World diabetes day is on Nov 14.
This disease is on the increase and is responsible for tying up many
hospital beds, also causing much eye damage, blindness and
amputations of feet, legs, etc.basicly due to uncontrolled diabetes
thickening the blood
Overdoses of insulin cause road rage and agression by lowering
the bloodsugar levels too far so that the brain no longer works
normally, a collapse into a diabetic coma can happen

Although diabetes can usually be diagnosed with a simple
bloodtest, many doctors miss it until eventually the sufferer has
secondary problems such as sores that wont heal or eye damage
causing the need for frequent new glasses. Many diabetic sufferers
have their own bloodtest machines and its not unusual for them to
diagnose a friend or relative as diabetic with their machine

Many diabetics are still making lots of insulin but their bodies have
become resistant to it, tablets and diet can help a lot, but many
docs and some diabetes specialists cant get the tablets right, and
diet advice is often unhelpful. Despite the sufferers best efforts,
injection of insulin is eventually recommended. This is a severe
burden for the diabetic, some having to test their bloodsugar and
inject insulin 4 times a day, with the continual risk of low bloodsugar
causing hypoglycemia and bizzare behaviour of which the sufferer
usually isnt aware. a bad tempered drunk may actually be a diabetic
having a hypo.

Theres a stubborn refusal by the profession to try other diabetes
diets such as Atkins or other no carb diets or the glycemic index
diet.In my case I was at the point with my diabetes of being badly
overweight and taking the maximum amounts of 3 different
diabetes tablets and told I had to start injecting insulin to get my
bloodsugar levels back under control
Instead I started the atkins diet, lost much weight and manage well
on a much lower tablet dose. Atkins is wrongly said to cause kidney
damage, despite several long term studies showing that it doesnt. I
now eat more food than I did before

There is a surprisingly large lack of curiosity in the medical
profession with an insistance on strict orthodoxy of treatment and
advice for diabetes. The medical profession could and should be
diagnosing and managing diabetes much better.
Many docs are far too enthusiastic in making diabetics start
injecting insulin
One example is severely differing views between diabetes
specialists and kidney specialists on whether or not test result
readings mean there has been kidney damage caused to a
diabetic.
Finally after 14 years of being a diabetic, my sytem is still happily
producing plenty of insulin, despite several confident predictions
that this couldnt happen.

I have only been diagnosed type 2 for about a year. I agree with you on the diet and your general opinions of the medical profession. My own experiences with the medical profession has not been all that positive. Surprise, surprise. I was told 90 days after first being diagosed that I did not need any more testing because I was "cured." My test results dropped so much it gave that impression, to the ill informed, that is. I was just in control.

As far as insulin being prescribed too soon. That may be the case, I cannot say with my experience and education. I do know that beta cells are the key to slowing or stopping the progress of diabetes. You must do whatever you can to protect the cells you have left. The low carb approach is a critical element. You have to take a load off your beta cells. The ADA does not seem to believe this is true. Allowing your blood surgars to rise, like is considered normal for a diabetic, is just being foolish, if you want those beta cells to survive. Hopefully until they come up with something to "cure" the further damage that high blood sugars cause.

It appears that most diabetics do have problems with the food they like to eat. Okay, an understatement. Surely, it is the case with myself. Just like the non-diabetic world. Playing down the role that carbs have on your blood sugar just plays into the hedging of following the rules diabetics must follow to maintain control. "Give an inch" thinking without explaining how they are damaging themselves.

Everyone must come to the truth that the medical profession is not going to control their diabetes - only you are. They are not there when you put your hand to you mouth stuffing yourself. They are not even there telling you what you should not be eating or what you should be doing. I was given a little handout. It is a complicated illness and each of us must learn on our own. I cannot read the ADA information anymore because it just makes me mad as hell because of the mis-information they give out.....

SHOW ME THE DOCS THAT JUMP TOO SOON ON PRESCRIBING INSULIN???? Are you kidding? First of all, insulin is made in your body. You are born with it. You are not making pills in your body. All studies show that starting insulin sooner saves beta cells and reduces blood sugar levels. By the way, thats its only side effect also- it lowers blood sugar.

I think its great you went on a diet and lost weight. Not everyone is as motivated as you. Not everyone else does it. Even so some still require insulin because the pancreas is just burnt out. But for you to put your opinion about insulin and not fact, you mislead people here.

The bottom line is this, lowering glucose levels is what is important. The easiest, fastest, and most efficient way is insulin. Pills take a longer amount of time to do this, have side effects, cannot be increased by small increments and most of the time eventually stop working. Insulin is what it is and does what it does!!!! LOWERS BLOOD SUGAR.

As far as damage to any body part it is a proven fact in the 2 largest clinical trials ever completed about diabetes that excess blood sugar causes damage EVERYWHERE even to the kidneys since you have to excrete the sugar somewhere.

As far as road rage for being low? People road rage just because they are idiots. They can pass out and feel awful from being low but come on. Drunks road rage and so do people on drugs. I have not heard of a low diabetic road rage although Im sure in a few cases it has happened. Because of the newer more predictable insulins taken with meals this "problem" you describe that I didnt even know existed should take care of itself.

If you think insulin is too quickly prescribed you are completely and totally WRONG. Look at the small amounts of diabetics that are actually in control. You wouldnt believe the numbers of doctors that dont even know how to prescribe insulin.

I think everyone with #s over 250 should take insulin to get to normal then be moved to orals. Why accept mediocricy in your numbers when you can achieve GREAT control with insulin. But that is what I want for my health. If you are an Atkins believer than good for you. But also know you cant live w/out carbs forever. Its much better to modify it to a South Beach style. You need carbs to live and survive.

Hopefully you wont need insulin in your life. 7 out of 10 people will need it to control thier blood sugars. That means they will need it, not that the doc will prescribe it.

Please keep your opinion listed as just that. People here are looking for information not 1 persons view that is seriously in need of an update on insulin and the benefits.

.... You need carbs to live and survive .....
Why? I have heard of essential vitamins. And I have heard of essential fatty acids. But there is no such thing as an essential carbohydrate. The only things carbs have going for them is that it is easy for the body to turn them into energy.

Certainly, my body is a lot happier running on keytones. Even if it does have to work harder extracting the enegy.

Cheers,

Mark

Mark is correct. Carbs are not essential. The only reason they are in Bernsteins approach is to get people to eat some vegetables. The mininum of 300 carbs per day is what the ADA seems to be recommending. That will keep you fat and out of control. Carbs turn into sugar - with no exceptions. You have to compromise some to get the other ingredients in foods. But, very little compromise if you want to have bg levels under 100(before and after meals) like non-diabetics. I do it. Well, most of the time. I am what I have been all my life and that is why I am diabetic. Certainly not perfect and certainly prone to 'trying to get away' with slipping some carbs in my diet.

Diet isn't a 100% cure for diabetes. I work with a lady who has an insulin pump because at age 37 she was just diagnosed with Type I after having a BG well into the 1000s. The reason it got so high? Because her body produces NO insulin. That's right....zip, zero, nada. She's probably 5'10" and a little over 100 lbs. She works extremely hard at trying to keep her A1C at a good level, which has been next to impossible. She cut carbs completely out of her diet. Whenever I see her at lunch, all she has is a salad, with no dressing. She eats is fish to keep up the protein in her body. She's miserable because she loves to cook. Her last A1C? Was 10.5. This is with great diet control. She was really upset with herself because no matter what she does, she can't manage her diabetes. She's in constant contact with her endo, her dietician. She can't possibly lose any more weight, she's already too thin. She rarely has ever been Hypo from her insulin pump. She said when she first had it, it happened a few times, but now she's already well into the 300s with a fasting BG. This is proof that it won't work for all diabetics. Sure diet can greatly improve ones diabetes if you are type II and still are able to produce some insulin. But not everyone out there is type II. Diet is still a good control method, but there are many people out there who will always be dependant on insulin. The focus should be on a cure, not on the fact that dr's just push insulin.

Somewhere you got the idea that we were saying that diet is the only answer. Far from it. It is the best thing we can contibute to our own health plan - along with proper exercise. Exercise plays a very vital role also. The medical profession cannot regulate that nor can it make you eat correctly. That is all up to us. Do it right and the meds(and insulin if necessary) will do the job.

The thinking that insulin is bad is incorrect. People do get the idea for some reason that insulin is a lab produced foreign chemical and thus not good. Counldn't be any more wrong. Personally, I just see it as an indicator of my overall diabetes condition. If I have to take it I have advanced and not maintained where I currently am.

The young woman you described sounds like one of the most difficult diabetic situations - Type 1 along with type 2. You hear very little about these combined. It does happen. A low carb approach works for type 1 becaue it requires less insulin to respond to less sugar in the system. Carbs are not the only reason bg will increase. When they say that there are no freebies that is what they mean. Carbs will cause more rise and quicker and can be controlled by us. If she is getting very high fasting bg then there is a lot more to her situation that just saying type 1. Think about it....

I have been diabetic for about 8 years now. I don't have trouble with my sugar levels
being high they seem to be too low most of the time. My A1c is 5.6 at my last testing. I have been in the hospital this year for my sugar dropping in the basement. I got down to 20 in the ambulance, ofcourse I didn't know it I had already passed out. I thank God for my husband or I wouldn't be here today. My sugar level started dropping and no matter what I did it would not come up it just kept going. I have had no appitite for quite awhile now. I did test anemic and my doctor put me on a thyroid pill and potassium pills. I have lost about 48 lbs. I am still obese as I started out at 238 lbs. I am 5 ft. 1" 1/2" so I am still overwieght. I am on oxygen as I also have C.O.P.D. or Emphysema..... I am able to get around better as a lot of the weight is gone. That has not helped the sugar levels any.
I don't know about insulin; as I am on Pills, Metforman 500 mg. 3 times a day-----but I can not take them 3 times a day as my sugar level is too low. I check it about 4 to 5 times a day.