Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Laura on January 19, 2010 at 5:34am

Thanks for all the information and shared experiences everyone!
It was really encouraging to hear that there are so many people who have lived with diabetes for years now with little or no complications. I guess all I can do is just keep up with the monitoring, adjusting and diet/exercise.
Thanks again, and I wish you all good health for the future!

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Permalink Reply by Kristin on January 21, 2010 at 10:42am

I like to keep in mind that no one (diabetes or not) is free from risk of health complications or other potential accidents. Everyone could fear that their health would take a turn for the worst or that something horrible will happen. In the end, we should keep living, try to stay healthy, and don't let worries about the future take over our ability to enjoy the present.

Keeping stable blood sugars is definitely worth it -- not only will you give yourself the best chances for the future, you will feel the best in the PRESENT. So keep on doing your best!

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Permalink Reply by Laura on January 22, 2010 at 10:40am

That's a good point Kristin, and it really helps to put things into perspective

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Permalink Reply by Joanna on January 25, 2010 at 9:47am

I have had type 1 for 33 years with no major compilations. I believe that tight control and doing your best is part of the key. When the insulin pump came out in the early 1980's I knew right away that it was for me and have been on the pump ever since. Don't beat yourself over the head if you have a bad day as we all do.

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Permalink Reply by Allie Beatty on January 25, 2010 at 11:47am

I agree 100% that good glucose control is VERY important for good diabetes control but that is only part of the equation to avoid complications. Beta cells make PROinsulin. Proinsulin is part inslin (to move glucose out of the blood and into cells for energy). The other part of proinsulin is c-peptide. C-peptide is the part of proinsulin that protects and repairs any damage that glucose metabolism causes. This is why people who DO NOT have diabetes DO NOT have diabetes complications.

If you care to read up more on C-peptide, please check out these links:
http://care.diabetesjournals.org/content/27/6/1506.full.pdf
http://www.medwire-news.md/57/80931/Diabetes/C-peptide_protects_aga...

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Permalink Reply by Maarja on January 27, 2010 at 9:03am

I really don't know how to stay complications free.
I work in hospital and i see a lot of patients with complications. Some of them have A1C 6,5 and some 11,7. All of them have complications. I would like to see my future. Then i would live more and maybe stress less. I don't have a boyfriend or someone to support me. I have hard work and from last week i exercise a lot - 5 times per week. And still, it is not good enough for me. Altough i smoke, i know it's bad. And i am smoking my last pack of cigs. Anyway...
Depression is getting in to me and i don't know what to do... :S
I hate to be alone
I sometimes hate my work, it makes me sad
I hate that I can't get my wight off - i used to weight 89 kg and now 76 and I can't get it down.
I hate that i can't drink as much as i want
I hate I have to mesure my bg 4 to 8 times a day - i don't know if it's even saving me from getting complications.
And most of all I hate that i can't bredict the future!!!

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Permalink Reply by Tom on February 19, 2011 at 4:59pm

Well this isn't very encouraging since my a1cs are usually in the 7s.

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Permalink Reply by Helmut on February 19, 2011 at 5:39pm

A1C is a very good predictor of complications for groups, not for individuals. In other words: Some individuals with high A1C don't encounter complications. Others with relatively low A1C do. Since you don't know how your body will react to an elevated A1C it is like playing Russian Roulette. Play with one bullet or stick in a couple more. It's all about how lucky you feel.

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Permalink Reply by Nearing40years on February 19, 2011 at 5:42pm

Diabetics tend to forget that even healthy people can in no way predict their future health. Diabetics often pay more attention to their health than others, so I am sure that helps. It's also why one should not get stuck on that A1c number. You do what you can and deal with what happens. Life is never predictable. As one of my doctors told me: Everyone choses the risks they are willing to accept with their health, whether it's smoking, or weight gain, etc. But we all have things we just can't reach as a goal. Don't dwell on these things too much--you can never be perfect.

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Permalink Reply by Helmut on February 19, 2011 at 5:58pm

Until recently I was convinced that there was no need for me to save a lot for retirement because of my drastically reduced life expectancy. Now that my BG levels are close to normal I have to step up my savings. Nobody talks about this diabetes complication.

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Permalink Reply by Michael Hutch on February 19, 2011 at 6:58pm

Hi Laura,

I started another post
http://www.tudiabetes.org/forum/topics/what-is-diabetes-a-response-to.

because of your question here, and this is what I wrote.
Good luck.


****

What is Diabetes? A Response to a POST BY LAURA


When my mother got T2 Diabetes 25 years ago, she asked me
What is Diabetes?

I'm sure 95 % of you can write a 25 page summary quite easily.

But let me ask you again,
What is Diabetes?

I had just finished my university pathology studies when she was diagnosed.
What I saw in my studies, was that many diseases and conditions just develop in time/over time, as people age: heart, kidney, eye, blood vessel and circulation problems etc

And in the case of diabetes (both Type 1 and Type 2; i.e. both have high blood sugar in common!),
many of these things which would have developed anyway in time, just come sooner
(or possibly not at all if one is lucky, based on genetic, environmental or lifestyle influences),
.


So, when my mother got T2 Diabetes 25 years ago and asked me
What is Diabetes?
I basically answered :
"Well all the diseases you could get as you age and get older, they just come sooner !"

25 Years later, I still stand by that answer: of course, if one's blood glucose is out of whack for a long time, many other things can easily be brought on too!

What I tried to do was lessen her 'fear' of of what diabetes really is.
Again I believe with Diabetes,
"Well all the diseases you could get as you age and get older, just come sooner !"

After 25 years, my mother is more or less complication free now.
The the first 10 years she was on oral meds, and the following 15 years on shots.

She understood that she needed to keep her blood sugars down, otherwise:
"Well all the diseases you could get as you age and get older, just come sooner !"


So many people may have a fear of diabetes, and what an extended 'list' of 'mysterious' complications it may bring.

So, as I said above, many of these complcations are just those that would have developed in time anyway (or possibly not at all if one is lucky, based on genetic, environmental or lifestyle influences or decisions); and ofcourse, that if one's blood glucose is out of whack for a long time, many other things can easily be brought on too!

So, my conclusion, diabetes should not be feared, but CONTROLLED,
It needs to be controlled, otherwise
"...... all the diseases you could get as you age and get older, will just come come sooner !"


Of course, the experience in the modern age is that if Diabetes is fairly well controlled, the complications can certainly be delayed by many many years or even avoided all together.


This threads was posted after I read the post below by Laura.

Diabetes patients should not suffer anxiety that comes with such concerns as hers,
but they should put their energty to better CONTROLLING their diabetes.

I wrote this post up to 'PUNCH THE DIABETES MONSTER ON THE NOSE !! ".
Thats what Diabetes patients should be doing by better CONTROLLING their diabetes -
PUNCH THE DIABETES MONSTER ON THE NOSE !.

So again,
"What is Diabetes?"
Understand this, and one should really be on their way to a better life with D.

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Permalink Reply by ultravires on February 19, 2011 at 8:33pm

good comments all around. three additional thoughts:
(1) you are young enough where you can still benefit from the "legacy effect" of early control. there are studies indicating that those who maintain good control for the first decade after diagnosis do much, much better than those who do not over the long term. the less damage you do to yourself now, the better.
(2) not all complications are created equal, and many complications are treatable or at least manageable. tight control is the single most important way of making the complications you do get less serious.
(3) i'd be sanguine about your future prospects given how quickly the technology is evolving. i'm not going to get into the "will there be a cure" debate, but closed-loop technology is in the pipeline and i imagine it will be around for the vast majority of your adult life. even the pump and current MDI protocols are way, way better than the insulins available to people a decade or two ago.

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