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Permalink Reply by Christalyn on July 10, 2011 at 10:45am

I can tell you in the african american culture, to even bring up the idea of nutrition and changing the diet is extremely difficult and will cause arguments. I also try to encourage people to walk around the block. If they don't want to eat healthy than lets do some exercise and get 20,000 steps a day!

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Permalink Reply by acidrock23 on July 9, 2011 at 4:42pm

I wonder if a big part of the problem might be that doctors *punt* discussing food and turn that over to dieticians? If the doc doesn't talk about food, which 100% of people need, and dieticians are inadequate, as seems to be the consensus in the dietician thread, then that leaves a fairly large hole in the defense that the enemy can storm through?

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Permalink Reply by April on July 9, 2011 at 5:07pm

Well, in my humble opinion, many dietitians are in dire need of re-education.

I am an atypical T2 and during 2 recent sessions, I recently had one Nurse Practitioner challenge me when I said I could not possibly eat 30 carbs in one meal without spiking, even on my meds (Onglyza). She said "Are you sure you aren't a Type 1?"

I said " My antibodies are negative." she did not have a comeback.

In the last session, the CDE told me I absolutely HAD to eat 30 carbs per meal or I would risk spilling protein into my urine and that could lead to kidney failure.


I said "But my glucose spikes up over 200 if I eat 30 carbs even with my medicine."

She said: "Then take more insulin."

Eat more carbs. Take more medicine.

That is what the woman told me.

And I had actually tried that. And I felt like s**t. More carbs + more insulin makes me feel like I just went on a bender (as in too much Jack Daniels or one too many martinis).

NOT WORTH IT!!!

So, this is a really long way of saying that I'm afraid I do not hav much faith in the educators. Especially if you are atypical in any way. Like me.b

Even the MD's have trouble dealing with an out,ire like me...with the CDE's....fuggeddabouttit!!!

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Permalink Reply by bikette on July 10, 2011 at 2:34pm

Good Idea, Natalie and the acronyms are virtually endless! Ironically, one doctor I know who probably has The Most Degrees of anyone anywhere near him in any field and really could bore people with an alphabet of doctrates after his signature.... yet he almost always signs his letters:
Regards,
John.

(Of course, his name is Fred.... but you get my drift :-)

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Permalink Reply by Hana Rous on July 11, 2011 at 4:38am

I hardly ever use the letters after my name . Usually only if someone tries to blind me with science
Hana

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Permalink Reply by Anthony Holko on July 11, 2011 at 12:03am

I think at least from my narrow viewpoint that weight gain is a legitimate concern for some. Uncontrolled blood sugars are not an alternative. My brother had severely gangrened feet and it was not a pretty sight.

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Permalink Reply by Natalie ._c- on July 11, 2011 at 12:07am

You're absolutely right that sustained, uncontrolled BGs are not an alternative. But insulin need not cause weight gain if a person is willing to strictly limit carbs, and do whatever exercise they are capable of. If you're willing to eat enough protein and fat, hunger is not a problem, and many people find they lose weight when they seriously limit carbs. And insulin doses go down, too. All is not hopeless!

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Permalink Reply by Hana Rous on July 11, 2011 at 4:39am

It has been found that it's not uncommon for teens to leave off their insulin in an attempt to be fashionably skinny.
i read an article about a young girl who lost her sight that way.
Hana

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Permalink Reply by April on July 11, 2011 at 3:24pm

Hana...are you saying these poor girls literally let themselves go into DKA? Gosh, really sad. Are they Type 1's?

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Permalink Reply by Lila on July 11, 2011 at 3:31pm

April, there are some of those girls on this website. Their blogs make heart-wrenching reading.

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Permalink Reply by Natalie ._c- on July 11, 2011 at 8:52pm

They would have to be Type 1's, because it takes an almost complete absence of insulin to lose weight while still eating. Type 2 girls who omitted their meds would just get hungrier, eat more and get fatter, because they are dealing with insulin resistance, not deficiency. If they kept at it long enough, they could drive themselves into a coma, but they wouldn't lose weight.

Ditto about what Lila said -- it's a terrible thing to deal with diabetes along with the emotional struggle of anorexia, which is basically what these girls have. (Some people are calling it diabulimia, but same difference). People CAN recover from anorexia, which is bad enough WITHOUT diabetes, but it's a long, hard road. And everyone who reads their blogs tries to be as supportive as possible, but seems like there is so little we can really do. :-(

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Permalink Reply by Peetie on July 11, 2011 at 9:38pm

Natalie: I think that it also works with Type 2. My brother has stopped all his meds and he is thinner than he's been in years. :( It's alarming because his numbers are literally off the meter. I am also a typical Type 2. I spent two months feeling very ill and eating very little and yet my weight and numbers increased. When I stopped the medication, I lost the 20 pounds I had recently gained. It was gone in just over a month. I have been forcing myself to eat so my numbers are much better. Perhaps with the Type 2 girls, a change in meds might help. For some Type 2s, eating actually helps to lower numbers. This is very difficult to do if one fears eating because of the weight gain. Stopping meds is dangerous enough but stopping meds and food too could be fatal.

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