<p>okay, from various movies and points in my life, i have had two views of diabetes.</p>
<p>a.) you should stay away from sugar. (as in the movie “chocolat”)</p>
<p>b.) you sometimes need a quick boost of sugar, like orange juice or candy. (as in the movie, "the godfather III).</p>
<p>what is right? how can diabetes be of two extremes? or am i just wrong? if anyone has specific sites i can look at, please provide the link. thank you.</p>
<p>Read up on diabetes through reputable sites, the Mayo Clinic is just one of many. I could try to give you the answer you want but you are best off going to the medical info websites. The interactions of blood sugar and insulin levels vary, in diabetes the regulatory mechanisms don’t work properly, and in different ways for different people- one reason there’s a whole chapter about it in medical textbooks.</p>
<p>In grossly over-simplified terms:</p>
<p>The diabetic body either does not make enough insulin (a hormone that breaks down sugar and makes it usable to the body), or is not able to use the insulin properly. </p>
<p>If a diabetic person eats sugar, there is no insulin to break the sugar down, the level of blood sugar gets too high. (Uncontrolled, this results in death.) So the patient takes daily insulin to work with the sugar, and must follow a carefully controlled diet that matches the amount and type of sugar with the insulin. </p>
<p>However, if they take the insulin and don’t eat enough sugar, then the blood sugar gets too low, and they must get some sugar quickly before the blood sugar falls too low. (Uncontrolled, this also results in death.)</p>
<p>Check out the American Diabetes Association for more information: <a href=“About Diabetes | ADA”>About Diabetes | ADA;
<p>thanks very much.</p>
<p>I don’t have a site, but I can give a quick explination.
There are two types of diabetes. Amazingly, :p, they are called Type One Diabetes and Type Two Diabetes.
Type One Diabetes kind of fits your ‘b’ explination. Type One is something that you are born with, and you cannot get rid of it. It means that your body does not produce insulin like a normal person, thus, you bloodsugar is not under control. So, if your bloodsugar is high, you need to take insulin. If your bloodsugar is low, then you need to have “a quick boost of sugar,” just as orange juice or candy. To moniter, you take blood tests that tells you whether your blood sugar is high or low (and eating–or not eating–accordingly).
Type Two diabetes is something you develop, often from being overweight or similar unhealthy habits. It is something that you can recover from, with hard work and proper medical attention, along with some time. With Type Two, you would want to avoid sugar mostly.</p>
<p>They have changed definitions, the above is not technically accurate; therefore read up on the subject on the reputable sites, not our posts. physician here.</p>
<p>I’m a type II and I agree with wis75, visit the american diabetes association web site or something comparable and read up a bit. </p>
<p>All I know is type II can be brought about by many factors… weight, age, stress, other aliments, lifestyle… no one thing brings it about. For me it may have come about from sleep apena and hypertension and burning the candle at both ends and forgetting to eat for long periods followed by large meals. </p>
<p>You can control with insulin injections or medication and adjustments to lifestyle. I started on insulin and was able with the change of mds move onto meds instead. While improving, it is a long road. For me it is trying to remember to eat a little something every couple hours or so. A diabetic attempts to find fairly consistent routines to balance blood sugars.</p>
<p>From the above link:
"In most cases of type 1 diabetes, people need to inherit risk factors from both parents. We think these factors must be more common in whites because whites have the highest rate of type 1 diabetes. Because most people who are at risk do not get diabetes, researchers want to find out what the environmental triggers are.</p>
<p>One trigger might be related to cold weather. Type 1 diabetes develops more often in winter than summer and is more common in places with cold climates. Another trigger might be viruses. Perhaps a virus that has only mild effects on most people triggers type 1 diabetes in others.</p>
<p>Early diet may also play a role. Type 1 diabetes is less common in people who were breastfed and in those who first ate solid foods at later ages.</p>
<p>In many people, the development of type 1 diabetes seems to take many years. In experiments that followed relatives of people with type 1 diabetes, researchers found that most of those who later got diabetes had certain autoantibodies in their blood for years before.</p>
<p>(Antibodies are proteins that destroy bacteria or viruses. Autoantibodies are antibodies ‘gone bad,’ which attack the body’s own tissues.) "</p>
<p>And to the O.P., I had the same confusion about the disease until my son was diagnosed with Type 1 at age 15. Type 1 and Type 2 are really like two different diseases. To clarify - in Type 1, the pancreas stops making insulin. In Type 2, the body still makes insulin but cannot use it properly. Individuals who have Type 2 may have to eventually use insulin injections to control their diabetes if meds don’t work, but I don’t think it technically becomes Type 1. And a slight correction to pretty kitty: you are born with the risk factors for Type 1, not the disease itself. </p>
<p>Also, low blood sugar in Type 1 diabetics is caused by taking too much insulin in relation to food intake. Diabetics with low blood sugar may resemble drunks - they can be confused, combative, slow thinking, have slurred speech and even pass out. They often will refuse to admit they are low which makes it even more difficult when they are in this state - very dangerous and scary - makes it hard not to be overprotective. I have had a sixth sense when my son is low while away at college. I’ve been right a few times - mother’s intuition. I went through a period of asking him if he was low so often that we joke about it and I say in that pothead voice, " Are you low mahnn?" Anyway, probably more info than you wanted and more than I expected to write.</p>
<p>A good website for simple diabetes information is <a href=“http://www.childrenwithdiabetes.com%5B/url%5D”>www.childrenwithdiabetes.com</a> and click on “diabetes basics” on the left side of the home page.</p>
<p>Another good source of basic (accurate) information:</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.joslin.org/Beginners_guide_527.asp[/url]”>http://www.joslin.org/Beginners_guide_527.asp</a></p>
<p>(D was diagnosed at age 6 with Type 1 diabetes.)</p>
<p>Basic summary:
Don’t eat sugar… your blood sugar might get too high.
If your blood sugar’s dropped too slow you need a quick fix.</p>
<p>“Don’t eat sugar”</p>
<p>try carbs instead. and it’s not don’t it watch your carbs.</p>
<p>With Type I diabetes, you don’t produce any insulin (it is an autoimmune condition, where the body attacks its own “beta” cells – the pancreatic cells that produce insulin; the “cause” is not clear, though it involves a genetic propensity and some environmental trigger, which could be something like a bout of cocksackie), so it must be injected (by syringe or insulin pump) to cover basal needs and carbohydrate intake – there is no limit on the amount of carbohydrate (including, of course, sugar); you just take insulin to “cover” the amount of carbohydrate – every time you eat something with carbohydrate, you have to have the necessary amount of insulin to metabolize it. So if a kid with diabetes wants to eat cake, he/she can go ahead and eat it – they are not doing anything wrong or inappropriate. If you take too much insulin, you get “low,” or hypoglycemic, and need to consume a carbohydrate to raise the blood sugar to a normal range – the fastest form of carbohydrate for that purpose is glucose – often in the form of measured glucose tablets. As noted, a great source of information is childrenwithdiabetes.com.<br>
With Type II diabetes, the problem is insulin resistance or low production of insulin; in that case, you might want to limit the amount of carbohydrate intake.</p>
<p>My 24 year old was diagnosed with Type 1 16 1/2 years ago. Since then, the pump has become very popular and there are new kinds of insulin. Back then we were advised to limit his sweets; now he can take fast-acting insulin before each meal to cover thr sweets he’ll be eating. Back then he required several shots a day – before breakfast, before dinner, bedtime; now he uses his pump to take long acting insulin and short-acting before each meal (based on blood sugar number and carbs he will eat). Still not a perfect science but way better.</p>
<p>The insulin pumps use only short acting insulin (humalog or novalog); the basal insulin is continuous; for meals, snacks, etc., a “bolus” amount of insulin is taken. This means that someone using a pump can eat at any time and take insulin as needed. There are also new long-acting insulins (e.g. lantus) which are taken by syringe for those not using insulin pumps. Neither method is trouble-proof – there are lows and highs that are unaccountable regardless of the method, but things are easier with a pump.</p>
<p>they have been working on an inhaler for insulin. I considered being a guiea pig a couple years ago. I think eli lilly is working on it.</p>
<p>Lots of outdated and incorrect info in the news these days, as the “diabetes epidemic” continues. Even people diagnosed recently (me 8 years ago) can get outdated info from doctors who do not keep up. If you really want the facts check out the medical sites listed here. I agree with those who mention the advances, I have been part of several research studies, I like being a guinea pig, and the advances are amazing, considering you are still stuck with a sucky chronic disease.</p>
<p>Jackie
Type 1 (in middle age)</p>
<p>jackief is so right! I am a nurse, having graduated almost 30 years ago. When my son was diagnosed with Type 1 ten years ago, I had to “re-learn” everything about diabetes. The state of the art is so different today than way back then.</p>