Re: Low-carb diet helps diab. II

[Guest guest]

Vicki writes:

<< ... Since starting insulin a month ago (matching insulin to carbs) my

control has been MUCH better -- and I can actually eat some carbs that I

thought I'd said goodby to forever! >>

Vicki, I thought a lot about you and other diabetics on the road this last

trip. There is so much confusion about type 2's using insulin. If you are a

long-term type 2 (whether diagnosed or undiagnosed) who lost pancreas

function naturally or via use of sulfonylureas, injected insulin should work

well ... give you back good control. The type 2's who find nothing but

frustration and poor control on insulin are those who have plenty of

pancreas function. Their problem is not lack of insulin production, but an

inability to USE insulin. Since they can't use their own natural insulin,

injected insulin just compounds their problems - because excess circulating

insulin apparently can cause complications of its own - in addition to the

complications caused by excess glucose levels.

I would hope that type 2's being told to go on injected insulin work

together with their medical advisors to determine whether their own insulin

production has actually failed, because injecting insulin can make matters

worse.

Susie

[Guest guest]

Vicki writes:

<< Well, Susie, this just kicks me back to whether I'm a type I or II.

Everyone (my entire diabetic team) seems confused about it...me included, of

course. Should I ask for a C-peptide test next time I go in? Would this

answer it definitively? >>

I have done some reading on C-peptide tests. I blieve that, for best

results, they should be administered like glucose tolerance tests: fast for

a certain number of hours beforehand, then administer a fixed amount of

glucose and test the results. I have read many reports that C-peptide tests

are not reliable - but I suspect some of the problem is that doctors are

administering them randomly, without regard to fasting condtion.

Susie