Diabetes thread

[Surreptishus]

yes, pin prick and put a droplet of lood on a little gadget. A pee test s probably helpful too. but you might need to give it 30 days... "

[Kor Qel Droma]

Not to sound like hades, but the waiting isn't that bad. I had a four day weekend where I had to wait to find out if a tumor I had removed once was cancerous.

 

And it backwater, Canada, getting an appointment for medical treatment is going to take at least thirty days.

[Musopticon?]

And it backwater, Canada, getting an appointment for medical treatment is going to take at least thirty days.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Not to berate, but your medical care is kinda bad. At least it seems so.

[Deraldin]

Not to sound like hades, but the waiting isn't that bad.  I had a four day weekend where I had to wait to find out if a tumor I had removed once was cancerous.

 

And it backwater, Canada, getting an appointment for medical treatment is going to take at least thirty days.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Just pretend you have a kidney stone. That'll get you in quick. Worked for my dad... although he wasn't really pretending.

 

Mus: Berate away. We Canadians already know that it's bad.

[thepixiesrock]

You see, now I'm freaked out. I don't want to get diabetes, but Sur's comment in that other thread has had me scarred ever since I read it. Sur, you ruined my life. My old life was one of happiness and discovery. This new life you have forced upon me, is one of fear.

[astr0creep]

Hi!

 

First of all, screw you Feng!

 

Second, the Canadian medical care isn't that bad. You just have to plan 5-10 hours of waiting unless you have a real emergency. Once a patient is out the emergency room waiting area all is fine and our nurses and doctors are just as good as anywhere else. Plus, it's free(mostly)!

 

Ok, now for diabetes.

 

I was diagnosed in november 2005 and I was not too surprised, only to get it so young as I am 31. It is hereditary.

My first symptoms were, in order, periods of extreme sleepyness, muscle pains in the front of my upper legs, then I was peeing a lot, like every half hour except at night where it was every 2 hours and, finally, drastic weight loss due to the excessive peeing. I lost 40 pounds in 1 month!

Since I was in denial, I went to see a urologist to check if I had a urinary infection. He took one look at the pee cup and made an appointment for me with an endocrinologist, who then diagnosed me with type 2 diabetes.

For me it was determined by a simple blood test. A normal person has a bloodsugar level of 4-7. Mine was 25 and the doctor said I should've been dead or at least in a coma. But since I was up and about, feeling fine with just a slight headache, he prescribed me some pills and then I had a few appointments with dieticians, podiatrists, psychologists and nurses in the diabetics department of the hospital. I still get checked on a regular basis but all is good for now.

 

As some have said, diabetes is a disorder of the pancreas. Either it doesn't work at all, in which case one must take regular insulin injections, or it doesn't work properly, either too much or not enough. Medication, diets and sometimes insulin follows.

 

The job of the pancreas is to regulate the amount of glucose in the blood by secreting insulin which breaks down the extra glucose(found in carbohydrates, which includes sugar and starchy foods like bread, potatoes and rice) in the blood.

Being diabetic means that you must manually regulate your blood/glucose level with a specific diet and/or medication... for the rest of your life. Thats it.

 

Doesn't sound too bad? Hmm.

 

When glucose drops, you start feeling very anxious, like when your going to talk in front of a large crowd for the first time. In this case it is not an emotion however. There is a difference. Then, your hands start to shake and your entire body feels slightly numb then the sweat comes, without you feeling warm. Water poors out your pores like each of them was a small faucet. And, finally there is loss of conscienceness, coma and death. It is remedied by taking any form of sugar in the equivalent of three sugar packets. 1 coke can or one fruit box work great also(I recommend juice because sodapop is really bad for you).

 

When glucose is high(hasn't happen to me since I started the pills) there is a headache, excessive fatigue and weakness and, overall, it is pretty much the complete opposite of a glucose drop. Remedied by drinking water and resting/waiting. Any kind of food or even exercise will make your glucose rise.

 

 

So why are the feet affected by diabetes?

Actually what is affected are the capilaries which are the smallest sized veins of the body. A lot of those are found in the extremities like toes/feet, fingers/hands and in the eyes and kidneys.

What happens to sugar when left in a container for months? It hardens and becomes like a block.

In the case of diabetes, If the blood doesn't flow properly in the system, there will be deposits of sugar/glucose that will form and hardened. Since capilaries are much smaller they are more at risk of this happening.

 

Blocked capilaries = Great risk of amputation/loss of function.

 

So, it is very important to keep that blood flowing with less fatty and salty foods, lots of water and exercise.

You can live a very normal life as a diabetic by eating healthy, balanced meals and exercising regularly. As we should all be doing.

 

Thats pretty much all I can think of now. I will be happy to answer any questions.

Edited July 29, 2006 by astr0creep

[Kaftan Barlast]

 

Diabetes, ey? You think thats bad? All three of us got our bollocks blown of

by the brits in the boer war back in 1902, now all we do is knit and listen to

the radio all day!

[Blarghagh]

Ow, my stomach hurts from laughing now. Thanks Kaftan!

[Laozi]

You see, now I'm freaked out.  I don't want to get diabetes, but Sur's comment in that other thread has had me scarred ever since I read it.  Sur, you ruined my life.  My old life was one of happiness and discovery.  This new life you have forced upon me, is one of fear.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

 

 

Thats when you know you've reached adulthood.

[Bokishi]

One bennefit of Diabetes is that you'll never get drafted :D

[Daaave]

When glucose drops, you start feeling very anxious, like when your going to talk in front of a large crowd for the first time. In this case it is not an emotion however. There is a difference.Then, your hands start to shake and your entire body feels slightly numb then the sweat comes, without you feeling warm. Water poors out your pores like each of them was a small faucet. And, finally there is loss of conscienceness, coma and death. It is remedied by taking any form of sugar in the equivalent of three sugar packets. 1 coke can or one fruit box work great also(I recommend juice because sodapop is really bad for you).

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

So, should I be worried by the fact that this happens to me (apart from the death part, obviously) if I don't eat something every couple of hours?

 

I also drink have to drink about twice as much water/juice than my friends/family etc.

 

You people have got me paranoid now.

[Bokishi]

Having low blood sugar can also damage your brain, and make you lose something. I know of an artist who lost his artistic abilities thank to prolonged low glucose. The solution is to always carry a juice with you, everywhere when you go outside.

[Blank]

I was thinking, a good solution if you were ever in the wilderness and lost, is to get a few of your teeth taken out and replaced with packets of highly condensed sugar in a hard, tooth-like shell. And when you are having symptoms you just bite your tooth really hard and slurp the stuff.

 

That was also my solution to spys who are caught. You have the same idea, but replace the sugar with cyanide.

 

The problem is that you lose your teeth and you might accidently bite the cyanide tooth in a fight. So I ditched the idea that was to make me millions.

 

And here are some more "cyanide for spys" ideas that I brainstormed. You get your finger cut off and then you replace it with cyanide putty in the mold of a finger. It is not flexible, but in times of great distress, you bite off your finger and chew like mad. You are also not permitted to swim with this, as it can dissolve and an innocent little kid could get a mouthful of it while relieving himself in the shallow end.

 

Another one we made with mixed results was the cyanide headband. This was a great idea since it was very accessible yet discreet and didn't malfunction like the tooth. However, we realized it did malfunction: the test subject began to work out and the cyanide was absorbed into his pores, whence he was killed in a few minutes time.

 

For the sauve we created cyanide mouthspray. "Need a spray?" you slyly say. To the enemy it seems okay. Though, as you can guess, the deadly spray was mistaken for its non-harmful counterpart, and the test subject was gone in a few minutes.

 

Eventually we realized that we could get some paramedics and gear on standby for these freak accidents, but that was when the government found us... I mean, stopped funding us, and they arrested us... I mean, the project was arrested, that is, terminated.

 

I still look back at those days with warm feelings.

Edited July 29, 2006 by Blank

[Kor Qel Droma]

I think your blood sugar is a little low, Blank.

[Silvershadow]

My last dog had diabetes. She was diagnosed about 2 months after I got her (she was an old dog I adopted from the Humane Society).

 

I had to give her insulin shots every morning and test her urine twice a day with these little strips. In addition, anywhere I went with her for longer than a couple hours, I had to bring a little cooler with me with her insulin as well as corn syrup, on the off-shot that her blood sugar got too low (not to mention a bottle of water, as she always was very thirsty), and I always had to make sure she ate at the same time every day.

 

Toward the end, she had become completely blind due to this. Once she wandered under a desk and couldn't find her way out. It was kind of sad.

[astr0creep]

When glucose drops, you start feeling very anxious, like when your going to talk in front of a large crowd for the first time. In this case it is not an emotion however. There is a difference.Then, your hands start to shake and your entire body feels slightly numb then the sweat comes, without you feeling warm. Water poors out your pores like each of them was a small faucet. And, finally there is loss of conscienceness, coma and death. It is remedied by taking any form of sugar in the equivalent of three sugar packets. 1 coke can or one fruit box work great also(I recommend juice because sodapop is really bad for you).

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

So, should I be worried by the fact that this happens to me (apart from the death part, obviously) if I don't eat something every couple of hours?

 

I also drink have to drink about twice as much water/juice than my friends/family etc.

 

You people have got me paranoid now.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

 

What troubles me is that you also get very thirsty? This usually happens because you would pee a lot because a high glucose count and yet you get a low glucose reaction?

 

You could be hypoglycemic(sp?). Get yourself to a doctor in any case and have a blood test done.

[Fenghuang]

I'm thinking about my ongoing plot to stab alanschu with a knife.

[taks]

Genetics can play a big factor in whether a person develops it.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

not just a big part, it is inherited. type 1 has a gene that has been identified, and my son has it, though i'm not sure about type 2 other than it runs in families (mine included). even with the gene, my 3-year old child has less than a 5 percent chance of contracting the disease. he's in the DAISY study, for what it's worth. his mother is type 1.

 

taks

[astr0creep]

Genetics can play a big factor in whether a person develops it.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

not just a big part, it is inherited. type 1 has a gene that has been identified, and my son has it, though i'm not sure about type 2 other than it runs in families (mine included). even with the gene, my 3-year old child has less than a 5 percent chance of contracting the disease. he's in the DAISY study, for what it's worth. his mother is type 1.

 

taks

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

 

You don't really "contract" or "catch" diabetes as is it neither a bacteria or a virus. You develop it because of either genetics or prolonged bad nutrition. Most doctors will say it's a genetic predisposition for your pancreas to go bellyup. However I've studied it a lot and with all the sugar/carbs we as north americans ingest, it would not surprise me at all that for some people, one day their pancreas is simply too tired to continue regulating the glucose level.

[taks]

You don't really "contract" or "catch" diabetes as is it neither a bacteria or a virus.

uh, i never said you do. i said my son has the gene. not everyone that has the gene acquires diabetes. there is a trigger that causes your immune system to go haywire and attack your pancreas, i.e. diabetes is an auto-immune disorder. my son is in a study, DAISY, that is attempting to uncover what that trigger is. they think the trigger is diet (not sugar from what i've been told). i've also read that chicken pox is a trigger since many people that get diabetes show symptoms within 5 years of getting the pox.

 

You develop it because of either genetics or prolonged bad nutrition. Most doctors will say it's a genetic predisposition for your pancreas to go bellyup.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

this is why i said "it runs in families." my father and grandmother (his mom) both had type-2. i am "genetically predisposed" to get type-2.

 

taks

[astr0creep]

diabetes is an auto-immune disorder. 

taks

 

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

 

That is news to me.

[taks]

the pancreas is killed by your own immune system. this is why they cannot simply provide transplants, since the body's immune system will attack the new pancreas and the whole process will begin again, i.e. the transplant will be killed, too. actually, the whole pancreas is not destroyed, simply the cells that create insulin, called beta cells. of course, without these cells, it is all but useless anyway.

 

if you do a search on diabetes and "auto-immune" you'll find several hundred thousand links. here's one from the National Diabetes Information Clearinghouse.

 

it should be noted that type-1 and type-2 are VERY different. type-1 is auto-immune, and the pancreas (eventually) cannot produce insulin at all. type-2 is not auto-immune, and the pancreas usually still produces insulin, though the body sort of becomes immune to the insulin. at first, the pancreas just produces more insulin, though over time, it cannot keep up with the increased demand.

 

taks

[astr0creep]

the pancreas is killed by your own immune system.  this is why they cannot simply provide transplants, since the body's immune system will attack the new pancreas and the whole process will begin again, i.e. the transplant will be killed, too.  actually, the whole pancreas is not destroyed, simply the cells that create insulin, called beta cells.  of course, without these cells, it is all but useless anyway.

 

if you do a search on diabetes and "auto-immune" you'll find several hundred thousand links.  here's one from the National Diabetes Information Clearinghouse.

 

it should be noted that type-1 and type-2 are VERY different.  type-1 is auto-immune, and the pancreas (eventually) cannot produce insulin at all.  type-2 is not auto-immune, and the pancreas usually still produces insulin, though the body sort of becomes immune to the insulin.  at first, the pancreas just produces more insulin, though over time, it cannot keep up with the increased demand.

 

taks

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

I found the DAISY(now TEDDY) website and came to the same conclusions. I have Type 2 so perhaps that is why the doctors never mentionned the relation between the auto-immune system and the pancreas. Or is it relatively knew knowledge?

 

I find it all very interesting. It's like the cells of the immune system are too effective and the first insulin secretions began after the immune system was fully developped, therefore, not recognizing these "news" cells, the immune system destroys them.

 

Makes me want to become a researcher in that field.

[taks]

I found the DAISY(now TEDDY) website and came to the same conclusions. I have Type 2 so perhaps that is why the doctors never mentionned the relation between the auto-immune system and the pancreas. Or is it relatively knew knowledge?

they've known for some time... at least, more than a decade. my best man is also type-1 diabetic and he and i have discussed the subject numerous times over the last decade which we've known each other.

 

i would imagine you are correct in your assumptions about why you were never informed of the link to type-1. it is a different beast for sure. no need for a doctor to muddle the issue.

 

btw, my son is in 2 studies, but my wife dropped him from one because she doesn't want to get his blood drawn as often as they require (he has issues with it). at first, she thought 1 sample worked for both studies, but the recent request for another sample made her change her mind. i'm not 100% if DAISY/TEDDY is the study john is sticking with. i'll check tonight.

 

I find it all very interesting. It's like the cells of the immune system are too effective and the first insulin secretions began after the immune system was fully developped, therefore, not recognizing these "news" cells, the immune system destroys them.

maybe. the "trigger" theory holds that something tips off the immune system, something external such as a virus or something in the diet. my best man's daughter is also type-1, and she was diagnosed when she was very young (under 2 i think). however, she also had a very stressful (health) 6 months prior to the diagnosis, which may hold a few more clues.

 

Makes me want to become a researcher in that field. 

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

a noble goal, certainly worthy of as much attention as possible!

 

taks

[Walsingham]

I'm scared I might have diabetes. But beinga responsible adult I'm simply staying as far away from the doctor as I can.

 

I secretly cut out a lot of soft drinks, and tried to eat more healthily and get exercise.