such a young age is kind a depressing. Every month I need to have my check-up and do some follow-up laboratory request by my doctor. Not only I need to go to my endocrinologist but also to my Obgyne doctor. I was also diagnosed in having polysistic ovaries that would give me a hard time to have kids if I decide to have more.

I have medication that needed 500mg of metformin 3 or 4x time a day depending on my monthly lab results along side with other medications to help with my diagnosis. I decided to go to the gym everyday just to lose those weight and keep myself busy rather having that depressing moment thinking why me – having type 2 diabetes so early.

My family is so worried about me and knowing type 2 diabetes has other complications can bring me.

As for now I was able to regulate my type 2 diabetes and have this yearly checkup to see if I need to go back into meds. But for this year I have not yet gone for a check-up due to budget constraints.

How to lower your risk of type 2 Diabetes?

  • See your doctor to se if additional testing is needed
  • Visit diabetes.or or call 1-800-diabetes for information , tips on getting started, and ideas for simple, small steps you can take to help lower your risk.

My advice to patients like me having type 2 diabetes.

It’s up to you if you want to be on meds your whole life or have it regulated and having a healthy lifestyle. Sometime having a lifestyle change can help and get you off the hook in meds. Also follow instructions of your doctor and if you have problems with your medicine forward immediately with doctor.

 

Novel treatment available

For patients with type 2 diabetes, doctors have long recommended glycemic control through pharmacotherapy, along the adoption of specific lifestyle-related treatment goals, such as maintaining a healthy body weight, avoiding fatty non-nutrient-dense food, and replacing refined carbohydrates with fiber-rich whole grains.

The oral medication, Dapagliflozin, by AstraZeneca, is a selective and reversible inhibitor of sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 (SGLT2) that works independently of insulin to help flush out excess sugar out of the body through urine removing accompanying calories, thus reducing blood sugar levels while supporting the important goals of weight loss and blood pressure reduction.

The unique mode of action the drug offers is the first of its kind and not seen among current available treatments for type 2 diabetes in the Philippines. This is the first medicine in the new SGLT2 class to gain regulatory approval in the world, granted by the European Medicines Agency (EMA). Dapagliflozin has been later approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and is also approved in 40 countries including Australia.

The novel drug is to be used as a supplement to diet and exercise to improve blood glucose control alone, or in combinations with other oral glucose-lowering medicinal products, such as metformin as well as insulin.

“The results we’ve seen so far with the early use of dapagliflozin among patients have been very promising,” says Dr. Rima Tan, President of Diabetes Philippines. “Our patients so far have exhibited healthier blood sugar levels. And because weight loss and healthy blood pressure are integral parts of any successful treatment regimen, having a drug that also supports these other objectives is a great advantage.”

Experts acknowledge that these additional benefits are especially important in populations prone to diabesity, the concurrence of obesity and diabetes, which Filipinos are prone to.

 

20,000 lives changed and counting

Since its approval in 2014, dapagliflozin has been used to effectively treat more than 20,000 patients in the Philippines alone, with doctors citing it as an effective component of early type 2 diabetes treatment.

“It is the benefits being experienced by these patients that matters the most,” says Dr. Emmanuel Arca, Associate Medical and Regulatory Affairs Director of AstraZeneca Philippines. “We’ve been hearing a lot of good news about how dapagliflozin has contributed to the holistic treatment of type 2 diabetes by combining blood sugar lowering with the additional benefit of weight and blood pressure reduction.”

Doctors credit the success of dapagliflozin to its unique mechanism of action, as it addresses both pharmacological and lifestyle-related components of treatment.

“Having such a drug available goes a long way towards preventing the various complications associated with the disease, especially since being overweight increases those risks,” says Dr. Arca. “While dapagliflozin is relatively new, initial results have renewed our hopes of helping type 2 diabetes patients’ live full and happy lives.”

For more information, visit www.astrazeneca.com

 

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Cor

About Cor

I am a single mom of all boys. I love cars, food, traveling and anything in between.