Diabetes info

Type 2 diabetes, weight loss and chelation

Chelation therapy makes Type2 diabetes go into remission
In Canada today, there are more than 2 million people who have diabetes, usually Type 2 diabetes. It is so common that is has been called an epidemic. It is one of the fastest growing diseases, with over 60,000 new cases every year.
This may sound disastrous, but Type 2 diabetes can be managed very easily, and can even be sent into remission.
What is diabetes?
Your body needs insulin to convert sugar from food into energy. When your body cannot produce the insulin it needs, or cannot use the insulin it produces, you get diabetes. There are 3 types of diabetes.
Type 1 diabetes: The body makes very little or practically no insulin. This diabetes cannot be prevented or cured. People who have this type of diabetes need to take insulin always, to stay alive.
Type 2 diabetes: The body makes insulin, but is not able to use in effectively.
Gestational diabetes: Sometimes, when a woman is pregnant, her body is unable to use insulin properly. This diabetes usually disappears after the baby is born.
Type 2 diabetes
This type of diabetes often shows no symptoms. People only discover they have it when they go to the doctor for another problem.
Some of the symptoms are fatigue, frequent urination and an unusual thirst. The health risks of type 2 diabetes patients are serious. Over a period of time high blood sugar levels can cause blindness, heart disease, nerve damage, strokes, erectile dysfunction. It also reduces the supply of blood that flows to the limbs which often leads to the need for amputation.

Controlling your type 2 diabetes
Your diabetes must be controlled. Your doctor will often ask you to lose weight, stop smoking if you do so, and be physically active. All these will benefit you and give you a healthier lifestyle. But they are not so easy to do. Following strict diets are hard and some diets are too restrictive and hard to do.
Your doctor will also ask you to try and reduce your high blood pressure and high cholesterol levels. If dieting and physical exercise cannot bring down those levels, you will have to take prescription drugs.
The dangers of these drugs have been well researched. They have serious side effects that often cause memory loss, weakened muscles, cancer, pancreatic rot, depression, dizziness and many other illnesses.
Chelation Therapy: the all –natural way to cure type 2 diabetes
There’s been a lot of research done on alternative therapies that can send diabetes into remission. One of the most effective natural remedies is chelation therapy.

Chelation therapy was always used to reduce heavy metal toxicity. But physicians who were using this therapy found that their patients benefited in so many other ways.

Today, we know why that happens.

Chelation therapy uses a synthetic amino acid called EDTA, to cling onto heavy metal toxins that are slowly destroying your body and health. It binds with toxins and free radicals, and removes them from the body. As a result, the cholesterol is removed from the arteries and all 75,000 miles blood vessels. Once the cholesterol is gone, the blood starts flowing powerfully through the body. High blood pressure gets stabilized. The risks of heart disease are removed. The liver is cleansed. Excess fat is removed. You lose weight, in a healthy, easy and balanced way.

All the factors that contributed to type 2 diabetes are now under control, and the disease is sent into remission. There are no dangerous drugs, and no surgery involved.

To boost your body with good health, chelation therapy also delivers a powerhouse of vitamins, minerals and nutrients that boost your energy levels and take away all your fatigue and tiredness.

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CHELATION THERAPY

An alternative way to lower cholesterol – without the danger of statin drugs

There are many alternative remedies to lower cholesterol offered by all kinds of clinics. There are homeopathic remedies, herbal remedies, and natural remedies. But there is one remarkable, proven and safe way to lower your cholesterol, without using statin drugs – it’s called Chelation Therapy.

What is Chelation Therapy?
The word “chelation” comes from the Greek word “chele”, which means “to claw” or “to bind”.

It is a safe and non-toxic way to get rid of all the toxic metals in your body. Chelation consists of EDTA ( ethylene diamine tetraacetic acid) which is administered into your body. This synthetic protein binds all toxic metal ions and removes them from the body.

It binds onto and removes all that arterial plaque, and in doing so, reduces your high cholesterol, lowers your blood pressure and reduces your risk to heart disease. Your blood now flows powerfully through all 75,000 miles of clean blood vessels, eliminating chest and leg pains, and fatigue and boosting your energy levels.

It also binds onto all the free radicals in your system. These highly destructive molecules are the main contributors to aging and degenerative disease.

Chelation also cleanses your liver, because the build-up of heavy metals in your body is now eliminated. Your body is completely detoxified, in a very safe. Healthy, and completely natural way.

The benefits of chelation
The benefits to chelation are many.

* It reduces the risks of heart disease without medication and surgery.
* It reduces or eliminates chest pains.
* It reduces or removes cardiac stress intolerance.
* Fatigue, anxiety and shortness of breath disappear.
* Blood pressure and cholesterol levels get normalized.
* Leg cramps and pain disappear because the blood is flowing powerfully through the body.
* It improves memory, reduces the risks of Pick’s Atrophy and Alzheimer’s disease, and can even save the elderly from senility.
* It reverses diabetic gangrene, restores impaired vision in those suffering from macular degeneration.
* Chelation dissolves kidney stones, reduces serum iron and protects against iron poisoning and storage in the liver.
* It cleans out over 75,000 ft of blood vessels, reducing valve calcification and improving the heart.
* It fills you with energy because it is packed with nutrients, vitamins and minerals that your body desperately needs.
* It prevents osteoarthritis from crippling a body.
* It smoothens out wrinkles and dissolves large and small clots.
* It can reverse the effect of a stroke.
* It reduces the need for bypass surgery.

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STATIN DRUGS

Statin Drugs – what is the prescription for?

You’ve discovered you have bad cholesterol levels. Or your cholesterol levels are above 240 and you have other risk factors like being a smoker or being overweight. Or perhaps you’ve had a heart attack already. In all these circumstances, doctors prescribe statin drugs. 
These drugs slow down your body’s production of cholesterol. They also remove the cholesterol that is sticking to your arteries.
Some examples of statin drugs are:

Atorvastatin – brand name drug Lipitor Fluvastatin – brand name Lescol Lovastatin – brand names Altocor, Mevacor Pravastatin – brand name Prayachol Rosuvastatin – brand name Crestor Simvastatin – brand name Zocor

Are statin drugs dangerous?

Statins work very well to inhibit the production of cholesterol. But in doing so, it raises a many- headed monster of other dangers for your body. It inhibits a whole family of intermediary substances, many of which have important biochemical functions. That’s why there are often many side-effects, and the chances of you suffering from some other ailment are huge.

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What are phentermine and topiramate?

Qsymia contains the drugs phentermine and topiramate in extended release form. Phentermine is generally used for short-term weight loss in overweight or obese adults, in addition to exercise and a healthy diet. Because it contains phentermine, Qsymia is a federally controlled substance (CIV) and can be abused or lead to drug dependence. Topiramate, the generic version of Topamax, is used to treat certain types of epileptic seizures and to prevent migraine headaches.

Anti-epileptic drugs (AEDs) such as topiramate pose concerns about possible teratogenicity, an agent that causes malformation of a fetus. Topiramate has been associated with severe eye problems such as sudden decrease in vision and glaucoma. These side effects can lead to permanent vision loss. The drug also increases the risk of suicidal thoughts.

A fetus exposed to topiramate in the first trimester of pregnancy has an increased risk of a cleft lip and/or cleft palate. Women of childbearing years must not be pregnant or become pregnant when taking Qsymia. Women should have a negative pregnancy test before starting Qsymia and every month while taking the drug, and they should consistently use effective contraception during this time.

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Increased risk for a birth defects called cleft lip and cleft palate

Qsymia is known as a Pregnancy Category X drug.

 The FDA assigns approved drugs to pregnancy categories to identify drugs that may have additional risks for newborns. They base the decision for each drug on data from animal studies and clinical studies or experience, as it is unethical to perform clinical studies on pregnant women. Pregnancy categories are useful tools for patients and healthcare professionals to weigh the risks and benefits of using a drug during pregnancy. The risk or consuming drugs in Pregnancy Category X during pregnancy clearly outweigh the benefits. For these medications, healthcare providers should advise either a safe delay in treatment or an alternative medication.

According to the drug’s website, “Qsymia can harm your unborn baby. If you take Qsymia while you are pregnant, your baby has a higher risk for birth defects called cleft lip and cleft palate. These defects can begin early in pregnancy, even before you know you are pregnant.”

References
FDA approves weight-management drug Qsymia. FDA News Release. July 17, 2012.
Prescriptions for contraindicated category X drugs in pregnancy among women enrolled in TennCare. William O. Cooper, Gerald B. Hickson and Wayne A. Ray. ©Blackwell Publishing Ltd. Paediatric and Perinatal Epidemiology 2004, 18, 106–111. Posted on FDA.
Qsymia Medication Guide. ©2012, VIVUS, Inc.
QSYMIA (phentermine and topiramate) Extended-release Capsules [Category: anorectic and antiepileptic] VIVUS, Inc. RISK EVALUATION AND MITIGATION STRATEGY (REMS).
For further questions about cleft lip and cleft palate, contact The Cleft Lip and Palate Foundation of Smiles. Cleft lip and palate are two of the most common birth defects, which affect one in 600 children in the United States. The Foundation was formed by a  mother of twins born with cleft lip and palate. The Foundation offers positive support to parents of children with craniofacial differences by offering news, information on cleft palate teams, state by state resources, birth registry listings, and a support group where you can meet other families who are going through similar concerns, and where you can share and express useful information.

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Qsymia’s Release Date Strategic Planning by Vivus

Vivus’ commercial launch of Qsymia this week beat its weight loss rival, Arena Pharmaceuticals’ drug Belviq. In addition, Qsymia’s release conveniently precedes the Obesity Society annual meeting in San Antonio. While doctors will be discussing both drugs at the meeting, only Vivus will have its weight loss pill on the market and ready for prescriptions when doctors return home to their patients.

The release date does not seem to be a coincidence. Qsymia hit pharmacy shelves most likely as a result of careful timing on Vivus’ part. As the new weight loss drug is gaining attention, its commercial availability during the Obesity Society meeting will only boost interest.

Unfortunately, the push for such a speedy release may have been a hasty decision. There are still many lingering concerns regarding the known side effects of topiramate and phentermine, the two active drugs in Qsymia.

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Wary Doctors Put the ‘Wait’ in Weight Loss Drugs

After a 13-year dry spell, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved two new drugs promising weight loss in a pill. But will you be able to get a prescription for them?

The answer may depend on which doctor you see.

“I’ll probably take a wait-and-see attitude myself,” said Greg Anderson, an assistant professor of family medicine at the Mayo Clinic. “The track record has not been particularly good for diet medications.”

By contrast, Dr. Albert Levy, assistant professor of medicine at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine, said he has already been prescribing the same combination of drugs in the newest offering off-label for two years, a decision based on data from previous clinical trials. He said almost all of his patients lost weight when they were given the medications.

“Once the patient has learned how to control the appetite and has lost a good amount of weight, she or he is stimulated to continue to lose weight without the medications,” Levy said.

The two medications in question are Belviq and Qsymia. Belviq, which contains a new medication called lorcaserin, was approved June 27. Qsymia, approved earlier this week, is a combination of two medications which had already been on the market, phentermine and topiramate.

In trials, patients taking Belviq lost about 5 percent of their total weight, while studies showed those on Qsymia lost about 10 percent of their weight. Dramatic, they are not. Still, many are hopeful that these medications will help millions of Americans deal with obesity and related conditions like heart disease, hypertension and diabetes.

Investors are banking on these drugs too. The U.S. weight loss market is estimated to be worth more than $60 billion per year. Stocks for manufacturers of both drugs jumped at the news of the drugs’ approval. Analysts predict that Belviq and Qsymia sales can reach $1 billion annually.

But that’s only if doctors prescribe them. Ultimately, primary care physicians will be the gatekeepers who determine the fate of these medications. Will they turn to a simpler remedy for obesity than urging their patients to eat right and exercise? Or will they view these medications as more trouble than they’re worth?

“I will predict that neither will be on the market in five years,” said Dr. Lee Green, professor and chair of family medicine at the University of Alberta. “They really just don’t do that much.

“‘Up to 10 percent weight loss’ sounds great, until you look closely. That’s when used by selected volunteer patients in carefully designed, closely monitored clinical trials. We’ll be lucky to get half that in the real world.”

Levy, meanwhile, said he would likely use Qsymia. He said he had previously been using the component medications of the new drug for only a month at a time. Given the FDA’s approval for longer use, though, he said he would now consider the medication for extended periods. He said he was less comfortable with Belviq and might consider using it after it had been out longer.

Dr. Heather Agee, a general internist and office medical director at Johns Hopkins Bayview, said that she used to prescribe phentermine regularly for weight loss; “It was very effective as an appetite suppressant,” she said. Yet, she said she stopped prescribing it because “I found that people didn’t make the lifestyle changes and gained the weight back.”

Diet Drugs of Years Past Had Considerable Side Effects

Plus, Agee said, some of her patients experienced side effects from phentermine, like palpitations and difficulty sleeping. She said she probably would not be prescribing Qsymia until it had been out long enough to ensure that it was effective and safe.

As for Anderson, he said the last diet medication he prescribed was Meridia, which was taken off the market in 2010 due to concerns over possible heart-related risks. Xenical, an FDA-approved weight loss medication still on the market today, works by stopping fat absorption — but also causes diarrhea. Anderson said he abandoned it years ago.

“It is interesting and good that there are a couple new drugs available for weight loss,” Anderson said. But he added that before prescribing either new medication, he said he’d like to see how effective they are and what the side effects will be.

FDA Approves New Obesity Drug Qsymia Watch Video

 For now, at least, primary care physicians will have time to make up their minds about these diet drugs. Neither Belviq nor Qsymia is currently available on the market.

Arena, which makes Belviq, cannot make the drug available until the Drug Enforcement Administration determines if it will be a scheduled substance. While Qsymia contains two medications that are already FDA-approved, it will need to be closely monitored by the Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy required by the FDA.

Physicians will need to write the prescription on a specific form and fax or mail to pharmacies that have gone through a certification process to distribute Qsymia. Additionally, it is unclear what each medication will cost and how many insurers will cover their use.

While the future for the new potential blockbusters is uncertain, one thing is for sure — the old advice to watch your diet and exercise remains the best way to lose weight and maximize health. It is worth noting that every patient in trials who lost weight on Belviq and Qsymia was also on an exercise and diet program.

“I understand the desire for a miracle pill, a silver bullet, to deal with the very difficult and stubborn problem of obesity — but I don’t think it’s going to be that easy.” Green said.

Anderson concurred. “It’s still going to come down to exercise and diet as the best way to lose weight.”

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