Health Need: Diabetes

[Charles L. Cotton]

My wife has developed Type II diabetes. The symptoms hit suddenly and they are remarkably similar to hypoglycemia she suffered as a young woman. She has been getting weaker for a few weeks now (without telling me of course) and we learned Monday of his glucose level while we were in a conference. She was supposed to speak at the 2015 Texas Firearm Instructors & Range Conference, but she was too weak to do so.

She met with her doctor today and her glucose has gone down dramatically just by watching her diet. She will be taking oral medication to see if that, along with diet and exercise, will control her glucose. If not, she'll have to take insulin. Please pray that oral medication will be sufficient.

Thanks,
Chas.

[jmra]

Praying

[mojo84]

Sorry to hear this Charles. My wife is dealing with the same thing. We are also in the process of improving our diet and exercise. The oral meds help her but seem to have side effects that aren't pleasant. Therefore, our prayers will be that diet and exercise work for your wife and if not, the meds will be effective without the unpleasant side effects.

[WildBill]

I offer my prayers for Mrs. Cotton.

[Jim Beaux]

My wife and I have both developed higher fasting glucose levels & decided to reduce our carbs. After research we decided to follow the Atkins approach.

I also have metabolic syndrome, and my years of 500 mile monthly cycling & 70+ monthly miles of running had little effect against it - as I fueled primarily with carbs. With carbs you either burn it or store it. (aka fat)

There is a lot of misunderstanding what Atkins is & does. I was a big scoffer.

Following Atkins we eat more protein & fats (meat, eggs, fish, sardines, olive oil, etc.), we eat a lot of fresh veggies, ie avocados, broccoli, zucchini, cucumbers, spinach, etc. No high carb veggies such as carrots, corn, potatoes & peas...and no grains.

I log and track my food using "My Fitness Pal"
https://www.myfitnesspal.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

In the 3-4 weeks since I have been eating like this my my blood pressure has dropped significantly & my lower leg swelling (due to BP drugs) has completely vanished.

Ive dropped 13 pounds

I had a check up and blood lab the week before I started eating this way. I will schedule another lab in 3 months & hope to see a lot of improvement.

Good luck Charles & Mrs.

[Tracker]

Charles, there is a growing skepticism among medical professionals questioning the convectional wisdom of diet/nutrition for those with Type II diabetes. Because diabetics are pron to cardiovascular disease they are told to eat low fat and small meals throughout the day and complex carbs. The problem with that is now there is a lot of evidence saturated fat does not cause heart disease. Type II diabetes comes from the body developing insulin resistance.

While genetics plays a roll in who is more prone to getting Type II D nobody is distend to get it. It's brought on by diet, eating too much starch and sugar which overwhelms the pancreas's ability to produce insulin. In the 1970s the government (with disagreement from the biochemists) had the American public preform a vast dietary experiment. It had us reduce our fat consumption from 40% down to 15%. In doing so we had to increase eating something else, carbs and sugars. The rest is history, Americans got overweight, heart disease went on the rise, and so has type II diabetes. Use to, Type II was called adult onset diabetes that happened in people over 70. Now it's showing up in children.

The problem with the governments dietary guidelines is that it isn't inline with our evolutionary history.

Some people have been able to reverse type II.

Here's some resources
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2787021/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Peter Attia MD explains how we got the dietary guidelines and the lack of science that went into those guidelines.
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and his own experience of becoming insulin resistant, even while exercising 3 hours a day
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Also, " onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Peter Attia's high-tech self experiment
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[Tracker]

My wife and I have both developed higher fasting glucose levels & decided to reduce our carbs. After research we decided to follow the Atkins approach.

I also have metabolic syndrome, and my years of 500 mile monthly cycling & 70+ monthly miles of running had little effect against it - as I fueled primarily with carbs. With carbs you either burn it or store it. (aka fat)

There is a lot of misunderstanding what Atkins is & does. I was a big scoffer.

Following Atkins we eat more protein & fats (meat, eggs, fish, sardines, olive oil, etc.), we eat a lot of fresh veggies, ie avocados, broccoli, zucchini, cucumbers, spinach, etc. No high carb veggies such as carrots, corn, potatoes & peas...and no grains.

I log and track my food using "My Fitness Pal"
https://www.myfitnesspal.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

In the 3-4 weeks since I have been eating like this my my blood pressure has dropped significantly & my lower leg swelling (due to BP drugs) has completely vanished.

Ive dropped 13 pounds

I had a check up and blood lab the week before I started eating this way. I will schedule another lab in 3 months & hope to see a lot of improvement.

Good luck Charles & Mrs.

and you experience is very similar to the Peter Attia's links I just posted above.

[Richbirdhunter]

Lord, I lift up Mrs. Cotton to you in prayer today, we ask for a complete healing of her type two diabetes. We ask that she is motivated to work on her health and that she takes her prescribed medicines.
I ask these things in Jesus name, Amen.

[DocV]

Adding my prayers for your wife into the prayer chain.

My mother and both grandmothers developed type II diabetes in their sixties. The fact that her diet changes have resulted in lower glucose is a positive sign. Stress can also be a factor, so please insist that she spend some quality time relaxing.

[92f-fan]

My prayers will be on the way and while they are:

I would exceptionally strongly, encourage you and your wife to get a few opinions. Most General Drs have outdated information on treatments. Any Blood Glucose above 120 for any length of time is causing damage. Non diabetic BG never goes above 120 for more than an hour or 2...

Get the numbers under control quickly, keep her hydrated, and her energy will return. If that means insulin use it. Many Drs dont prescribe the best medications to avoid upsetting patients by suggesting " the needle" for example. or they delay it too long, while kidneys are getting damaged.

I would specifically encourage you to find a Endocrine Center and meet with a really good certified diabetes educator there. Preferably one that is an RN and if possible one that has diabetes. And hopefully also meet with the Centers Endocrinologist as well.
I dont personally know any in Houston.

Not a Dr and didnt play one on TV but, Ive 27 years experience with diabetes. Let me know if you have any specific questions I can help with.

[joe817]

Prayers sent Mrs. Cotton's way to get that horrible disease under control. Lot's of good info in this thread about diabetes.

[92f-fan]

Type II diabetes comes from the body developing insulin resistance.

While genetics plays a roll in who is more prone to getting Type II D nobody is distend to get it. It's brought on by diet, eating too much starch and sugar which overwhelms the pancreas's ability to produce insulin.

Some people have been able to reverse type II.

I have to disagree with all of this -
Lots of it is wives tales and popular culture - reminds me of the the cinnamon cure.

Some of Type II, is due in part, to insulin resistance. However its MUCH more complicated than that. Diabetes is a VERY complex still not very well understood disease. Insulin was discovered and refined almost 100 years ago yet we still havent beaten the disease.

Type II is NOT brought on by diet alone. There are MANY Type IIs who are skinny, always have been, and eat very carefully.

No one ,who ever was diagnosed diabetic, EVER, reversed it and was cured. They may have normalized BG but they are not cured.

My BG right now ironically is 100 and has been for a few min. Am I cured ?

Its these kinds of misconceptions that I even heard from Dentists and ER docs and Plastic surgeons etc etc that were the reason I encouraged Chas to visit a board certified specialist and his team.

[Charles L. Cotton]

Thanks for the prayers and information folks.

Chas.

[carlson1]

You know I already pray for y'all, but we will pray hard for Mrs. Cotton. I take 9 injections a day due mainly me not following doctors instructions.

I know the Lord will help get it under control and back to normal activity.

[Excaliber]

Prayers sent for Mrs. Cotton, and for Charles who can't help but feel her suffering while she is ill.