Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Laddie on January 13, 2013 at 1:19pm

"To make statements like "Stop diabetes with exercise and diet" is not accurate. Those are both critical and important weapons with which to treat diabetes (along with heart disease, depression, autism and various other diseases that benefit from exercise and exposure to green space) but they don't stop it unless perhaps to put it into remission. But it's still there."

Acidrock, I will agree with you that you can't eliminate the genetic predisposition to Type 2, but I believe that a good diet and exercise might prevent diabetes from manifesting itself in many people. I would argue that the food that many Americans eat along with a sedentary lifestyle can result in obesity that becomes the "trigger" for the onset of Type 2 in susceptible people. Or maybe a susceptible person with exercise and a better diet and lower weight might get Type 2 in their 60's rather than in their 30's or 40's.

There are definitely some people doomed to get Type 2 regardless of their weight or lifestyle. There are also people who won't get it even if they weigh 400 pounds and never get off the couch. But I think that there is a large group of people who can prevent or postpone Type 2 by exercising regularly and maintaining a healthy weight.

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Permalink Reply by acidrock23 on January 13, 2013 at 2:48pm

I would agree with postpone. I guess T2 is a manifestation and if you can keep your BG normalized that way, it's great but I am leery of telling doctors and insurance companies that as they will deny prescribing and affording coverage for test strips and supplies to keep an eye on the sleeping dragon.

That makes this sort of philosophical distinction a political question. If we want to go on a national diet and exercise program, I think that would be great. I always wave or give older people out walking a thumbs up when I zoom by in my day-glo spandex running suits because I know they're hitting it, probably harder than I am. A lady with a walker, perhaps recovering from having something replaced or whatever, laughed when I said "good job" and gave her a thumbs up.

I like that Tu is "United" in that the "general forum" synthesizes T2 threads and T1 threads in one place. I started hanging out at the ADA forums, which are "segregated" and it's sort of different. On one hand, *everyone* is on the same page but there was also some us-ism going on every now and then. Here, we are all together and, if I can learn stuff from my T2 buddies (which I have certainly done...), I want to try to help them and stand up for them, not give them crap. Diabetes is plenty of crap to have.

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Permalink Reply by pancreaswanted on January 13, 2013 at 10:09pm

mmm-hmmm. i with you!

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Permalink Reply by Natalie ._c- on January 13, 2013 at 5:42pm

Stuttering! You forgot to add stuttering! LOL!!

I've been running this issue through the sieve that is my brain for years now, and it has a personal quirk because of my history. But I keep coming back to the fact that there is so much as yet unknown about T2 that it's really not time to make sweeping comments. It's like the way the medical media keeps advising everyone to eat a Mediterranean diet rich in fruits, veggies, legumes, nuts, grains and fish (I have the list memorized). Well, that's not really the way people around the Mediterranean ALL eat, AND it really doesn't describe why the peoples who lived in the Arctic, Canada, Siberia and even the northern US had no appreciable incidence of diabetes, heart disease or cancer until the coming of the Western Diet. (Source: Taubes)(Hey, I actually remembered a source for once). It also doesn't explain the results of the AtoZ diet trial, where those on Atkins beat out everyone else, including those on Ornish in terms of weight loss, BG numbers and lipid profiles.

I'm not saying this to advocate that ANYONE go on any particular diet, but only to point out that NOTHING is proven, and you can't make simple pronouncements about anyone. It's like the fat news anchor who was attacked by a viewer in a way similar to the way Dean is. Let me see if I can find the YouTube video... there it is:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rUOpqd0rQ So when I watched it again, she was discussing the bullying aspect of it, but I noticed that the writer of the letter was talking about social responsibility in much the same way as Dean is. Talking about people's weight that way makes a lot of assumptions about an individual, including their genetic makeup, their eating habits, their exercise habits, and what illnesses they are struggling with, and those assumptions may very well be WRONG!

Another reason that it's really not helpful to talk about people's weight is the increasing incidence of eating disorders. These can be deadly, but they arise from an unhealthy preoccupation with weight, to the point that someone with an eating disorder can be emaciated and feel fat. T1 girls are especially vulnerable, but the latest research shows that people of all genders and age groups and diabetes status are susceptible.

So the real issue is that EVERYONE needs to be sensible about food and exercise, but NO ONE should be criticized for being above OR below the "ideal". Our genetic diversity just doesn't work that way. Another really good source about obesity is the blog of Dr. Arya Sharma -- you can Google him. He makes the effort to help obese people be healthy, but never, EVER shames them -- he advocates for their rights in society. Bullying fat people should be no more acceptable than bullying disabled people.

OK, off the soapbox, but this is a hotbutton issue for me, and I guess I'm being like a bulldog -- won't let go!

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Permalink Reply by Stemwinder on January 13, 2013 at 6:24pm

Bingo Natalie, This is a hot topic with me also because of my history too. Having been the stubborn over weight T2 I know it wasn't the shame and the blame that brought me out of it. If anything it just made me dig my heels in even farther. I believe it is good to show someone the light but don't beat them over the head with the flashlight.

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Permalink Reply by Judith on January 13, 2013 at 9:15pm

Blessings Natalie and stemwinder. Me too, but because, while not thin, I was simply middle-aged-healthy round female at dx. And had been a dancer (very thin!) for 40 years. BUT my Dad was T2 (and probably his Dad!).

But you know, when I think about it more deeply, I just plain react very negatively to people who paint with a broad brush. I dislike stereotypes intensely. I despise reducing anything to the lowest common denominator. And I particularly dislike Bullies!

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Permalink Reply by MandiG on January 13, 2013 at 9:44pm

I hate when people say "you can' t have that " . Well guess what, yes we can. We are allowed to eat carbs! Don't get me wrong, we all, diabetic or not, need to watch what we eat. After all carbs are an energy source for humans!

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Permalink Reply by Prince on January 14, 2013 at 5:00am

Once, one of my family members told me, "Oh you take insulin?! I couldn't do it I heard it makes you gain weight!"
Hmmmm...
Let me see...
A little extra weight (which is not going to be excessive since I restrict carbs and exercise)or death by DKA?
Also, and I know they meant well, but my aunt, mom, and DIABETIC neighbor telling me that, "Oh you're young. You're gonna get rid of that."

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Permalink Reply by Prince on January 18, 2013 at 7:42pm

Another one that annoys me is...
"You're not supposed to eat sugar!"
Ugh, like seriously?
Once, when I was at my mom's house, I was going hypo (I felt it coming on. Hungry, shaking, and the back of my neck started perspiring). Anyway, I took out my "just in case" Snicker's bar from my back pack and started eating it.
My cousin is talking about, "What are you doing?! You aren't supposed to be eating candy!!!"
When I finally got back normal I said, "That Snickers bar just saved us BOTH a trip to the ER."
There are still so many silly myths about Diabetes out there.

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Permalink Reply by MandiG on January 18, 2013 at 8:29pm

So true. And when I hear someone say "You're not supposed to eat sugar" it makes me almost feel like I'm doing something wrong but really we are doing what is the best thing for us that we could be doing at that time of a low.

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Permalink Reply by Mishi on February 7, 2013 at 9:33am

Once had a comment made about me when i was in school,Teacher said that i had a hypoglycemic event so i did not have to take a exam as i had not done the proper study to do the exam.

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Permalink Reply by karenpat on February 7, 2013 at 10:08am

When I say I have diabetes I often get stories about people that my conversation partner knows who are also diabetic...along the lines of "oooh, yeah my friend has that, she almost died..."(and then they go on and tell me all the horrific details about this friend's diabetic shocks and whatnot) I feel like I should remind people that even though I'm mostly positive about my diabetes I don't need to be reminded of everything that could go wrong at any given time..

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