Insulin alternative

[Guest guest]

Sheila:

I think everyone is different but an option for you might be to go to your

local dietician or nutritionalist through your doctor. I'm also a Type 2

for the last 12 years in pretty good control but I regret that my doctor

(excellent in his field) did not hit me over the head with a hammer saying

that I should change my eating habits and lifestyle if I didn't want to be

diabetic. I know the medical profession has to deal with this everyday,

" lose weight " , " eat better " , " exercize more " , blah, blah, blah. Do we do

it? Some do, some don't. Point is, you do have control of your body. You

put what you put in your mouth when you want. Your doctor can only do so

much. Most end up throwing more meds at us for lack of our control to do

something different.

I had gestational diabetes for both my kids, insulin dependent for both.

When I took the glucose tolerance test, they said they never saw such high

results. A few years later, my blood sugars kept going up and I was on

meds. (That's when I wished my dr. told me to change my eating habits.)

I'm in my late 40's, 5'2 " , 115 lbs, not heavy by any means. It's in my

blood, my genetic predisposition if you will. I am Chinese American and I

have many cousins and 2 aunts on both sides of my family that are Type 2,

one insulin dependent.

Remember that insulin has 2 major functions, to metabolize the sugars/carbs

we eat as well as STORE FAT. So when we eat carbs, insulin is released (if

we have it) and it will metabolize sugars for energy and at the same time,

store fat that your body may need for later. So if we minimize our carb

intake, we minimize the need for insulin. Hence, less fat will be stored in

a perfect world. Of course, there are other hormones in your body so

reducing insulin doesn't solve everything. And it's very common that

diabetics that go on insulin immediately gain 10 pounds.

Have you tried to go on a strict low-carb diet to see what happens? And

monitor your blood sugars regularly? You have to have a lot of discipline

to do this but you are talking about your life and health here. No health,

no life. It's not to be taken lightly.

So I agree, you may want to go to another doctor and at least go to a

dietician to discuss your eating alternatives.

Good luck,

Pam

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Date: Fri, 24 Jun 2005 01:24:01 -0000

Subject: Insulin alternative

Hi everyone. I've been a member for awhile now, but never posted.

I'm wondering if someone knows the answer to this question. I'm a

type 2 for just about 11 years now in very poor control. I was put

on Insulin in 97 to control blood sugars, eventually went on the

pump which worked great for about 6 months, then I was back at

square one. Since starting on insulin I've gained approximately

60lbs and I'm just getting bigger.