DIABETES RESEARCH RIGHT NOW! #2: A Way To Treat Type 1 Diabetes; and A New Drug for Type 2 Diabetes!!!

From the first moment I discovered I had been diagnosed with DIABETES, I joined a HUGE “club” that has been rapidly expanding since t 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: Top Discoveries and Developments of 2022

The first big change is that the FDA Approved the use “of the first immune therapy for type 1 diabetes.” As a physician-scientist, Dr. Mark Anderson’s main focus is on research on ‘why diabetes happens,’ with a particular focus on type 1…‘is an autoimmune disease, where the immune system makes a mistake and kills the cells that make insulin in the pancreas, so this takes up a lot of my attention,’ he said.” It is “an injection aimed to delay the onset of stage 3 type 1 diabetes in adults in addition to pediatric patients who are eight years and older who have stage 2 type 1 diabetes.”

While this is important, I can’t really speak to it. It’s far too late for my best man, who died of complications of Type 1 diabetes a bit over 34 years ago, and living with Type 2 Diabetes has become an issue for me now – in addition to my wife and several family members. In my blog, I’ll be focusing on my own journey, as you are focusing on yours!

Let me do what I do best: translate the doctors!

“…in May of 2022, the FDA approved a new double-targeted treatment for type 2 diabetes — tirzepatide... It’s injectable and improves control of A1C levels, the measure of blood sugar levels, in adults with type 2 diabetes, working WITH diet and exercise.”

And that means…what? First of all, it’s not magic medicine. Working WITH my diet, exercise, I would get shots. That immediately eliminates those people who are either uncomfortable with shots or just plain HATE THEM. The new drug “is a dual GIP/GLP-1 receptor agonist — a drug that attaches itself to a receptor that’s either on or inside a cell and causes the same kind of action as the kinds of substances that normally affix themselves to the receptor.”

OK – I’m pretty sure that’s Greek to most of us, so let’s break it down.

“…dual GIP/GLP 1 receptor agonist” – We start with fancy words. “Gastric inhibitory polypeptide” (GIP) – my small intestines make these molecules. It’s a hormone (like the ones that make teenagers crazy!) that gets into your blood and goes to the pancreas. It works there with the good stuff from food, especially glucose, so that enough insulin is released so that the nutrients and glucose get stored in your liver, fat and muscle until they are needed to provide energy. GIP also slows emptying of food from the stomach, which decreases the rate with which fats in food are broken down and stored. Then it disappears. I don’t make enough GIP to store enough glucose and nutrients. The other one, “Glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1)”, works like GIP, just not as much.

Together, they cause something called the “incretin effect” which is the release of insulin after a meal. Type 2 diabetes KNOCKS DOWN the incretin effect. Because of that, we get “hyperglycemia” – what I say to my wife when I read my blood sugars are 266. “Honey, my blood sugars are really high!” Over time, high blood sugars cause nephropathy (nerve death), retinopathy (eye problems), and cardiovascular disease (heart problems).

Tirzepatide is the first medication that activates the receptors in the cells of the pancreas to create more enough insulin to pick up and store the glucose in my blood. According to the research, this new drug works BETTER than Ozempic in every way.

Tirzepatide HAS NOT BEEN OFFICIALLY APPROVED FOR USE!!! It WAS just fast-tracked by the FDA as an official weight loss medication. (WTFudge?!?!?) One clinical trial revealed the drug reduced the weight of participants by up to 21%. The drug has been well received by those using diabetes medications. But it’s REALLY hard to get hold of because fat people LIKE ME have been getting it to lose weight. So, I’d be great for this! I have Type 2 AND I’m fat! But, that’s not what it was invented for: it was invented for people only HALF like me – people with Type 2 diabetes… (As always, tirzepatide can have some side effects like nausea and gastrointestinal symptoms.) Here's to hoping it will be approved for US!

Link: https://www.healthline.com/health-news/diabetes-the-top-discoveries-and-developments-of-2022 https://diabetesatlas.org/#:~:text=206%20million%20adults%20living%20with,caused%20by%20diabetes%20in%202021. https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT00239707
Image: https://asploro.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Diabetes-Research_Open-Access.jpg

GUY’S GOTTA TALK ABOUT…DIABETES #4: PART 2 - What Does It Mean To “Eat Right”???

For the first times since I started this column 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!

Balancing proteins and carbohydrates (which, if you didn’t know, get turned INTO sugars in your body; proteins do NOT get turned into sugars because they’re not made that way); seemed to make sense, and seemed to be something I could do…but here’s the kicker: ANY diet I submit to will be for the remainder of my life. I WILL NOT say I get this whole thing of living with my diabetes yet. I need to substitute FRUITS and vegetables for sauces and rice. Make better menu choices that EMPHASIZE meat and vegetables rather than rice and nacho cheese. I’m working on it…I’m not preaching at you, I’m trying to figure out how to live longer with my diabetes!

So, what do I do when I get a craving for Dairy Queen or a Whopper or a candy bar?

OK…I go get a DQ – HOWEVER, I’d usually rather have a Culver’s Flavor Of The Month. But what I’m finally beginning to learn is the secret of substitution…

I’m going to compare two of my big weaknesses: Frozen DQ/Wendy’s/Culver’s/Whatever.

First: the one that’s closest to our house and changes often: Culver’s.

Let’s look at an “impartial” source:

In the interest of being entirely transparent: I often get the 2 Scoop Carmel Cashew Sundae. Lots of numbers, but for me as a diabetic (there, I WROTE IT! Another step forward…) 52 g of fat; 121 g of carbohydrates (I fool myself by saying, “carbs”); 85 g of sugar (mostly likely standard issue sucrose (table sugar); and finally 16 g of protein. “See! THERE’S PROTEIN THERE!”

There is. But the stuff that insulin has to work on outweighs the protein 258 to 16 (or more scientifically 16:1). What do I suppose is going to happen? My pancreas will flood my bloodstream with insulin so I can take that VASTLY overwhelming amount of sugar, burn (=metabolize) a TEENSY bit of it as I sit on my chair at home, watching PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: Dead Man’s Chest to keep me sitting upright, chewing, breathing, and otherwise existing, then store the excess (about 16 times the amount it uses from the protein) in FAT CELLS… Of course, to store all that non-protein, the pancreas has to pump out MORE insulin…and, well you see the problem.

How about I get one of my OTHER favorites, a DQ Peanut Buster Parfait? I KNOW that must be OK, cause it has peanuts! Let’s take a look at what DQ posts out there:

Again, let’s look at the pertinent data: Fat = 31 g Carbohydrate = 95 g Sugar = 68 g Protein = 17 g. Summed up as I did for that gloriously tasty Carmel Cashew two scoop sundae: 194 g (the stuff insulin has to work on), protein 17 g or 194 to 17, or (again) more scientifically, 11:1.

Culver’s 2 scoop, caramel cashew sundae: 16:1
Dairy Queen Peanut Buster Parfait: 11:1

OK – let’s say I’m a really good boy and order ONLY a Culver’s Grilled Chicken and cashew salad with Ranch dressing? Raw data: 

Fat = 19 + 24 = 62 grams + 15 g carbohydrates + 4 g sugar = 81 grams of stuff insulin HAS to take care of. Protein = 47 grams.

Scientifically speaking: 81 g to 47 grams = 1.7:1 (rounding UP) gives me a 2:1 ratio.

Culver’s 2 scoop, caramel cashew sundae: 16:1
Dairy Queen Peanut Buster Parfait: 11:1
Cashew Chicken Salad: 2:1

I’m NOT going to ever love the Culver’s Chicken Salad as much as Culver’s 2 scoop caramel cashew sundae BUT, I need to keep stuff like this in mind FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE…

Seeing this MIGHT slow me down. If I want to live longer, it’s going to HAVE TO slow me down to make choices…

Resources: https://www.culvers.com/menu-and-nutrition/nutrition-grid
Image: https://www.hcd.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/living-well-with-diabetes.jpg

GUY’S GOTTA TALK ABOUT…DIABETES #4: PART 1 - What Does It Mean To “Eat Right”?

For the first time since I started this column 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 diabetes.

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!

Until a couple months ago, to “eat right” just meant that I couldn’t pig out on candy bars and sugared cereal…

When I was diagnosed as diabetic, that didn’t only suddenly change – I mean, REALLY change; it changed the way I see the world.

When I have ice cream or birthday cake with the grandkids, or cookies, or sugary drinks, or use sugar in my coffee, I’m not only damaging my body in a sort of “academic” way. I’m damaging it in a real way.

Right now, neither of us are insulin dependent. We’re both what used to be called “insulin resistant”, but now goes by the name of “…impaired insulin sensitivity, [It means that I] have built up a tolerance to insulin, making the hormone less effective. As a result, more insulin is needed to persuade fat and muscle cells to take up glucose and the liver to continues to store it [rather than use it].

“Just why a person fails to respond properly to insulin is still a mystery. But there are ways to make the body more receptive to insulin, which can help prevent or delay type 2 diabetes—or help someone with type 1 diabetes manage their blood glucose (blood sugar).

“In response to the body's insulin resistance, the pancreas deploys greater amounts of the hormone to keep cells energized and blood glucose levels under control. This is why people with type 2 diabetes tend to have elevated levels of circulating insulin. The ability of the pancreas to increase insulin production means that insulin resistance alone won't have any symptoms at first. Over time, though, insulin resistance tends to get worse, and the pancreatic beta cells that make insulin can wear out. Eventually, the pancreas no longer produces enough insulin to overcome the cells' resistance. The result is higher blood glucose levels, and ultimately prediabetes or type 2 diabetes.”

So what do I do? Sure, I’ll change my diet – but HOW? Sure I should exercise, but I DO – I bicycle from fifteen to twenty miles a week on park trails. I’m not only adjusting tension or changes gears on a stationary ‘cycle.

OK – that’s probably good, and most likely saved my life up to this point as I’ve been riding for the past fifty years…what about DIET though.

My mind rebels at the word! I need to retrain myself to think in terms of diet being WHAT I EAT, rather than WHAT I CAN’T EAT…

I need to get out of this whole “deprivation mode” and get into a “survival mode”. I mean, when I was a certified nursing assistant, I had to care for a husband and wife who lived in the nursing home. He was elderly, but his mind and sense of humor were intact. His wife however, had lost both her legs below the knee to diabetes! “Well, we’re not primitive anymore! We have drugs that will keep us safe!”

Hmmm… “Yyyyyessss, that’s true.” But, going out and getting a double scoop of Culver’s frozen custard Flavor of the Month, or a Dairy Queen medium M&M Blizzard is no longer a WISE choice! (Was it EVER??? Probably not!)

So, what does my diet mean now?

I’m a sort of basic kind of guy (as well as being named Guy!) Reading, reading, reading seems to have brought me to a point that, while I lost weight doing the ATKINS diet, which primarily reduced carbohydrates while doing away with sugar and replacing it with Sucralose® is STILL not the best diet for me. One bit of reading I found came from an elderly book called THE INSULIN RESISTANT DIET. (https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/519peAFXcML._SY291_BO1,204,203,200_QL40_FMwebp_.jpg)

 Its essential premise is that I should be BALANCING carbohydrates/sugars with protein.

THAT I can handle, and as a retired science teacher (science teachers, in addition to taking English, PE, Music, Social Studies, and other general classes, also have to take a HEAVY dose of science: biology (of course), chemistry and physics next, then math up through two semesters of Algebra-based Calculus, history of science classes, then sciences specific to your degree. I was going to be a Middle School Science Teacher. I needed two geology classes (physical and historical), meteorology, soil science, astronomy, and then electives. For me genetics, immunology, animal physiology…you probably get the boring picture!

Balancing proteins and carbohydrates (which, if you didn’t know, get turned INTO sugars in your body; proteins do NOT get turned into sugars because they’re not made that way); seemed to make sense, and seemed to be something I could do…but here’s the kicker: FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE!!!

ANY diet I submit to will be for the remainder of my life. I WILL NOT say I get this whole thing of living with my diabetes yet. I’ve had Culver’s and Dairy Queen treats. I don’t live in a monastery on a mountain top! But I need to control them. I need to substitute FRUITS and vegetables for sauces and rice. Make better menu choices that EMPHASIZE meat and vegetables rather than rice and nacho cheese…(we’re going out tonight, Mexican!)

Like I said, I’m not good at this yet. But I’m working on it. It’s just I have to remind myself that I CAN’T dawdle anymore. This I important. I’ve damaged my body with 65 or so bad habits…

In case you were wondering? This isn’t the last you’ve heard me on the subject of “diet” – and I’m not preaching at you. I’m trying to figure out how to live longer with my diabetes!

For MORE details: https://www.cdc.gov/diabetes/managing/eat-well.html
Image: https://www.hcd.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/living-well-with-diabetes.jpg

DIABETES RESEARCH RIGHT NOW! #1: DIABETES RESEARCH RIGHT NOW!

From the first moment I discovered I had been diagnosed with DIABETES, I joined a HUGE  “club” that has been rapidly expanding since t stopped being a death sentence in the early 20^th 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:

Oddly, a study out of the Technical University of Munich, this month on the ScienceDaily website connects both Diabetes and Alzheimer’s…

In Alzheimer's disease, the degeneration of brain cells is linked to formation of toxic protein aggregates and deposits known as amyloid plaques. Similar processes play an important role also in type 2 diabetes. A research team has now developed 'mini-proteins', so-called peptides, which are able to bind the proteins that form amyloids and prevent their aggregation into cytotoxic amyloids.”

What’s that mean in plain English?

 I’ve written about plaques and tangles in the past in Alzheimer’s posts (for example, here: https://breastcancerreaper.blogspot.com/2021/11/alzheimers-research-right-now-16-cause.html). Research is ongoing to discover how this incredibly complex organ we call “the brain” is affected by Alzheimer’s. Plaques are weird clusters of broken protein pieces. They get stuck between nerve cells which slows down how quickly – or even WHETHER – nerve cells can communicate with each other. If they can’t communicate, the person loses memories, the ability to know what to do in certain situations, sometimes even the ability to walk, drink, or even feed themselves. Disconnected from each other, the nerve cells eventually start to die. Dead and dying nerve cells contain tangles, which are made up of twisted strands of another protein. Quite simply, the brain slowly becomes a train wreck of broken pieces of proteins that cut off and clog communication between the cells.

 Now it appears that the formations of these same proteins mess with our bodies and interfere with the use and transport of insulin – the molecule that takes the simple sugar that comes from your body breaking down stuff like hamburgers, potato chips, and mini-donuts into the tiny, tiny sugar called glucose – the simplest sugar that you can have and still call it “sugar”. It also happens to be the ONLY sugar your body can use to run itself.

 So – HOW do these plaques and tangles that gum up the brain’s ability to think and remember wreck our body’s ability to use insulin properly? Insulin is supposed to allow the cells of the body to take glucose from the blood.

SO?

 “Insulin controls the breakdown of carbs, fat, and protein by boosting glucose from the blood into liver, fat. and muscle cells. The glucose is changed into either glycogen or fat. The liver actually does both. Both glycogen and fat store energy this way. The liver won’t make glucose or release it into the blood when there’re too much insulin in the blood. The same insulin also messes with making protein ALL OVER THE BODY. Low levels of insulin have the opposite effect – it makes the body STOP making glucose. And glucose is what makes your body work – muscles, blood cells, antibody cells, brain cells, nerve cells…so insulin HAS to be balanced or else it screws up the functions of the body.”

 Now you have the background to read WHAT this means for Type 2 Diabetics AND Alzheimer’s patients. Before I go any farther, let me point out that these plaques and tangles, once they begin to clump and form “blobs”, kill individual cells – it’s called being cyto (cell) toxic (deadly), or cytotoxic.

 “The team invented artificial peptides (which are like, “building blocks” of everything your body is made of.) These artificial peptides STOP the clumping of plaques and tangles. Dr. Kapurniotu notes, ‘The designed peptides look very similar to harmful clumps and tangles, but don’t have the cytotoxic effects! In fact, white blood cells go after them even MORE that the ones what make up the plaques and tangles!’”

 There’s no “magic bullet” right now to cure diabetes (or Alzheimer’s), but it seems that based on this research, that there MIGHT be something that can manage both diseases…and that will help an incredible number of people…

A Concise History of Diabetes: https://www.everydayhealth.com/diabetes/understanding/diabetes-mellitus-through-time.aspx

Resources: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/11/221109085759.htm

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

GUY’S GOTTA TALK ABOUT…DIABETES #3: What Is Blood Sugar and What Does It RESPOND To??? PART 1

For the first times since I started this column 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!

I was going to do something different, but I think I’m going to go after something incredibly perplexing to me…

So, after my visit with a Diabetes Educator, I got my monitor and have embarked on the diabetic adventure of poking myself with a sharp needle, bleeding and then “taking my blood sugar” at least once a day. Below, you’ll see a picture of the results:



Since I started doing the finger prick thing, I’ve gotten readings that range from 110 to 218. I know what the number MEANS (it’s bad because it’s lit up red on the monitor. It’s good if it’s green…) but apparently it depends also on the time of day, what you’ve eaten, and how much you’ve moved. So, I’m going to dig into it here, starting with the foundation and I’m personalizing it so my HEAD gets it:

“Insulin is a key player in developing type 2 diabetes…it regulates glucose in my body…Here are the high points:

The food I eat is broken down into glucose that enters my bloodstream. That happens in everyone all the time. That tells the pancreas to release insulin, which enters cells commanding them to use the glucose. Insulin signals the liver to store glucose. As the level of glucose in my blood goes down, the amount of insulin goes down, too. When the insulin levels go too far down, it alerts the liver to release stored glucose, so even if I haven’t eaten for a while, I don’t pass out from my cells starving. That’s when everything works smoothly.

My body is…I’d like to use a stronger expletive, but I’m trying to keep my blog G-Rated, so I’ll say…messed up. So, I go to the Minnesota State Fair and do what I’ve always done: “It’s fine! I only do this once a year! I’m walking a lot today! I’ll be fine!” Lots of glucose enters my bloodstream. My pancreas pumps out more insulin to get glucose into cells. After a while, my cells stop sucking in glucose. My pancreas releases MORE insulin, trying to force my cells to pick up more glucose. My pancreas can’t keep up, and the levels of glucose in my blood keep rising. The insulin is ALSO telling my liver and muscles to store glucose. When they’re stuffed full, my liver sends the glucose to FAT cells to be stored as (to be frank) FLAB. I’ve become insulin resistant, the new term is that I have impaired insulin sensitivity.

So, there’s glucose in my blood that should be going into my muscle cells, which gets shunted to FAT cells.

I got it.

Next, how much glucose is supposed to be in my blood? Well a fairly intensive search on the internet only cleared THAT question up enough to say, “It all depends”… There are a number of charts that show me what the “right amount of glucose in my blood should be”. I’m going to reference this one until/unless my doctor directs me to another one:

https://assets-global.website-files.com/622154d5a1d5c02e596f4511/62f2bee4de0117f1ec10c745_BloodGlucoseChart.jpeg

This might be old (2019), but it’s a really good summary of what I SHOULD be doing. I’ll dive into it in my next post: https://diabetes.org/sites/default/files/2019-10/ADV_2019_Consumer_Nutrition_One%20Pager.pdf

So, farewell for the next two weeks. I’ll be posting again on November 27 – appropriately three days after Thanksgiving!

Resource: https://diabetes.org/, (for a MUCH deeper look at several studies that used constant glucose monitoring to track data, go here: https://www.levelshealth.com/blog/what-should-my-glucose-levels-be-ultimate-guide#:~:text=Summary%20Of%20Normal%20Glucose%20Ranges&text=Glucose%20levels%20between%2070%2D120,of%2081%2D102%20mg%2Fdl), “Nutrition Therapy” sounds fancy, but in the end, it means “eating right” https://diabetesjournals.org/care/article/42/5/731/40480/Nutrition-Therapy-for-Adults-With-Diabetes-or

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

GUY’S GOTTA TALK ABOUT…DIABETES #2: Actually UNDERSTANDING Diabetes and What It Means for Me…

For the first time since I started this column 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 diabetes. 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!

The hardest thing for me is the new routines…

Take your blood sugars. Take your pills (only one of which is currently for diabetes – the METFORMIN). Watch your diet…my past efforts to watch my diet were (more or less) to watch the fork lift the food to my mouth or aim whatever hand food I was eating into my mouth (something of a challenge when we’re at the Minnesota State Fair as most of the hand food is eaten while walking through huge crowds of people doing what you’re doing…eating!)

Even things like counting calories, which ISN’T as important in diabetes as is counting carbs, but it’s a hard shift.

The main reason? I’m not used to CARING about what I eat, how I exercise, and if my body is working correctly…OK – that’s not entirely true, I care. BUT, I haven’t cared enough. So, I do care – but I DON’T UNDERSTAND THINGS RIGHT NOW!

For example, I’ve got my finger-pricker, the blood sugar reader gizmo, and the sterile lances. I know, more or less what it’s reading: 185 mg/dL literally means 189 milligrams of sugar per deciliter of blood. As a science teacher, I can actually envision a deciliter – but it’s not easy. We used ml (or milliliters) when I was in the lab for most of my 45 years of going to college and teaching science classes. This might help you visualize it:

https://o.quizlet.com/Jj2S4QGmAClR-hUZGa1ZGg_b.png

So, now I have a better idea of what I’m measuring. My blood sugar has been between 110-209 (at various times of day – I STILL don’t understand that. That low was after I fasted from about 9pm to 5pm (I was going to Red Robin with a buddy of mine and KNEW I was going to be eating French fries!) But at 10pm after I was done eating, my blood sugars were 115, 101, and 110. How is that? The following morning, it was 175 at 8:15 am. One morning, it was 152 at 12:40 am and the device said that was GOOD…CLEARLY a subject for my next post!)

You can tell I have a lot of reading to do. I can’t work at controlling my blood sugars unless I understand my blood sugars! And I don’t mean saying, “Doctor, doctor, whatever shall I do???”

I am me, and I need to UNDERSTAND what’s going on in my body. I have a bunch of books – TYPE 2 Diabetes BASICS; THE FIRST YEAR: TYPE 2 DIABETES; REVERSING DIABETES, and a whole bunch of other ones my wife bought when she was first diagnosed. Right now, I’m basically in the dark, the tips of my fingers hurt (why do I have to prick the TIPS of my fingers? Why not my ankle? Why not my elbow? Why not my butt cheek? I DON’T KNOW!

And THAT’S what I’m doing here. I’m exploring this whole thing and writing about it – only this time, instead of my WIFE’S breast cancer or DAD’S Alzheimer’s, I’m looking at MY OWN diabetes.

Humbling. That’s what it is. Humbling…

Image: https://www.hcd.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/living-well-with-diabetes.jpg; https://thumbs.dreamstime.com/z/glucose-levels-blood-diagram-hyperglycemia-hypoglycemia-diabetes-142482790.jpg

GUY’S GOTTA TALK ABOUT…DIABETES #1 The Diagnosis

For the first time since I started this column 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 diabetes. 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!

When I sat down with the Diabetes Education counselor, it was no surprise that I was there.

I’ve been pre-diabetic for a few years. I knew I could change my diagnosis if I just followed a few simple steps. I needed to lose weight, exercise more, and eat right. My response to that knowledge was, “Yeah, yeah, yeah, I’ll get to it! Besides I eat pretty good. I ride my bike! I sometimes lose weight!”

Well, the jig is up. I’ve been caught with my proverbial pants down (sorta like the scene in SPIDER-MAN: A Long Way From Home. Nothing evil going down, but he got caught getting ready to put on the black suit that ultimately inspired Ned to call him Night Monkey.) I’m now officially diabetic.

What’s that mean? (TOTALLY UN)Funny you should ask!

I now have a blood sugar monitor kit of my very own. I used it for the first time this morning. My blood sugar level was 173, which my phone tells me is “high”.

And that means, what? Yeah, here’s where the educating myself well enough to understand comes in, plus a little bit of Translating the Doctors.

First a BRIEF history of diabetes (HIGHLY condensed from the Wikipedia article: Diabetes was one of the first diseases described by Human medicine. The term “diabetes” or “to pass through” was first used in 230 BCE by the Greek Apollonius of Memphis

Two types of diabetes were identified as separate conditions for the first time by the Indian physicians Sushruta and Charaka in 400–500 CE with one type being associated with youth and another type with being overweight. It took a long time to create an effective treatment. The early part of the 20th century for Canadians Banting and Best who finally isolated and purified insulin. We’ve known for a fact what causes diabetes FOR A HUNDRED YEARS…

What is blood sugar? It’s pretty simple: “Blood sugar, or glucose, is the main sugar found in your blood. It comes from the food you eat, and is your body's main source of energy. Your blood carries glucose to all of your body's cells to use for energy.”

And what does that have to do with diabetes? “Diabetes is a disease in which your blood sugar levels are too high. Over time, having too much glucose in your blood can cause serious problems…Himsworth published research that differentiated between type 1 and type 2 diabetes. He theorized that many people had insulin resistance rather than insulin deficiency. Insulin resistance is one factor that leads to type 2 diabetes. When a person has insulin resistance, their body cells lose their sensitivity to insulin and are not able to take in glucose. In response, the pancreas increases its output of insulin.”

What’s a NORMAL blood sugar? “Fasting normal blood sugar for a person without diabetes: 70–99 mg/dl (This is what my monitor shows. The funny letters after mean “milligrams per deciliter” or how much glucose (in milligrams – like what most of you antibiotics and Tylenol/Advil/Aleve is measured in) there is in a deciliter (which is one tenth of a liter or about the bottom of a two liter bottle of pop).” Official ADA recommendation for someone with diabetes: 80–130 mg/dl (4.4–7.2 mmol/L) when you get up in the morning (fasting level) and less than 180 mg/dl after you’ve had a meal.”

What KIND of serious problems can insulin resistance (Type 2 diabetes) cause? “stresses the pancreas (where insulin is made) damaging it. Diabetes is a major cause of blindness, kidney failure, heart attacks, stroke and lower limb amputation. Diabetes and kidney disease due to diabetes caused an estimated 2 million deaths.

And WHAT THE @#$&!* can I do about it? A healthy diet, regular physical activity, maintaining a normal body weight and avoiding tobacco use are ways to prevent or delay the onset of type 2 diabetes. How much am I SUPPOSED to weigh? (If you want to know about yourself, click here, supply the numbers and it will tell you! ( https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/323446#body-mass-index-bmi ) I weigh 255 pounds. I should be between 136-172 pounds. So…to be safe, I need to lose 150 pounds…

“Diabetes can be treated and its consequences avoided or delayed with diet, physical activity, medication and regular screening and treatment for complications.”

No other sentence I have ever typed sounded so incredibly SIMPLE and terrifyingly DIFFICULT...I have my work cut out for me and it’s (finally) time to get serious.

Sources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diabetes, https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/317484#non-insulin-treatment, https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/diabetes,
For MORE details: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_diabetes
Image: https://www.hcd.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/living-well-with-diabetes.jpg