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South Macomb Internal Medicine

South Macomb Internal Medicine

Warren, MI

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Sugar

Improving The Patient Experience: Part 3 – Checking Hgb A1c for Diabetes

October 22nd, 2021

By Dr. Scot Goldberg, MD

Hello everyone!  This is part 3 of a series around how we work towards improving the patient experience!  Part 2 related to checking your blood pressure, and here we are going to discuss the importance of checking your Hgb A1c for diabetes!

Diabetes

We should be screening for diabetes at age 35, and the way we do this is with a blood test called the hemoglobin A1c.  If that is elevated past 6.0 then we recheck in one year.  From 6.0 – 7.0 is considered “pre-diabetes” and over 7.0 is considered diabetes.  For pre-diabetes we treat it with diet and exercise and over 7.0 we add medications to the course of treatment.

As for diet and exercise we’ve mentioned here before that we recommend you exercise 30 minutes per day 5 times per week, and we have the resources to help you with your diet.  You can see our nutritionist Nanette Cameron – she’s fantastic!

So why do we need to treat diabetes?

Most people think that the acute care of diabetes or the blood sugar is more important than chronic care.  For very high sugars people will have increased thirst, urination, and generally poor feeling.  But actually chronic care of diabetes is much more important.  Diabetes is the leading cause of stroke, heart attacks, kidney failure and as a matter of fact can cause problems with any organ if left untreated.

So what is the treatment?

Treatment for diabetes has moved way past insulin shots.  We have even moved past sulfonylurea, metformin and older diabetic medications.  Although these medications have been around for decades and have been shown to be safe, effective and well tolerated, we now have newer medications that are even more effective and safer.  These medications include GLP1 (glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists), or SGLT-2 inhibitors (sodium glucose cotransporter-2 inhibitors).  If that seems like a lot of acronyms and big words don’t worry – there won’t be a test… haha.  Let me explain:

  • GLP1’s come as a daily oral medication or a weekly self-injection.  Most patients prefer the weekly self-injection for convenience.  This class of medication works very well and has the added benefit of significant weight loss.
  • SGLT-2 inhibitors come as a daily oral medication as well.  It lowers the sugar thresholds in the kidneys so excess sugar in the blood stream is removed via urination.  The newest data shows that it is very effective and prevents heart and kidney disease even in patients who are not diabetic.

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Improving The Patient Experience

A little background on this initiative and some highlights as outlined by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan:

Medicare Star Ratings is a rating system developed by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to help consumers find the best Medicare Advantage plan for them. Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan has two MA plans – Medicare Plus Blue℠ for its PPO members and BCN Advantage℠ for its HMO members.

CMS assesses a member’s health plan experience through the Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems, or CAHPS, member survey. The survey asks patients to report on their experiences with a wide range of health care services. A large portion of the CAHPS survey is driven by the member’s experience with his or her physician’s team, including such things as follow-up on labs and imaging, and getting timely doctor appointments.

And, most importantly for patients, a positive patient experience results in better adherence to protocol, better relationships with health care providers and a feeling of mutual respect between them and their medical team.

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South Macomb Internal Medicine

28401 Hoover Rd.  Warren, Michigan 48093

Phone: (586) 276-7530

South Macomb Internal Medicine has been designated a Patient Centered Medical Home by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan.

Join us on Facebook at facebook.com/SMIMdoc!

Feel free to click on the categories and keywords below to find more content as we add more to the website!

Filed Under: Diabetes, Improving The Patient Experience Series Tagged With: Diabetes, Doctor, Doctor's Office, Dr. Scot Goldberg, Hemoglobin A1C, Internal Medicine, Internist, Macomb, Macomb Doctor, Medical Practice, Metro Detroit, Metro Detroit Doctor, Michigan, Patient Centered Medical Home, PCMH, Primary Care Medical Home, Sugar, Type 2 Diabetes, Warren

Beware of Too Much Sugar – Why It’s Dangerous & 3 Tips to Limit It!

March 12, 2021

By Nanette Cameron, RDN

Certain holidays have their own traditions right?  But they all seem to have one common denominator.  FOOD, and in many cases a heavy dose of sugar.  Take Easter for example which is almost here….  Whether you celebrate Easter or not there WILL be more sugar around and right in front of you like at the checkout of your local grocery store or pharmacy for example.  Jellybeans, chocolate bunnies, and Peeps oh my!  Even chocolate eggs and who knows what other temptations they’ll come up with.  Granted there won’t be the large gatherings for this upcoming holiday perhaps, but as the year goes on and we start getting back to normal your relatives will be itching to make their famous cakes and cookies to bring to 4th of July parties and the like.

So let’s discuss why we should be more mindful of how much sugar we eat.

Sugar

As the very latest research shows there are 10 major reasons to limit your sugar intake.  Just the first three in that report alone are big time problems – inflammation, type 2 diabetes and obesity?  YIKES.

The amount of sugar that the average American consumes has skyrocketed according to the research.  It’s insane.  In a year the average American consumes 152 pounds of sugar – an ENTIRE ADULT HUMAN of sugar – the biggest culprits are soft drinks, sugary juices and yes, candy (remember Easter and jellybeans?).

3 Tips To Limit Your Sugar:

Part of the problem is simply the crave – that feeling that you just want something sweet.  So here are three tips:

  1. Add more fruit to your diet!  Fruit can indeed satisfy your sweet tooth in a much healthier way.  Fruit is good for you – it provides vitamins, minerals and fiber that the concentrated and refined sugars in jellybeans for example do not.  Don’t be as concerned about the sugars in fruit – they aren’t the problem.
  2. If you are hooked on pop try adding a water enhancer for a little flavor boost without the sugar.
  3. Moderation is key – this may sound like an obvious tip but do not buy your sugar at Costco!  If you have a massive 5 lb. bag of sugar you won’t ration it.  Believe me this will help.

So please take care of yourself and be mindful of sugar.  What other tips & tricks do you use to cut down your sugar?

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South Macomb Internal Medicine

28401 Hoover Rd.  Warren, Michigan 48093

Phone: (586) 276-7530

South Macomb Internal Medicine has been designated a Patient Centered Medical Home by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan.

Join us on Facebook at facebook.com/SMIMdoc for updates, articles and fun!

Call us and ask to be added to our email newsletter that comes out every couple weeks!

Telehealth and virtual appointments are still available as well as nutritional services with Nanette Cameron, RDN. Don’t forget to ask us for a $25 gift certificate along with a copy of Nanette Cameron’s cookbook The Perfect Day for trying dietary services with Nanette the first time for patients who have insurance coverage! Nanette is also available virtually!

Feel free to click on the categories and keywords below to find more content as we add more to the website!

 

Filed Under: Nutrition Tagged With: Diabetes, Doctor, Doctor's Office, Easter, Fruit, Healthy Eating, Internal Medicine, Internist, Jellybeans, Macomb, Macomb Doctor, Medical Practice, Metro Detroit, Metro Detroit Doctor, Michigan, Nutrition, Nutrition Tips, Soda, Sugar, Warren

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28401 Hoover Rd
Warren, MI 48093

Phone: (586) 276-7530

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