Post by Steve on Nov 17, 2017 8:50:01 GMT -8
Months of trying to get some discussions going with no real audience, finally a few more people signed up and added mentions of their meds. Now if they will just come back again.
That has given me the chance to learn about these several diabetic treatments. I have researched, read medical pages, learned the drug names represented by acronyms, what organs they target and what they intend to do! I am fascinated. And I have seen some numbers showing what these drugs are costing, with or without insurance! And I am shocked. Being covered by MediCal, my drugs are paid for and I am left in the dark; blissfully unaware.
But it makes me wonder! If a person could get their A1c down to "normal" (at least under 6.0,) would the doctor let them stop the drug(s) for a test period? It's one thing to have to pay so much to keep control, but how can we eventually discover if we still need the pills or shots? Type 1 always needs insulin, we get that. The pancreas doesn't produce it, shots are the only way to get it and insulin is critical to the body. But type 2 people do produce insulin, it's just that we have developed resistance to it. The "metabolic syndrome" includes excess weight, high blood pressure, plus high cholesterol and triglycerides. These factors result in insulin resistance, blood glucose goes up, hello diabetes! But each of those factors can be managed with food! Yes, and exercise. But diet is what got us here, a corrected diet gould get us out of here.
So if we could really control our cravings and eat the right foods in the right amounts, we should be able to drop some weight and regain our ability to use the insulin we still produce, right? If this is true, dedication should lead to dropping expensive drug(s) and limiting or escaping the damages type 2 can bring to the party, right?
It's too late for me, but so far I am the only one who has mentioned any serious problems. I personally don't think of neuropathy as much more than annoying now, but the vision and Charcot are not fixable and I want to make it clear that others can avoid what I wrongly assumed were inevitable. When I get another chance to quiz a doctor, I want to know if serious effort can replace the expensive meds? [UPDATE: I saw a doctor, described the idea, she totally agreed. She added that many people would rather just take the pills!]
But along the way I am learning what goes on in our guts, and it's quite interesting.
That has given me the chance to learn about these several diabetic treatments. I have researched, read medical pages, learned the drug names represented by acronyms, what organs they target and what they intend to do! I am fascinated. And I have seen some numbers showing what these drugs are costing, with or without insurance! And I am shocked. Being covered by MediCal, my drugs are paid for and I am left in the dark; blissfully unaware.
But it makes me wonder! If a person could get their A1c down to "normal" (at least under 6.0,) would the doctor let them stop the drug(s) for a test period? It's one thing to have to pay so much to keep control, but how can we eventually discover if we still need the pills or shots? Type 1 always needs insulin, we get that. The pancreas doesn't produce it, shots are the only way to get it and insulin is critical to the body. But type 2 people do produce insulin, it's just that we have developed resistance to it. The "metabolic syndrome" includes excess weight, high blood pressure, plus high cholesterol and triglycerides. These factors result in insulin resistance, blood glucose goes up, hello diabetes! But each of those factors can be managed with food! Yes, and exercise. But diet is what got us here, a corrected diet gould get us out of here.
So if we could really control our cravings and eat the right foods in the right amounts, we should be able to drop some weight and regain our ability to use the insulin we still produce, right? If this is true, dedication should lead to dropping expensive drug(s) and limiting or escaping the damages type 2 can bring to the party, right?
It's too late for me, but so far I am the only one who has mentioned any serious problems. I personally don't think of neuropathy as much more than annoying now, but the vision and Charcot are not fixable and I want to make it clear that others can avoid what I wrongly assumed were inevitable. When I get another chance to quiz a doctor, I want to know if serious effort can replace the expensive meds? [UPDATE: I saw a doctor, described the idea, she totally agreed. She added that many people would rather just take the pills!]
But along the way I am learning what goes on in our guts, and it's quite interesting.
