diabetes supplies    │    diabetes testing     │    type two diabetes    │    diabetic neuropathy

A new program  helps diabetics monitor their blood sugar

One of the most difficult battles diabetes face is properly regulating their blood sugar, also called glucose. Each day, diabetics test themselves to determine how high their blood sugar levels have risen or dropped.

Over many years, high glucose levels seriously damage blood vessels and nerves that lead to, among other things, loss of sensation in the feet and poor blood flow in the lower legs.

Some 21 million Americans have diabetes, meaning their bodies can't properly regulate blood sugar. Blood glucose levels can increase or decrease to dangerous levels if left unchecked.It is imperative that diabetics are conscientious about testing their blood so they can fend off serious health problems, doctors say.

Ocean Medical Center in Brick, part of Meridian Health, offers a personalized blood glucose monitoring system called MetrikLink,, which patients in the Pharmacology Institute program attach to a computer at home. A log of their daily numbers — in graph form, showing trends — is transmitted to the hospital, alerting officials to potential problems.

Dorothy Krivancik, 77, enrolled in the program and finds it extremely helpful in maintaining control of her blood sugar levels. She has had diabetes for 22 years.

"You normally take your blood sugar levels and you see if you are high or low and know you probably ate something your should not have," said Krivancik, of Lakewood. "With this program, you get the charts so you can see your ups and downs. It condenses everything for you and you can make corrections with your diet."

Two months after her initial consultation, Krivancik's numbers really began to trend higher. Robert J. Schenk Jr., a clinical pharmacist at Ocean Medical, noticed the sharp spike in Krivancik's daily numbers and promptly called to ask her about it.

"He (Schenk) asked if there was something new I was eating in my diet," said Krivancik. "I knew immediately what the culprit was — grape juice. I had read a story about grape juice helping arthritis, but the eight ounces I was drinking was simply too much."

"All my patients deal with the risk versus benefit of certain foods," Schenk said. "She was not getting any benefit from this, so we stopped it. As soon as that happened, her numbers dropped down to a much more manageable level."

When Krivancik first enrolled in the program, she was taking 27 different medications. After working with Schenk, and using the MetrikLink device for blood sugar control, she is now down to 18 medications.

"When she first came she was serious about controlling her diabetes and wanted to take advantage of the program," Schenk said. "She had two major concerns: One was protecting her vision; the other was to trying to stay off dialysis as long as she could. (Kidney disease and deteriorating vision are side effects of diabetes.) Now, she has a clinical pharmacist to look at her medications and provide accurate, timely information to her physicians so they can make adjustments."

Krivancik still faces the day-to-day challenges of controlling her diabetes, but she feels much better about the situation."If you want better control of diabetes, this is the program for you," Krivancik said.