WWE Legend Kamala Loses Foot To Diabetes

WWE legend Kamala is at risk of losing another foot due to his diabetes-related medical problems -- this according to his son.

As TMZ previously reported ... Kamala’s left leg was amputated last year due to ongoing complications with diabetes and high blood pressure. Unfortunately the problems aren’t over.

Kamala Jr. went on "The Roman Show" today and revealed, “[My father] is havingcomplications with his other foot now ... Friday we’ll know if they have to take his other foot off.”

7 Steps to Treating Low Blood Sugar / Hypoglycemia

Low blood sugar symptoms need immediate attention. Here's what you should do to handle this potential emergency.

Hypoglycemia requires fast treatment. When someone with diabetes begins experiencing low blood sugar symptoms, any delay increases the chance that the hypoglycemia could escalate into a life-threatening illness. Left untreated or not treated promptly, hypoglycemia can result in seizures, coma, permanent damage to the nervous system, and death.

Here are the steps you need to take if your diabetes management plan has failed and you begin to have the low blood sugar symptoms that indicate an episode of hypoglycemia:

1. Recognize the symptoms. The symptoms of hypoglycemia vary from person to person, but anyone taking insulin or diabetes medication should know what they are. Low blood sugar symptoms include:

Weakness or fatigue
Cold sweats or clammy skin
Confusion or fuzzy and unclear thinking
Dizziness or light-headedness
Blurred vision
Hunger Nervousness, anger, or irritability
Headache
Rapid heartbeat
Numb or tingling skin
Difficulty speaking
Shakiness

2. Make yourself safe. If you or a family member with diabetes begins to have any of these symptoms, take immediate safety precautions. Pull over if you are driving a car. Sit down right away if you are walking down steps. Hypoglycemia could cause you to lose consciousness and cause harm to yourself or others. You want to make sure that doesn't happen.

3. Test your blood glucose levels. In most cases, providing that symptoms are still mild, test to make sure you actually are having a hypoglycemic episode rather than another malady. Use your blood glucose meter to check. A reading of 70 mg/dl or lower means you need to take quick action. If symptoms are too severe to manage the testing or you can’t get to your glucose meter quickly, move on to step 4.

4. Get some carbs into your body. A diabetic undergoing an episode of hypoglycemia needs to bring blood glucose levels up quickly. Fast-acting carbohydrates, especially simple sugars, can accomplish this. If you are taking insulin or diabetes medication as part of a diabetes management plan, you should always have on hand a bit of quick-fix food equal to 15 to 20 grams of sugar or carbohydrates. Some foods that can provide this amount and quickly raise your blood sugar level include:

4 or 5 saltine crackers
5 or 6 pieces of hard candy
2 tablespoons of raisins
4 teaspoons of sugar
3 or 4 glucose tablets
1 serving of glucose gel
1/2 cup of fruit juice or regular soda
1 cup of milk
1 tablespoon of honey or corn syrup

5. Wait, then verify treatment is working. Don't keep eating, as you might over-treat and cause your blood sugar level to go too high. Instead, wait about 15 minutes and then test your blood sugar level again with a meter. If it's still too low, then eat another 15 to 20 grams of sugar or carbohydrate. Repeat until your blood sugar level is at 70 mg/dl or higher. Once you've reached that level, eat a more nutritious, carbohydrate-containing snack unless a meal is less than one hour away.

6. If your body doesn't respond, seek medical help. If you haven't responded to the carbs or if you've passed out or had seizures, you probably have a case of severe hypoglycemia and need medical attention. If someone in your family or at your workplace is aware of your condition and has been trained to give emergency glucagon injections (a substance that quickly raises blood sugar levels), they should do so immediately, even before calling 911 to get help. A diabetic treated with glucagon should respond quickly and be able to eat some food within 15 minutes.

7. Take long-term steps. If you have recurring hypoglycemic episodes or even one severe case, talk with your doctor about adjusting your diabetes management plan to better fit your lifestyle. You also should ask to have a glucagon injection prescribed to you, so that a family member or friend can administer it if you pass out or experience a seizure from another severe case of hypoglycemia.

Being prepared and knowing what to do about hypoglycemia is an important part of a good diabetes management plan.

Staying Safe During (and After) Vigorous Exercise

Q: My husband has type 1 diabetes and is training to ride in a 65-mile bicycle race. How can he best control his blood sugar levels during and after this race? His levels sometimes crash a few hours after training.

A:First, I would like to congratulate your husband on having the remarkable discipline such an activity requires. This is long and strenuous exercise. I am assuming that he has been evaluated and cleared by his doctor to participate in such physical activity, so I will focus on glucose control. When engaging in arduous exercise, people who have diabetes should be vigilant about preventing both high and low glucose levels.

The risk of low sugar levels is more intuitive to understand than high sugar levels because the body uses so much energy from glucose during exercise. In addition, after exercising, the body tries to replenish the energy stores of the muscles and the liver, which can also lead to abnormally low blood sugar levels.

High sugar levels can develop because the body considers long and strenuous exercise a form of stress. Any type of stress triggers the production of adrenaline and other hormones that inhibit insulin and increase the production of glucose. Here are some general guidelines.

Before training begins, your husband should have his diabetes controlled very well with intense insulin therapy, either with three or more injections a day or with an insulin pump. This allows for better flexibility during his training and race.
During his training weeks or months, your husband should monitor his glucose levels both before and after meals. He should also track the amount of insulin he injects, his dietary intake, and the duration of each exercise or training session. He should also check his glucose levels at 2 a.m.

Before he starts his training sessions, he should determine his glucose level. The ideal glucose level is 100 to 250 mg/dl. If it is below 100 mg/dl, then he must eat a snack containing carbohydrates. If it's above 250 mg/dl, he should also check for the presence of ketones in his urine. Ketones are the by-product of fat energy metabolism. The body reverts to this process when it lacks sufficient amounts of insulin. If he has urine ketones, he should refrain from exercising until the insulin deficiency is corrected. If his sugar is above 300 mg/dl, he must postpone his training session until his levels are corrected.

While he's training, your husband should check his glucose level frequently. He should also carry drinks that contain carbohydrates, or sugar tablets, to compensate for low levels. Having a "map" of his sugar levels (see step 2) will provide him a reference to base his insulin requirement on as well.

After exercising, your husband's body will try to restore the glucose in his muscles and liver, so it will continue to remove glucose from the bloodstream. This leads to low sugar levels even hours after he's through exercising. Your husband must check his glucose level immediately after exercising and several times later, for up to 12 hours afterwards.

Based on the records he has kept on his glucose levels, he may need to reduce his insulin dose by more than 50 percent.

It is best to exercise at least 30 minutes after injecting insulin to limit the effect of exercise on insulin absorption. If your husband exercises in the afternoon or evening, he might find his glucose level to be abnormally low in the middle of the night — his bedtime or evening insulin doses would have to be adjusted accordingly. If your husband is on NPH, the evening dose should be given at 10 or 11 p.m. Your husband will probably need to increase his carbohydrate intake in the evening to prevent low blood sugar levels in the middle of the night.

It is also generally recommended that diabetic athletes have a meal two to six hours before exercising. It should contain 83 to 200 grams of carbohydrate, a small amount of protein, and fat.

The 7 Most Dangerous Fashion Items for Your Health

Not to send you all scrambling but are you a potential fashion victim? Find out!

1. High heels: Of course, we know all about this one...heels higher than two inches "have been linked to bunions, hammer toes, stress fractures and ankle sprains." Those who are pregnant and wear sky heels are at even more risk for injury. Stars like Jessica Simpson, Tina Fey, and Jennifer Lopez have all sported sky-high footwear while pregnant.

Even though Jessica Simpson isn’t letting her pregnancy get in the way of her chic style, the singer --- who recently admitted she weighed 170 lb. when she shot her racy Elle cover --- donned six-inch heels. She admitted: "We're waddling at this point. I'm wearing six-inch heels today, and it's a lot of weight to carry on six inches."

Why risk the injury to yourself during pregnancy? Are those sky-high heels really worth years of foot problems just to look stylish during pregnancy?

2. Flip flops: "Flip-flops are even worse, according to the American Podiatric Medical Association. Researchers at Auburn University videotaped 39 volunteers and noticed they had to clench their toes to keep them on, leading to foot fatigue, sore calf muscles and an altered gait, which could cause long-term ankle and hip problems."

3. Skinny jeans : Wearing practically-painted-on pants can interfere with digestion, according to an internist (who found the problem so common he dubbed it "tight pants syndrome"), and they've also been responsible for "lower back pain, yeast infections in women and a rare condition called lipoatrophia semicircularis, in which horizontal lesions appear around the thighs." Good thing flares are back!

4. Spanx: Wearing your beloved shape wear for too long can cause nerve compression and reduced oxygen intake. Consider yourselves warned.

5. Tight ties and shirts: A Cornell study says a whopping 67% of men need to loosen up at the office-wearing shirts with too-small neck sizes and too-tight ties can reduce circulation to the brain and decrease range of motion in the neck and increase muscle tension in the back and shoulders. And since ties are rarely cleaned, they transmit infections easily.

6. Heavy handbags: Wearing an oversize tote on the same shoulder can throw off your back alignment. According to the Journal, "The American Chiropractic Association recommends that women carry no more than 10% of their body weight in a bag."

7. Accessories containing nickel: "Even minute amounts of nickel in rings, earrings, belt buckles, watch backs and jeans rivets can cause an itchy red rash on people who have nickel allergy, which can begin suddenly even in adulthood."

Get Pumped: For Better Blood Sugar Control in Diabetes, It's Weights First

In people with type 1 diabetes, weight training before cardio exercise was linked with less severe drops in blood sugar.

MONDAY, Mar. 12, 2012 — It’s a question many workout devotees struggle with: weights before cardio, or vice versa? Now a new report says that for those with type 1 diabetes, it may be better to pump iron before getting on the elliptical or jogging around the block.

The study, published in the journal Diabetes Care, followed 12 active, young (average age 32) people with type 1 diabetes who were already running and doing strength training at least three times a week. In the first of two exercise sessions, the participants ran on a treadmill for 45 minutes, then lifted weights for 45 minutes. For the second session, the order was reversed (weights first, then running). Blood sugar levels were monitored before, during, and after each session.

The researchers found that when cardio was done first, glucose levels tended to drop and remain at low levels throughout the workout. By comparison, doing resistance exercise first was linked to less severe decreases in blood sugar, even hours after working out.

The study was small, and other factors that could have affected blood sugar were not considered. But according to Reuters Health, the findings agree with previous reports showing that aerobic workouts produce a quicker drop in blood sugar than strength training.

Balancing the health benefits of exercise with the risk of hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) can be tricky. During exercise, the body draws on blood glucose for energy — which can lead to those dangerous lows. Signs of hypoglycemia include dizziness, sweating, grumpiness, weakness, or hunger.

If you have type 1 diabetes and workout regularly, what else can you do to prevent low blood sugar besides switching around your exercise routine? The National Diabetes Information Clearinghouse recommends checking blood sugar first before exercising and having a snack if the level is below 100 milligrams per deciliter, as well as testing blood sugar at regular intervals both during an extended workout and after the session is completed. Wearing a medical identification bracelet and carrying food or glucose tablets during your workout are also smart ideas.

Foot Orthoses May Help Prevent Falls

Recent research suggests older patients at risk for falls from poor balance may benefit from custom foot orthoses. Report­ed improvements indicate clini­cians could potentially help prevent falls by testing patients’ balance and considering inter­ventions to improve it.

“Based on my clinical experience, patients who complain of poor balance and who are at risk for falls might be helped by an insert, especially if they have an excessively supinated or pronated foot structure,” said Michael T. Gross, PT, PhD, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill professor of physical therapy and lead author of the study, which tested the effects of custom foot orthoses on static and dynamic balance.

“Clinicians should consider asking older patients about their balance and having them perform a simple one leg balance test. There is strong relationship between the inability to stand on one foot for more than five seconds and an increased risk of falling,” he said.

Gross and colleagues in UNC’s Division of Physical Therapy recruited 13 adults (six women) older than 65 years who had reported at least one unexplained fall in the previous year. Participants had to demonstrate poor balance on the single leg stance test, one of the study’s four balance measures. Investigators also used a tandem stance test, tandem gait test, and alternating step test, testing volunteers in three sessions approximately two weeks apart.

After establishing baseline balance in the first session, Gross created custom inserts for each participant based on a structural alignment exam. Only two participants had neutral feet and received orthoses with no corrective features. All other orthoses were designed to correct participants’ specific structural issues.

During the second session patients received the orthoses and were retested on all balance measures immediately before and after orthosis application. All measures except for tandem gait improved significantly immediately after application. Gross pointed out, however, that participants took more than three times the steps during the tandem gait test right after orthosis application compared with baseline scores. Investigators asked participants to wear the orthoses as much as possible during the two weeks between application and follow-up testing.

At follow-up, participants maintained balance improvements equivalent to those seen right after application of the orthoses.

“Our sample size was small and results are preliminary, but they’re promising,” Gross said. “It’s important to note that we examined and addressed individual foot issues. Adding simple arch support may not be enough to confer the same benefits.”

A second study e-published in January looked at the effects of a noncustom insole on postural sway. Adding a textured surface underneath feet might increase somatosensory function, which declines with age, and decrease postural sway, potentially improving postural stability, said Feng Qiu, MD, PhD, lead author of the study conducted at Queensland University of Technology in Brisbane, Australia.

Investigators performed standing balance tests in seven older adults (mean age, 72 ± 4 years) and 10 younger controls (mean age, 27 ± 3 years). Tests were done on a force plate with participants’ eyes open and closed and while they were barefoot, wearing a hard textured insole, and wearing a soft textured insole.

Older adults demonstrated greater postural sway, which decreased significantly and progressively as volunteers moved from the barefoot to hard to soft textured insole conditions. The effect was most significant in the eyes-closed condition. Qiu noted that noncustom insoles are an inexpensive intervention that may provide improved balance.

Gross said decreasing postural sway alone may not reduce fall risk and also noted that Australian participants weren’t tested under real-world conditions.

“When you’re simply standing, your center of mass doesn’t wander much,” he said. “And most people tend to do things with their eyes open.” –ED

By Emily Delzell and Jordana Bieze Foster

Avoid These Diabetes Traps

If you've been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, watch out for these lifestyle pitfalls that can make controlling your blood sugar more difficult.

You may be scared or stunned by a type 2 diabetes diagnosis, but it’s critical that you start making the changes suggested by your doctor. That's often easier said than done, since for most of us, what we eat, how much we exercise, and other everyday habits are as cozy — and as hard to get rid of — as well-worn slippers or a soft old sweatshirt.

But although you might have a few false starts and even a misstep or two along the way, a diabetes diagnosis must be taken seriously, beginning with abandoning old habits and committing to new ones to reverse or stabilize the condition.

Steps Toward Positive Change
Here’s a great place to begin: Losing just 10 percent of your body weight will improve your blood sugar control, says Margaret Shields, MEd, RD, a diabetes educator with the Washington University Diabetes Center at Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis. That, in turn, will decrease your heart disease risk and keep you healthy and living longer.

Some more bad habits you should be sure to avoid:

Not testing blood sugar. Yes, you have to draw blood, but no, it doesn’t have to hurt. Your doctor or diabetes educator will show you how to get started with a blood glucose monitor and lancets. Keep your diabetic supplies within reach at home, at work, and even in your car. And with time, Shields says, testing will get easier.

Not taking diabetic medications at the right time. To keep blood sugar balanced, you have to “feed” your body at specific times — whether it’s with meds or food. Otherwise you’re wasting time and money and damaging your body.

Skipping meals. If you want to lose weight, skipping meals to hurry the process isn’t the answer. Skip breakfast or lunch, and the drop in blood sugar will set off a chain reaction that disrupts insulin levels and blood sugar — and you’ll likely eat more later. Take time to eat simple, balanced meals. You may also benefit from a mind-set boost: “Try not to think of it as a ‘diabetes diet’ because it’s basically heart-healthy eating, the way we all should eat,” says Ellen Calogeras, RD, LD, a diabetes educator with the Cleveland Clinic Diabetes Center.

Emotional eating. If you feel depressed, anxious, or stressed, it will affect your blood sugar, so it’s important to get your emotions under control. Medication, meditation, psychotherapy, exercise, and deep breathing can help, alone or in combination.

Binge eating. Stock up on healthy foods — avoid temptation every time you open your kitchen cabinets by not buying chips, doughnuts, and other “trigger” foods.

Drinking too much sugar. Go for milk or water as beverages of choice. When you want to enjoy fresh juice, put the brakes on at a half-cup.

Skipping veggies. Vegetables supply nutrients that support all your body functions, including helping to regulate both blood pressure and blood sugar. Get a wide variety in deep hues — red, yellow, orange, and green.

Avoiding fish in favor of red meat. Fish like salmon and tuna are rich in heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids. Don't care for seafood? Other good sources of lean protein include chicken and beans.

Skipping exercise. Getting your weight and blood sugar under control means getting enough regular exercise. Though the goal is 150 minutes of aerobic exercise each week, if exercise doesn’t get you excited, make it easy on yourself and break down that total into manageable amounts — short but frequent bouts. “Just 10 minutes of walking several times a day is good,” says Shields.

Getting too little sleep. With less than five hours of sleep, you disrupt hormones that control hunger and blood glucose, so give yourself an earlier bedtime if you’ve been shortchanging yourself on the shut-eye. If snoring is a problem, talk with your doctor. You may have sleep apnea, which disrupts hormone levels and drives up blood sugar.

Diabetes Educators: A Helping Hand
If you need a bigger push to get moving, working with a certified diabetes educator can help. These health-care professionals have the important job of helping people learn how to manage diabetes successfully. The American Association of Diabetes Educators is a great resource for more information.

“Take all this very seriously,” says Shields. “The ability to follow diet and exercise guidelines is what separates the winners from the losers. And with diabetes, the stakes are very high.”