On Fri, Mar 27, 2015 at 06:32:37PM -0400, Bradford Neumann [[log in to unmask]] wrote (in part):
| I have type one diabetes. Am I fucked?!?! I'm 31 and was
| diagnosed at 27. Any recommendations?
|
Hi Bradford,
Self education is key but as you may have very unstable blood
sugars, your doctor has to work WITH YOU.
I don't know what you have done, but understand that the
situtation is more like a software problem. You do have control
if you get correct information and use the information
correctly.
I will just give some general blood sugar information here.
Keeping your glucose levels as stable as possible is key. In a
normal healthy person, glucose levels varies between 80 to
120mg/dl, all day long. It has been medically known for decades
that maintaining normal levels is essential. (unfortunately some
insulin users seem to regard insulin as the cure, rather than a
symptom of the greater problem of unstable blood sugars)
Typical (and Standard) diet recommendations make stable blood
sugars practically impossible to maintain. Those 'heart healthy'
Cheerios may have wheat components that contribute to
sensitivities (see Cyrix Arrays) and amyloid formation, along
with the fact that bran particles, which contain omega-6 oils
which easily go rancid, also contain phytic acid which plants use
to defend themselves from predators, nevermind the glucose spike
it gives--but many dietitians still say it is healthy, so take a
little insulin so you can eat 'healthy' food.
More problems with our system:
HgbA1C is a medical test to assess what your "average" glucose is
over 3 months. What is it actually? Red blood cells have
hemoglogin and RBC live about 120 days (they are replaced from
your bone marrow via erythropoesis). HgbA1C averages your glucose
levels from the RBC population in your blood and the numerical
result is assumed to be your average. Problems: It tells you
NOTHING about how much your blood sugar spikes--does NOT tell you
how stable it is during a day nor which foods cause the worst
spiking. It only tells doctors when your 'number' is approaching
or has arrived at 'diabetes'. This is part of the reason that
preventative medicine in diabetes is problematic.
Re think this: If you used this kind of average to decide how
fast you normally drive, it would not tell you much about
crawling traffic jams every day, nor times when you are over
71mph. The average does not tell you much about the wear on your
car.
Glucose tolerance tests are done to see how a body reacts to a
stress level of glucose. This and/or the HgbA1C are done if a
random or fasting glucos is high. If glucose stress results show
that you 'spike' but your HgbA1C is determined to be normal, a
doctor may say you are prediabetic, so exercise, lose some weight
and eat less fat, eat 'healthy whole grain wheat', some of which
advice is so general it is ensuring that inflammatory
carbohydrates remain part of a 'healthy' meal.
Most people will accept the general warning, have a second bowl
of Cheerios (because it's 'healthy') and have a whole grain roll
when available, and thus go on to spike their sugars every day,
all day long. Insulin will be 'necessary' because you NEED those
'nutrients'.
So keeping a log, knowing your glucose before eating and two hours
after each meal or snack, can give empirical data to help in
glucose management adjusted for the individual.
(An aside: I've discovered that Bayer has a glucose meter
program... 1. Diabetic or NOT, if you do not have one, you can
get a glucose meter for free. 2. You can get upgrades for old
Bayer Contour meters for free right now. Google this information
and choose one of the Bayer sites for more information. Caveat:
home testing meters vary in accuracy and precision. Precision is
when when you get repeat results, back to back, within points of
each other. Accuracy is actually hitting the bullseye with the
true value (that is as determined on laboratory machinery for the
same sample). Further, different health insurance policies may
prefer one meter or another and accuracy and precision is not
always part of that determination)
How to get stable blood sugars?
You may have heard of Dr. Bernstein. If not, it's time to learn.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_K._Bernstein
Dr. Bernstein has type 1, dx at twelve years, and he is about 80
years old now (dob: 1934). He was an engineer when he discovered
how to best control his sugars after dealing with increasing
health problems in his thirties. As an engineer, his published
paper about controlling sugars was was not taken seriously, so he
entered medical school at 45 years. As a doctor he specialized in
diabetes with other achievements.
Wiki states:
As of 2006, Bernstein had an HDL cholesterol of 118, LDL of
53, Triglycerides of 45, and average blood sugar of
83mg/dl.[3] By 2008, at 74 years of age, Bernstein had
surpassed the life expectancy of type 1 diabetics. He
attributed his longevity to the low-carbohydrate dietary
approach and lifestyle changes he had developed for
diabetics.
I recommend anyone with diabetes or diabetes among family and/or
friends, get to know that he teaches HOW to get stable sugars.
I hope you find some of this information helpful. None of what I
say is intended to replace or be an alternative to care from your
doctor or other medical professional.
--
Janice - proofreading? what's that?
|
