smoking and blood glucose.

[Beni Kafe]

Hi there. Does anybody know about a connection between
smoking and high level of blood glucose ? My wife got a high
glucose level and we suspect that her smoking has to do with
it. thanks .beni.

[Jennifer]

Beni...

Smoking will not cause your wife to have BG levels of a
diabetic nature, unless she has diabetes.

BUT if she smokes AND has diabetes it will make it harder to
control... and is implicated in many other pretty awful
diabetic complications.

What makes you think your wife has a high glucose level?
What was the number that you thought was high? Under what
circumstances did she get it?

Jennifer

beni kafe wrote:
> Hi there. Does anybody know about a connection between
> smoking and high level of blood glucose ? My wife got a
> high glucose level and we suspect that her smoking has to
> do with it. thanks .beni.

[Alan]

On 3 Jul 2004 22:05:36 -0700, benik@elisra.com (beni kafe) wrote:

>Hi there. Does anybody know about a connection between
>smoking and high level of blood glucose ? My wife got a
>high glucose level and we suspect that her smoking has to
>do with it. thanks .beni.

I know of no connection between smoking and blood glucose
levels, although that doesn't mean there isn't one.

You might want to consider the following though: High blood
glucose levels is generally an indicator of possible
diabetes. Uncontrolled diabetes is likely to lead to heart
problems. Smoking is also likely to lead to heart problems.

Both together is usually a good time to check on your wife's
life insurance coverage, before official diagnosis makes
additional insurance impossible.

That wasn't meant as a joke. Your wife needs to do two
things to help lengthen her enjoyable life:

1. Give up smoking.
2. See a doctor and ask for a general health check,
including blood tests for diabetes and lipids
(cholesterols).

Cheers, Alan, T2 d&e, Australia. Remove weight and
carbs to email.
--
Everything in Moderation - Except Laughter.

[Oldal4865]

beni kafe wrote in message
<33753bc6.0407032105.24a1e2f8@posting.google.com>...
>Hi there. Does anybody know about a connection between
>smoking and high level of blood glucose ? My wife got a
>high glucose level and we suspect that her smoking has to
>do with it. thanks .beni.

Your question can be interpreted in at least two ways:

1. "My wife never seemed to have diabetes, we never
noticed any high blood sugars, but suddenly, she had
a high blood sugar after smoking. Did the smoking
cause the high blood sugar? Maybe she doesn't have
diabetes after all?"

My Answer: Diabetes causes high blood sugars. Smoking
makes the gruesome complications of diabetes "more
gruesome".

2. "My wife has had diabetes for some time now.
Recently, she had a really high blood sugar, higher
than what we normally see. Did smoking cause that
unusually high blood sugar?"

My Guess: Probably not though I don't really know. My
guess really doesn't count though. High blood sugar and
smoking is a deadly combination.

I don't want to sound harsh and sarcastic, but if a diabetic
must smoke, then it's time to start shopping around for a
cheap wheelchair.

Regards
Old Al

[William C Biggs]

Beni,

Smoking doesn't cause diabetes, or change the blood
sugar directly.

It is a horrible combination. Of the women that I take care
of, that needed coronary bypass surgery before age 35, all
have been smokers.

That's not a typo, before age thirty-five.

In my diabetes practice, I rarely see someone with lung
cancer from smoking. Unfortunately the vascular
diseases...strokes, heart attacks, or peripheral vascular
disease...has ravaged them first.

Smoking can alter the appetite, and may impact the blood
sugar that way on a short term basis.

Also, the absorption of inhaled insulin (may be released
next year) is accelerated by smoking, so that lower doses
are needed in smokers. Not sure why this is, since it is the
opposite of what you might expect.

You need to convince your wife to quit smoking ASAP.

She probably can't stop being diabetic, but she can stop
being a smoker. She'll need your help and understaning
in doing it.

Cheers, William C Biggs, MD

"beni kafe" <benik@elisra.com> wrote in message
news:33753bc6.0407032105.24a1e2f8@posting.google.com...
> Hi there. Does anybody know about a connection between
> smoking and high level of blood glucose ? My wife got a
> high glucose level and we suspect that her smoking has to
> do with it. thanks .beni.

[Julie Bove]

"beni kafe" <benik@elisra.com> wrote in message
news:33753bc6.0407032105.24a1e2f8@posting.google.com...
> Hi there. Does anybody know about a connection between
> smoking and high level of blood glucose ? My wife got a
> high glucose level and we suspect that her smoking has to
> do with it. thanks .beni.

I don't think smoking affects BG. How high was her reading?

--
Type 2 http://users.bestweb.net/~jbove/

[Vbh]

"oldal4865" <oldal4865@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:2kqcskF4vfsaU1@uni-berlin.de...
>
> beni kafe wrote in message
> <33753bc6.0407032105.24a1e2f8@posting.google.com>...
> >Hi there. Does anybody know about a connection between
> >smoking and high level of blood glucose ? My wife got a
> >high glucose level and we suspect that her smoking has to
> >do with it. thanks .beni.
>
>
> Your question can be interpreted in at least two ways:
>
>1. "My wife never seemed to have diabetes, we never
> noticed any high
> blood sugars, but suddenly, she had a high blood sugar
> after smoking.
Did
> the smoking cause the high blood sugar? Maybe she doesn't
> have diabetes after all?"
>
> My Answer: Diabetes causes high blood sugars. Smoking
> makes the gruesome complications of diabetes "more
> gruesome".
>
>
> 2. "My wife has had diabetes for some time now.
> Recently, she had a really high blood sugar, higher
> than what we normally see. Did smoking cause that
> unusually high blood sugar?"
>
> My Guess: Probably not though I don't really know. My
> guess really doesn't count though. High blood sugar and
> smoking is a deadly combination.
>
> I don't want to sound harsh and sarcastic, but if a
> diabetic must smoke, then it's time to start shopping
> around for a cheap wheelchair.
>
> Regards
> Old Al
>
>

Interesting. I had got the impression from somewhere
(possibly DSN) that smoking increased IR. I'll have to check
with her tomorrow and see if there are any references.

When I gave up though my bloods went bonkers for a week
though this is more down to changed eating habits and sudden
homicidal tendencies....

This may sound more harsh but if a diabetic must smoke then
are the odds not greater that a coffin will be required even
before the wheelchair - heart attacks, strokes etc?

VBH (New results and sig pending)

[Beni Kafe]

Jennifer <jenniferNOSPAM@earthlink.net> wrote in message news:<2kpkppF4s4kmU1@uni-berlin.de>...
> Beni...
>
> Smoking will not cause your wife to have BG levels of a
> diabetic nature, unless she has diabetes.
>
> BUT if she smokes AND has diabetes it will make it harder
> to control... and is implicated in many other pretty awful
> diabetic complications.
>
> What makes you think your wife has a high glucose level?
> What was the number that you thought was high? Under what
> circumstances did she get it?
>
> Jennifer
>
My wife had an episode of 500BG which she got after a
stressful time and after a month of pneumonia with a lot of
antibiotics.This blood glucose went down to 150-200 in a
month and with Insulin shots . but since then either pills
(glucophage and novonorm) or 24hours insulin shots didn't
succeed and it is standing now on ~300. Because she smokes a
lot we suspected that maybe the smoking interferes with the
ability to control the BG. (she walks every day and maintain
a very strict diet for diabetes). thanks for the
information. beni.

[Oldal4865]

VBH wrote in message <2kr9ndF5g3tuU1@uni-berlin.de>...
>"oldal4865" <oldal4865@yahoo.com> wrote in message
>>. . .(snip) . . . My Answer: Diabetes causes high blood
>> sugars. Smoking makes the gruesome complications of
>> diabetes "more gruesome".
>>
>>
>> 2. "My wife has had diabetes for some time now.
>> Recently, she had
a
>> really high blood sugar, higher than what we normally
>> see. Did smoking cause that unusually high blood sugar?"
>>
>> My Guess: Probably not though I don't really know. My
>> guess really doesn't count though. High blood sugar and
>> smoking is a deadly combination.
>>
>> I don't want to sound harsh and sarcastic, but if a
>> diabetic must smoke, then it's time to start shopping
>> around for a cheap wheelchair.
>>
>> Regards
>> Old Al
>>
>>
>
>Interesting. I had got the impression from somewhere
>(possibly DSN) that smoking increased IR. I'll have to
>check with her tomorrow and see if
there
>are any references.
>
>When I gave up though my bloods went bonkers for a week
>though this is more down to changed eating habits and
>sudden homicidal tendencies....
>
>This may sound more harsh but if a diabetic must smoke then
>are the odds
not
>greater that a coffin will be required even before the
>wheelchair - heart attacks, strokes etc?
>
>VBH

". . . .changed eating habits and sudden homicidal
tendencies. . ."

Yes! ! ! Been there, done that. Half the reason for not
smoking is to not have to go there again. Shudder.

Bad news: When I stopped smoking in 1971, I discovered that
much of the world smells bad. I still it does and I don't
work in a Chemical Plant anymore.

We have high risk for impaired circulation in the feet
causing problems leading to amputation. Smoking makes
them worse.

One of my wife's friends was in a auto accident and suffered
extensive damage to a foot. While recovering from surgery in
the hospital, she wheelchaired to a balcony and had a smoke
(not legal anymore around here, b tw). Her surgeon walked in
a while later, smelled the smoke on her and commented (with
vigor) "I spent 5 hours putting that foot back together. If
you're going to keep smoking, I can just lop it off at the
ankle right now."

That's what I think of first in the smoking -circulation
arena. I hadn't even thought of strokes and heart attacks.

Regards
Old Al

Regards
Old Al

[Jennifer]

VBH wrote:

> This may sound more harsh but if a diabetic must smoke
> then are the odds not greater that a coffin will be
> required even before the wheelchair - heart attacks,
> strokes etc?
>
> VBH (New results and sig pending)

Smoking and Diabetes are a horrible combination.

Smoking damages and constricts the blood vessels. This
damage can worsen foot ulcers and lead to blood vessel
disease and leg and foot infections.

Of people with diabetes who need amputations, 95 percent
are smokers.

Smokers with diabetes are more likely to get neuropathy
(nerve damage) and kidney disease.

Smoking doubles your risk of getting limited joint mobility.

People with diabetes who smoke are three times as likely
to die of cardiovascular disease as are other people
with diabetes.

Smoking increases your blood pressure.

Smoking raises your blood glucose level, making it harder to
control your diabetes.

Not fun!

Jennifer

[Oldal4865]

beni kafe wrote in message
<33753bc6.0407042108.25e34717@posting.google.com>...
>> . . .(snip). . .
>>
>My wife had an episode of 500BG which she got after a
>stressful time and after a month of pneumonia with a lot of
>antibiotics.This blood glucose went down to 150-200 in a
>month and with Insulin shots . but since then either pills
>(glucophage and novonorm) or 24hours insulin shots didn't
>succeed and it is standing now on ~300. Because she smokes
>a lot we suspected that maybe the smoking interferes with
>the ability to control the BG. (she walks every day and
>maintain a very strict diet for diabetes). thanks for the
>information. beni.

Type 2 diabetes is caused by the slow destruction of the
beta cells which produce insulin. The reduced supply of
insulin is a direct cause of T2 problems with blood
sugar control.

Glucophage works to reduce Insulin Resistance and thus
reduce the need for insulin. The U.S. PDR recommends 1500
mg/day as the minimum maintenance dose, 2500 mg/day as the
maximum. Novonorm is a beta stimulator which attempts to
boost the output of insulin from the damaged beta cells.

IOW, both of them depend on the patient having a goodly
population of working beta cells.

However, when the disease kills enough cells, it becomes
extraordinarily difficult to control blood sugar with any
of the oral meds, especially if the patient is under
unusual stress (chronic illness, chronic pain, some
prescription meds)

When that happens, the patient is a candidate for
supplemental insulin. The most common first insulin tried is
a slowly-absorbing insulin such as Lantus which helps cover
their basal metabolism needs.

The basal represents about half of the patient's total need.
One rule of thumb for the basal need would be about 0.25
units per day per kg body weight for a T1 and somewhere from
0.5 to 1.0 units per day per kg body weight for a T2.

One interesting feature of Lantus, the "24-hour" insulin
shot, is that it really isn't a 24-hour shot. It's activity
varies from person to person over the most common range of
about 19 hours to 34 hours or so.

Folks whose body fat causes them to absorb Lantus in less
than 24 hours can see a rebound bG effect when it wears
off if they have a low enough number of working beta
cells, Their liver will dump glucose when the level of
circulating basal insulin drops too low and can boost
their bG into the 300
mg/dL range.

You defeat the rebound by splitting the daily Lantus into
two smaller doses, or injecting a second type of insulin to
bridge the gap.

If none of the optimizing techniques work, i.e. metformin at
1500 - 2500
mh/day, Lantus at the highest dose feasible and/or split
doses to cover any "gap", then the patient is a candidate
for the standard multiple daily injection insulin regimes
which we T1 use.

That means a combination regime of a slow-absorbing insulin
as a basal, and a fast-acting insulin as a bolus. One
maximizes the basal dose by some sort of trial and error
mechanism and adds fast-acting insulin injections before
each meal. If the diabetic uses one of the modern fast-
insulins, he/she can also tweak a high post-meal bG with a
small correction shots between meals.

The modern fast-acting insulins are Humalog, Novolog,
NovoRapid and Apidra.

If your wife is experiencing sustained 300 mg/dL blood
sugars, she is a candidate for the basal-bolus, MDI regime.
Actually, she was a candidate months ago.

Glucose Toxicity is a condition caused by exposure to high
blood sugar. It generates temporary, increased Insulin
Resistance and temporary, suppressed insulin production.
Thus, it makes bG control very difficult, perhaps impossible
without insulin injections.

A MDI insulin regime is the most powerful technique for
knocking out Glucose Toxicity. There is a chance that your
wife is in Glucose Toxicity and temporary MDI could bring
her out of it.

I use a basal-bolus MDI regime. If I see a blood sugar
anywhere near 300
mi/dL, I go into emergency mode and "knock it down" ASAP.
For me, the combination of a fast insulin such as Humalog
and exercise can bring the bG down to about 100 in about
an hour. Skip the exercise and it takes two hours. It
could take a bit longer and a bit of tweaking (extra
insulin half-way) if I am sick.

Although nothing will really protect the veins and arteries
of a T2 who smokes, I have heard guesses that using the
maximum dose of metformin and perhaps extra vitamin C might
help a bit.

Wild-eyed Guess: Nothing you have posted "denies" the
possibility that your wife is an adult-onset Type 1. If your
wife has been "Diabetic" for less than about 3 years, that
possibility exists. Adult-onset T1 are often difficult to
diagnose and are thought to outnumber Juvenile-onset T1 by
more than 2:1 If your wife is actually T1, sustained 300
mg/dL bG means she needs an MDI regime.

Regards
Old Al