Meds

November 29, 1999

You're right about this, Rahul:

>

>However, Medication, diet and exercise in right proportion is the treatment

>for diabetes.

BUT - the problem seems to be that most doctors would leave it at that. If

the person wiht the diabetes learns what affects him/her and takes active

control of it, the long term outlook will be much better. I know it seems

we eat/drink/and live diabetes here but that what this list is about.

Outside of here we all have other lives ... I sure do. And I'm not thinking

about diabetes 24/7 - just when it comes to food. And I know I have to if I

want to be around to see my daughter's wedding(she's 20), my first

grandchild, my 25th Wedding anniversary (I just got married 2 months ago!)

>

>Each person has a different metabolism and depending on the exact nature of

>the ailment, treatment has to be decided by the doc. Some can do away with

>diet only (like my father) and some need a mix of diet and medication (like

>me). Exercise though, is a non-neglectable factor as a universal sugar and

>calory burner. Drugs and their doses for the same medication also differ as

>per body chemistry. That is why you need qualified medicos monitoring and

>adjusting your condition regularly.

Thats good if you have a good doc. Or you could have one like mine who told

me I was " borderline diabetic " and to " go home lose a little weight and

watch my sugar intake! " . Fortunately I had the gumption to search the

internet, learn about diabetes and realize that my bg's of 180 - 200 were

going to ruin my life if I didn't change them. I got myself a meter and

learned to use it on my own, got my self on a low carb diet and started

seeing bg's between 75 - 115 within 2 months.

Yep I do indulge occassionally - but VERY occassionally and then not by

much.

I don't test every day but I usually test ... sometimes several times a day

if Im testing various foods and effects.

Meenie

>

>Rahul.

>

>>

November 29, 1999

went to the er -they did a whole work up - bs got down to 303 -vision

still was blurry -they toldme to call the doc on mon -today have been

very quiet, drinking lots -thirst incredible - sugars fasting were 217 -

followed the ada diet all day - just now -2 hours after dinner of

chicken breast (baked), 1/2 cup rice, 1 cup brocolli, tossed salad -no

dressing and an apple - bs 280 -vision is blurry and i am not feeling

well - got to get some help - the insuline and the orals are not working

-

thanks

Meenie wrote:

>

> Hi ,

> If your bg's are 380 and your vision is blurry despite taking your meds, you

> should probably go to the ER. Something is going on to affect your bg's.

> It could be an infection, but you should absolutely get it checked out.

> Meenie

>

> Re: meds

> >> >>Date: Sat, 27 Nov 1999 10:11:43 -0500

> >> >>

> >> >>dear meenie - i am walking, i am watching everything that i eat, taking

> >> >>2 glucophage a day plus 40 units of humulin n -fasting sugars this

> >> >>morning? 380 - vision blurred - not well - my doc is in fla - what do

> >> >>you think that i should do? i have not had a donut, potatoes, nothing

> >> >>like that - i feel so bad i am crying - steve wants me to go to the

> er -

> >> >>what do you think

> >> >>

> >>

>

November 29, 1999

, i see you are one of the lucky ones on . any starch raises

blood sugar, as well as sweets. Protein and fat have some effect, mostly

minor. I don't know why the ADA persists in it's bad advice, Sam

November 29, 1999

Oh dear, here we go on the urban myths again!

The FDA have responded 26 times in the past 25 years to these kinds of

concerns about Aspartame and the research shows all unfounded.

Check out these addresses for more information.

http://ificinfo.health.org/brochure/aspartam.htm

http://www.msfacts.org/aspartame.htm

http://vm.cfsan.fda.gov/~lrd/tpaspart.html

http://www.diabetes.org/ada/aspartame.asp

http://ificinfo.health.org/insight/aspallrg.htm

http://vm.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/qa-adf9.html

There are most probably lots of sites which say the opposite - but that's

the point.

I'm using aspartame as Equal tablets about one, 3 - 5 times a day. My bg's

are great and I have absolutely no sign of any of the scaremongers symptoms.

Tell me why I am wrong, please, if anyone has information I should have and

can trust,

:-) (-:

T2, d,e 3/99

> From: efhoppe@...

> Reply-To: diabetesonelist

> Date: Sun, 28 Nov 1999 23:11:13 EST

> To: diabetesonelist

> Subject: Re: meds

>

> From: efhoppe@...

>

>>

>> went to the er -they did a whole work up - bs got down to 303 -vision

>> still was blurry -they toldme to call the doc on mon -today have been

>> very quiet, drinking lots -thirst incredible - sugars fasting were 217

>> -

>> followed the ada diet all day - just now -2 hours after dinner of

>> chicken breast (baked), 1/2 cup rice, 1 cup brocolli, tossed salad -no

>> dressing and an apple - bs 280 -vision is blurry and i am not feeling

>> well - got to get some help - the insuline and the orals are not

>> working

>> -

>> thanks

>>

>

> There is one thing that has been know to throw ones BG out of whack and

> that is ironically Aspartame (AKA Nutrasweet, Equal, Spoonful, etc.)

> Some folks like its manufacturer and the ADA will deny this. Check out

> the ASPARTAME lists on ONELIST.COM or DORWAY.COM for more information.

> Take care and best of luck to everyone.

>

> Earl

>

> ___________________________________________________________________

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>

November 29, 1999

Hi ,

I wouldn't call the Aspartame Controversy an urban myth. The people who are

campaigning against it (Betty i and her compatriots) believe it and

have collected a lot of data to support it. Isn't an Urban Myth an untruth

that someone puts out knowing it's a lie ? Sorta equal to computer

viruses - done intentionally .

I'm NOT supporting their platform, only saying that they've put a lot of

work into it and they have dedicated themselves to it.

Aspartame does have a negative effect on some people's bg's and can cause

blurred vision (which may be because of the increased bg). It does this to

me. I was having a lot of trouble with blurriness and bg's and heard of

this effect so thought I'd try eliminating it (sodas with aspartame, diet

jello, etc) My bg's started behaving and my vision cleared up.

I do use a small amount of aspartame (equal) at times, but when I was having

the problems I drank diet soda like crazy. Now I use splenda and drink much

more water and/or tea. I'll have perhaps one glass of diet soda a day.

Apparently, at least for me, it was the overindulgence that kicked things

out of whack.

Also, some people get headaches when they use aspartame (the manufacturers

do acknowledge this and it was reported from studies that were done before

aspartame was approved by the FDA). Some people are simply sensitive to it.

This doesn't mean, imho, that it is BAD. Only that if you're having

problems with bg's, vision, headaches, you might try eliminating this and

see if it helps.

I don't know about all the claims that the anti-aspartame folks have ...

They seem to claim it causes everything from gas to MS. I haven't looked

into those at all. But I must say I was glad to be able to get splenda.

I was one of the most thrilled people on the planet when aspartame was

approved (remember cyclamates? <sigh>)

The thing is, the FDA responds to things but how do we know they don't have

a vested interest? These people who campaign against it claim that the

nutrasweet people have given kickbacks to FDA in order to squelch the bad

reports and to block new sweeteners from going on the marked (look at

Stevia). Again, I have no way of knowing if their claims are true or not

but I don't have a lot of trust in government agencies... so I test for

myself, hehe.

Anyway, as far as diabetes goes, it's simple enough to test aspartame just

as you would any suspected food. Use your meter and see if it makes a

difference.

Meenie

>

>Oh dear, here we go on the urban myths again!

>

>The FDA have responded 26 times in the past 25 years to these kinds of

>concerns about Aspartame and the research shows all unfounded.

>

>Check out these addresses for more information.

>

>http://ificinfo.health.org/brochure/aspartam.htm

>http://www.msfacts.org/aspartame.htm

>http://vm.cfsan.fda.gov/~lrd/tpaspart.html

>http://www.diabetes.org/ada/aspartame.asp

>http://ificinfo.health.org/insight/aspallrg.htm

>http://vm.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/qa-adf9.html

November 29, 1999

Me either, Sam. I can only think that they have offered this advice so

long, it would make them look bad to change it now or, even worse, they know

they make their money from us when we get the complications that diabetes

out of control will inevitably bring:( Fortunately some doctors ARE

beginning to change their outlook on diabetes and are fostering lower carb.

I was excited to learn my doctor's new partner is big on low carb

Meenie

Re: meds

>

>, i see you are one of the lucky ones on . any starch raises

>blood sugar, as well as sweets. Protein and fat have some effect, mostly

>minor. I don't know why the ADA persists in it's bad advice, Sam

>

>>

November 29, 1999

I have read some of the claims against aspartame and looked into the so

called " research " ; with the exception of some headaches and blurred

vision, most of the results are...frankly....horse patookie. For

instance they claim an " epidemic " of Alzheimers among those under 40.

Epidemic? Hmmm....since our hospital also has a nursing home, I checked

into this. No patient in there is under 75 years of age. Same with

every nursing home in my city. Same with a review of the Alzheimers

research.

It is probably not good to consume large amounts of anything. But keep

in mind that Aspartame is a very powerful sweetening agent so you

actually get only a few grains of the stuff in each packet of Equal.

The rest is filler.

Gail

November 29, 1999

That must be very frustrating, Gail. It's a shame that the docs don't seem

to realize that this area can have a very big impact on their patients.

Thankfully many of the younger doctors are seeing this.

Meenie

>

>This may help explain why physicians are so reluctant to make any

>changes in diet.

>

>This still get very little nutrition training in medical school.

>Probably the equivalent of four CLOCK hours. And my experience with

>hospital docs (and I work in a hospital affiliated with a medical

>school) is that most aren't interested in nutrition, don't see it as

>being beneficial and figure the patients aren't going to stick with any

>diet anyway.

>

>As a dietitian interested in prevention as well as treatment (and having

>been in private practice for 8 years), this is extremely frustrating to

>me. I am not talking just about diabetes but heart disease and renal

>and HIV+. In private practice, I could order, plan, change, modify

>diets as I saw fit; could tailor the diet to my patients interests,

>lifestyle, education, financial status, etc.. In a hospital setting, it

>is the doc who is supposed to write the prescription. I have finally

>said nuts to that (I am a cranky OLD dietitian) and just go into the

>computer and change diets as I see fit.

>

>Same thing with the outpatients I see. Doc writes an order for a

>specific diet instruction; I feel this is the wrong diet or one that

>patient cannot follow; the patient and I decide what's best for his/her

>lifestyle. I figure the doc is the least important person in this

>triangle of care.

>

>Gail

>

>>

November 29, 1999

This may help explain why physicians are so reluctant to make any

changes in diet.

This still get very little nutrition training in medical school.

Probably the equivalent of four CLOCK hours. And my experience with

hospital docs (and I work in a hospital affiliated with a medical

school) is that most aren't interested in nutrition, don't see it as

being beneficial and figure the patients aren't going to stick with any

diet anyway.

As a dietitian interested in prevention as well as treatment (and having

been in private practice for 8 years), this is extremely frustrating to

me. I am not talking just about diabetes but heart disease and renal

and HIV+. In private practice, I could order, plan, change, modify

diets as I saw fit; could tailor the diet to my patients interests,

lifestyle, education, financial status, etc.. In a hospital setting, it

is the doc who is supposed to write the prescription. I have finally

said nuts to that (I am a cranky OLD dietitian) and just go into the

computer and change diets as I see fit.

Same thing with the outpatients I see. Doc writes an order for a

specific diet instruction; I feel this is the wrong diet or one that

patient cannot follow; the patient and I decide what's best for his/her

lifestyle. I figure the doc is the least important person in this

triangle of care.

Gail

November 29, 1999

Interestingly, I think one of the reasons you WILL see more young docs

focusing on prevention and treatment is the trend away from

specialization and into family practice.

Insurance reimbursement is focusing more on PREVENTING the terrible

problems we see with diabetes (i.e., kidney failure, heart disease,

vascular problems, blindness, etc.) and less on reimbursing for these

problems. Since nutrition is a keystone in prevention, we may see more

docs sorta HAVING to bone up on nutrition.

In addition, many dietitians are limited on how far they can stray from

the doctors orders. I have worked in private hospitals where a

dietitian was not even allowed in a patients room without a doctors

order for counseling. I work in a VA hospital and like I said, I am a

cranky old dietitian so I rarely listen to what the docs say anyway. If

I feel a diet needs to be changed, I change it. If a patient wants to

try a low carb diet, fine with me; I'll teach it and monitor him as

needed. Most of the time the docs haven't a clue on whats going on

anyway; they just like to see the results without too many details.

Gail

Eat right, Exercise, Die anyway

November 29, 1999

RULE OF THUMB===

consume no more than 1 dozen cans of soda per day (or equivalent)

fp

>From: GeorgiaGail@...

>

>I have read some of the claims against aspartame and looked into the so

>called " research " ; with the exception of some headaches and blurred

>vision, most of the results are...frankly....horse patookie. For

>instance they claim an " epidemic " of Alzheimers among those under 40.

>Epidemic? Hmmm....since our hospital also has a nursing home, I checked

>into this. No patient in there is under 75 years of age. Same with

>every nursing home in my city. Same with a review of the Alzheimers

>research.

>It is probably not good to consume large amounts of anything. But keep

>in mind that Aspartame is a very powerful sweetening agent so you

>actually get only a few grains of the stuff in each packet of Equal.

>The rest is filler.

>

>Gail

November 29, 1999

Very interesting Gail, I'll be goin to see a nutritionist this Fri. to try

to establish a cardiac/diabetic diet. That otta be interesting because of

the conflicts (fat vs carbs)