Guy's Gotta Talk -- About DIABETES; breast cancer, Azheimer's: October 2023

Sunday, October 22, 2023

DIABETES RESEARCH RIGHT NOW! #11: “The HORRORS of Metformin!” Uh, say, WHAT?

From the first moment I discovered I had been diagnosed with DIABETES, I joined a HUGE “club” that has been rapidly expanding since it stopped being a death sentence in the early 20th Century. Currently, there are about HALF A BILLION PEOPLE who have Type 2 Diabetes. For the past 3500 years – dating back to Ancient Egypt – people have suffered from diabetes. Well, I’m one of them now… Not one to shut up for any known reason, I added a section to this blog…

Every month, I’ll be highlighting Diabetes research that is going on RIGHT NOW! Harvested from different websites, journals and podcasts, I’ll translate them into understandable English and share them with you. Today: What’s WRONG with Metformin?

Both my wife and I take the sugar-lowering type 2 diabetes medication, metformin. This blog was sparked by some concern an old friend of ours had. They wrote in a general “catch up” email: “Aren't there some new studies about how good metformin is? (Like maybe not so good?)”

So, I thought I’d check it out. I’m going to start with a doctor who apparently has questions about Metformin and has developed a HUGE line of alternative vitamins and supplements to use in place of Metformin. However, despite miles of glowing fabulous reviews about how wonderful his supplements are, he/the person in charge of his website, allowed this review to be published: “My experience with Dr. Ergin has been so opposite of these reviews that I question their veracity and/or source. To begin with, Dr. Ergin [ordered a] battery of tests he ordered did not provide an explanation of my symptoms, so a second round of the same test were ordered. Insanity, no? Frustrated I made an appointment with a GP who ordered a few additional test and was able to find the root of my symptoms. The difference I notice between the GP and Dr. Ergin is that medicine seems like a "calling" for the GP while Dr. Ergin seems overworked and pedantic. Afraid of making mistakes, he would be great for managing diabetes or thyroid problems but not for diagnostics. Beware." Additionally, “However, while the ingredients used are known, the products have not undergone third-party clinical trials…”

As with every medication, there are likely to be side-effects. The one I run across most often is called “in patients with advanced chronic kidney disease…may be susceptible to major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE), and end-stage kidney disease (ESKD)”. The thing here, is that it’s primarily people who have chronic kidney disease – and I doubt very much that it’s a common disease. [“15% of US population has chronic kidney disease” - https://www.cdc.gov/kidneydisease/basics.html#:~:text=15%25%20of%20US%20adults%20are,is%20about%2037%20million%20people.]

Obviously, they would avoid using Metformin. Center for disease control in Atlanta states: “CKD is common in people with diabetes. Approximately 1 in 3 adults with diabetes has CKD. Both type 1 and type 2 diabetes can cause kidney disease.” This seems a chicken and the egg – if a person is diabetic, they can eventually get CKD; but CKD causes MACE…so how do you know if you should continue or stop using metformin? Interesting…

What does metformin do and why is it important if keeping me healthy? Wikipedia states, “Metformin…is the main first-line medication for the treatment of type 2 diabetes…particularly in people who are overweight. Metformin is generally well tolerated, though may cause diarrhea, nausea, and abdominal pain, and there is a small risk of causing low blood sugar.

Metformin “…works by decreasing glucose production in the liver, [and] increasing the insulin sensitivity of body tissues…”. However, I found this as well: “The molecular mechanism of metformin is not completely understood.”

The physical aspects of how metformin acts were recently discovered (2020): “Metformin has been used for more than 60 years, and is the most frequently prescribed drug for diabetes in the world…A research team revealed that metformin promotes the excretion of blood sugar from the large intestine into the stool [this] may explain metformin's biological actions for which the underlying mechanism is unknown, and contribute to the development of new drugs for diabetes.”

So, we know how, we’re just not certain WHY. And as it’s been prescribed for the past 60 years, and the group of people who CANNOT take it is known, I’d say from this that YES: there are challenges and it’s not a “wonder drug”; but it does seem to be an effective tool in the current treatment of type 2 diabetes.

Links: https://www.practiceupdate.com/content/ada-2023-discontinuing-metformin-tied-to-worse-cardio-renal-survival-outcomes/154118; https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/06/200603100503.htm; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metformin

Image: https://asploro.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Diabetes-Research_Open-Access.jpg

Sunday, October 15, 2023

GUY’S GOTTA TALK ABOUT…TYPE 2 DIABETES #15: What Do You Do When You’re TIRED Of Taking Care Of Your Type 2? PART 1 (MAYBE??? The Problem?)

For the first time since I started this blog eleven years ago, it’s going to be about me. I was diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes two weeks ago. While people are happy to talk about their experiences with diabetes, I WASN’T comfortable with talking about diabetes. My wife is Type 2, as are several friends of ours. The “other Type” of diabetes was what caused the death of my Best Man a year after my wife and I got married. He was diagnosed with diabetes when he was a kid. It was called Juvenile Diabetes then. Today it’s Type 1. Since then, I haven’t WANTED to talk about diabetes at all. But…for my own education and maybe helping someone else, and not one to shut up for any known reason, I’m reopening my blog rather than starting a new one. I MAY take a pause and write about Breast Cancer or Alzheimer’s as medical headlines dictate; but this time I’m going to drag anyone along who wants to join my HIGHLY RELUCTANT journey toward better understanding of my life with Type 2 Diabetes. You’re Welcome to join me!

PART 1 IS A BIT OF A RANT; PART 2 WILL OFFER UP SOME SOLID SUGGESTIONS!

Ya know, when I talk to my doctor about being tired of diabetes, he just brushes it off. I mean, he IS skinny as a rail, fit, and A PHYSICIAN’S ASSISTANT – he knows about diabetes. He knows EXACTLY what it does. So, of COURSE he avoids it.

But because HE avoids it, he sort of makes the assumption that once I have it, I can get better…

So, I wanted to find out if doctors have Type 2 diabetes – the quick answer is, “No idea, because the computer search doesn’t even RECOGNIZE the question!” Each time a searched I ended up with lists of hospitals that TREAT diabetes; specialist medical groups that TREAT diabetes; and medical resources for TREATING diabetes.

Only ONE resource even mentioned the possibility that DOCTORS can be diabetic…perhaps this is why when I visit certain physicians, PAs, nurses, and other allied personnel, they look at me with a critical eye – as if I intended to become a Type 2 diabetic through a slovenly lifestyle filled with sybaritic cupcake parties, a diet made up of any possible variety of sugar, pasta, fried food, and doughnuts. Like I’m somehow an IDIOT for ALLOWING MYSELF TO GET TYPE 2 DIABETES…

Maybe the above is an exaggeration – but only a slight one. Society at large ignores us on its constant and consistent path to consequence-free-maximum-gustatory-enjoyment, selling LITERAL tons of French fries, Big Macs, KFC/Raising Canes/Chick-fil-A/et al fried chicken…

BUT, the only admission to the guilt of (it seems like) having a weak personality and an inability to control yourself EVEN EXISTING IN THE MEDICAL PROFESSION, appears ONLY (as far as I can tell), in a journal referencing a study of Taiwanese doctors (and even THEY come out of smelling like only slightly wilted roses): “The current study found that the risk for DM (Diabetes Mellitus) in physicians was lower than that in the general population. Stratified analyses showed lower risks in the age subgroups of 35–49 years and 50–64 years and in the male population. Emergency physicians and surgeons had a higher risk for developing DM than other specialists. In physicians, male sex and older age were risk factors for DM.

“An explanation for the lower risk for DM observed among physicians in comparison with the general population is that, despite heavier workloads and the related poor lifestyle, the former have better medical knowledge, higher disease awareness, and easier healthcare access than the latter; these benefits may mitigate the risk for DM among physicians. The current result is also compatible with previous studies in Taiwan that showed that, despite physicians having higher risks for hypertension, hyperlipidemia, migraine, and herniated intervertebral disc than the general population [13,14,15,16], the former were also less vulnerable to major and life-threatening diseases, including cardiovascular, cancer, and severe sepsis than the latter [13, 17,18,19].”

If you do a search of American doctors, it will appear to you that they (unlike their Taiwanese associates) are completely and totally invulnerable to being AND flavor of Diabetic. This would explain their disdain for those of us who visit them in their offices…

Or not. It could also indicate a profound effort by the profession to continue to practice the art of Super Invulnerability and Imperviousness to Normal Aging And Disease…but that’s a false belief…

A new study published last month in the Journal of the American Medical Association found the following: “Compared with people who don’t work in the medical field, health care workers face an increased risk of suicide, especially registered nurses, health care support workers and health technicians, according to a new study.

“The study, published Tuesday in the medical journal JAMA, estimates that the annual suicide rate in the United States among health care workers alone is about 14 per 100,000 person-years compared with about 13 per 100,000 person-years among non-health care workers. Person-years is a measurement that represents the number of people in a study multiplied by the years following them.”

I make an INFERENCE here – if the incidence of SUICIDE is higher among medical personnel – don’t you think it’s logical that something less deadly is ALSO higher than we’re aware of? I can’t even get a single Google hit on Type 2 diabetes among American medical personnel. OK – I checked: one hit: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6753812/

BUT: this covered ALL pathologies in ALL health-related careers, and covered the whole planet. Hmmm…might there be a bit of deception going on at health clinics across America? Maybe a sense of DENIAL? (“I’m exempt from controlling my eating habits! Look at how hard my job is! I deserve a little slack! I can function JUST FINE with my blood glucose levels above 300! I just won’t check them, that’ll fix everything!”)

I’d be interested to see what the incidence of Type 2 diabetes is among the health care world…And if our caregivers are dodging the bullet – can we expect them to be sympathetic at ALL when we share our struggles with them? ‘cause I know how I ACT when someone starts questioning one of my weaknesses too closely…I can get a TEENSY bit defensive when people find out I own over 2000 books in my basement library, yessiree, BOB!”

Source: https://www.healthline.com/health/type-2-diabetes/inspiration-when-youre-over-t2d#Four-things-to-try-when-youre-tired-of-type-2-diabetes ; https://bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12889-019-7403-z#:~:text=In%20comparisons%20among%20physicians%2C%20emergency,for%20DM%20than%20other%20specialists. ; https://www.cnn.com/2023/09/26/health/suicide-risk-health-care-workers/index.html#:~:text=The%20study%2C%20published%20Tuesday%20in,among%20non%2Dhealth%20care%20workers.

Image: https://www.hcd.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/living-well-with-diabetes.jpg

Sunday, October 1, 2023

DIABETES RESEARCH RIGHT NOW! #10: Which Is BEST For Diabetics: Queen’s “We Will Rock You” or “The Avengers” Soundtrack?

But that's only PART of the question! The REAL question is how loud does your music have to be and WHAT kind of music is the best to play when you've got tiny packets of insulin in your blood that you may need to help you digest your meal and not go into a sugar coma or fall over from a sugar LOW???

Researchers working on novel ways to deliver insulin to the bloodstream of diabetics utilized a new technology. “…enclosing insulin-producing designer cells in capsules that can be implanted in the body. To be able to control from the outside when and how much insulin the cells release into the blood, researchers have studied and applied different triggers in recent years: light, temperature and electric fields…[They] have now developed another, novel stimulation method: they use music to trigger the cells to release insulin within minutes. This works especially well with “We Will Rock You,” a global hit by British rock band, Queen. (One of the members, is also a scientist himself. “Queen guitarist and astrophysicist Sir Brian aided the mission by helping to identify where Osiris-Rex could grab a sample from the asteroid.” (The recent NASA mission that dropped a reentry vehicle carrying 250 grams of material from asteroid Bennu, then continued on to its NEXT mission…)

"...researchers looked into which music genres caused the strongest insulin response at a volume of 85 dB. Rock music with booming bass like the song "We Will Rock You," from Queen, came out on top, followed by the soundtrack to the action movie The Avengers. The insulin response to classical music and guitar music was rather weak by comparison."

That a rock star and astrophysicist wrote and played music that “just happens” to be ideal for releasing insulin into a patient’s bloodstream is just one of the cool things about Sir Brian May, lead guitarist for the world-famous British band, Queen. (You know..."Bohemian Rhapsody"? Yes? No? (WHAT ROCK HAVE YOU BEEN HIDING UNDER! EVEN I KNOW WHO QUEEN IS! (Haven't you ever pounded on a nearby pop machine in the rhythm for "We Will Rock You" and then sing at the top of your lungs, "We will, we will, ROCK YOU!" Really? Wow...sad...)

The cells stimulated by the soundwaves are not, themselves a new thing: The scientists altered “human embryonic kidney cells [that were changed]…so that when they were exposed to high concentrations of glucose (as in a “sugar rush”), they responded by releasing insulin [IN RESPONSE TO THE SOUND AND FREQUENCY LEVEL found in the Queen song and Alan Silvestri’s sound track for The Avengers] when glucose levels reached dangerous levels. The insulin attaches itself to glucose molecules, transporting them to the liver for change into glucagon and storage, bringing blood sugars back to normal levels. This didn’t ONLY work for type 1 diabetes! “ the system was used to express glucagon-like peptide 1 in Type 2 Diabetes in mice, resulting in improved insulin secretion and post-meal glucose metabolism.”

I’d have volunteered for that study! Scientists don’t know if this will ever be turned into an actual treatment, “depends on whether a pharmaceutical company is interested in doing so. It could, after all, be applied broadly: the system works not only with insulin, but with any protein that lends itself to therapeutic use.”

But there you go! As my four-year-old grandson is wont to say when confronted by some amazing fact (of course, ALL facts are amazing at that age!): “Whaaaat???”

Links: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/08/230822193045.htm
Queen’s “We Will Rock You” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-tJYN-eG1zk, AVENGERS ( mix from all the movies) soundtrack https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tK3JHA2fTiI Image: https://asploro.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Diabetes-Research_Open-Access.jpg