Diabetes

[livingwith]

I have had diabeties for about 20 years and I am 59 years old. I took 2 shots of insulin a day plus oral medicationup until 3 years ago. My sugar was never under control and I didn’t pay much attention to my diet or exercise. I ended up having my big toe anputated and part of my second toe about 3 years ago. I was sent to a diabetic specialist and he start me on a strict reginment of exercise and diet. I lost 70 lbs., walk 6 miles per day and take nothing at all for diabetes for over ...Read the full article

[benny]

Congrats on your good health. Please note that you had type 2 diabetes. If you had type 1 diabetes, you would not be able to live without insulin. This info is from the JDRF.org website: people have many misunderstandings about type 1 diabetes..., including the widely-held belief that type 1 diabetes is not a serious disease. Here are some of those myths:

myth: Taking insulin cures diabetes.
fact: Taking insulin keeps people with type 1 diabetes alive, but does not cure the disease. While progress toward finding a cure has been substantial, there is still no cure for diabetes.

myth: Diabetes is caused by obesity, or eating too much sugar.
fact: While obesity has been identified as one of the "triggers" for type 2 diabetes, it has no relation to the cause of type 1 diabetes. Scientists do not yet know exactly what causes type 1 diabetes, but they believe that both genetic and environmental factors are involved. Eating too much sugar is not a factor.

myth: With strict adherence to a specific diet and exercise plan, and multiple insulin injections each day based on careful monitoring of blood sugar levels, a person with type 1 diabetes can easily gain tight control over his or her blood sugar levels.

fact: While the above strategy is the most effective way to achieve and maintain tight control of blood sugar levels, optimal blood sugar control can be very difficult for some patients. Many factors, including stress, hormone changes, periods of growth, and illness can easily cause blood sugars to swing out of control. Teenagers, in particular, may be susceptible to this problem, as their bodies go through many changes during adolescence. Also, some people with type 1 find that even though they strive for tight control and follow their meal plan and insulin schedule, they still experience rapid fluctuations in their blood glucose. Those fluctuations do not mean the person with diabetes has done anything wrong.

myth: People with diabetes should never eat sweets.

fact: Limiting sweets will help people with type 1 diabetes keep their blood sugar under control, but, with advice from their doctor or nutritionist, sweets can fit into their meal plan, just as they would for people without diabetes. And there are times when sweets are a must: if the blood sugar level drops too low, sweets (or juice, or soda) can be the surest to raise it, and prevent the onset of hypoglycemia.