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Beating diabetes: Some do, but are they cured?

msnbc.msn.com — Diabetics..who manage to turn things around, getting their blood sugar under control, either escaping the need for drugs or improving enough to quit taking them, are drawing keen interest from the medical community... "technically, you could call somebody cured," but that patient still needs to be followed closely.

Who dugg this? Made popular Apr 21, 2009

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  • ahawks, on 04/21/2009, -0/+17As per the norm, I have to request that posters specify Type 1 vs Type 2 diabetes. The article does specify this is Type 2.

    There is no cure for Type 1. There is no escaping it once you have it. Insulin is not a cure, it's life support. the 2 variants are extremely different in cause, symptom, and treatment.
  • Wilddigi, on 04/21/2009, -1/+17Diabetes is a big business. Lots of drug companies would be out of business if they had a cure.
  • inactive, on 04/20/2009, -4/+17Meanwhile, the medical community largely continues to ignore the unpatentable substances that can prevent sugar damage to the body's proteins.
  • xenopii, on 04/21/2009, -1/+10100% of digestible carbs are turned into glucose in the bloodstream. Protein has a 50-60% conversion rate. And dietary fat doesn't turn into glucose. There may not be a special diet for weight loss, but what you eat can play a huge role in controlling glucose levels.
  • jaymzdean, on 04/21/2009, -0/+8Yes, diabetes is a big business.
    So is grain.
    Grain is mostly starch and the starch industry lobbied long ago to have the starch stricken from the carbohydrate breakdown on the nutrition label. You'll see, even today, it's not listed, which is a shame for diabetics because STARCH IS SUGAR, and fast, very fast entering the bloodstream.
    Just as recently as 2006, the starch industry lobbied to have the fiber stricken from the label because so many people were using it to figure out "net carbs"...
    http://www.foodnavigator.com/Legislation/Starch-fi ...
    When the total carbohydrates are 30
    and 2 of those are fiber and zero of them are sugar...
    ...28 of them are sugar, in reality, because those purposefully undisclosed grams of starch are grams of sugar.
    For those who say, "but those are complex carbohydrates, and they break down slowly, go learn about the glycemic index.
    Diabetics can be seen gobbling down pinto beans, for instance, telling everyone they're high in protein. Go subtract the fiber from the total carb count and compare that number to the grams of protein there. You'll see they are primarily starch, ie...SUGAR.
    Why do I know this?
    Because it's my job. I recommend my clients consult frequently with their doctors, but too often, someone will be correcting their blood sugar through fuel-food governance, and their blood sugar will fall too low due to a medication that's been prescribed to lower the blood sugar. The doctors sometimes attempt to write another prescription, for a second medication to chase the first, then raising the blood sugar again. Ludicrous.
    Doctors treating diabetics who recommend whole grain are harming their patients.
    That starch that's not listed is there, folks, and it's sugar.

  • PsychoPNut, on 04/21/2009, -0/+7lets hope they all go under
  • DrunkinParis, on 04/21/2009, -1/+7people that are overweight are able to overcome diabetes due to losing weight. the reason they start to develop it, or are diagnosed with it is due to their weight putting stress on the body. overweight people usually get type 2, there will never be a "cured" person that has type 1 even if they lose tons of weight. i have type 1, and i have heard stories of people that were over weight and know some people that were diagnosed with type 2 due to their weight. once their weight was under control, they didn't have to worry about type 2 diabetes anymore.
  • gaoshan, on 04/21/2009, -0/+6Which substances are these?
  • michaelrsa, on 04/21/2009, -1/+7I'm sure Wilford Brimley will figure something out, he won't rest until he wipes out the 'betis once and for all.
  • christoast, on 04/21/2009, -0/+6I spread peanut butter on a nestle chocolate bar and put it on a cake.
  • DirtPile, on 04/21/2009, -0/+6You are correct, sir.
  • inactive, on 04/21/2009, -3/+8Diabeetus
  • gbudavid, on 04/20/2009, -0/+5I am fixin' to find out

  • bassophonic, on 04/21/2009, -1/+6thats like saying a person with severe depression should just cheer up. there are no easy answers to addiction. theres a neurological component to food addiction too. do some reading you angry jock.

    a carefully monitored exercise program, dieting, AND medication are all necessary components in beating diabetes. if you are fortunate enough to get your insulin production back under control, then you can back off on the meds.
  • adml_shake, on 04/21/2009, -0/+5Cure? I'm a type 1 and have been for about 20 years. And I have serious doubts about their being one while it's such a HUGE money making machine for companies like Eli Lilly.
  • anxdiety, on 04/21/2009, -1/+6The largest problem I have regarding diabetes is the fact that they can hand needles out to heroine and drug addicts yet someone, like myself, that has Type 1 has to pay for them.
  • waynechng, on 04/21/2009, -0/+5I'm gonna go out on a limb and say that the medical community really doesn't know ***** about the diabetes and blood sugar level problems. If you can't figure out why it happens, can you really say that you're an expert on it?

    I was diagnosed as Type II diabetic 8 years ago. That's 10 years after I kept going to see doctors to find out why lethargic all the time. 10 years of "oh your triglyciride level is slightly high, but you're ok". Since being diagnosed, I've dropped about 50 pounds and am lighter and fitter than when I was in high school by eating right and keeping active, without medication like Glucophage.

    My question is this, if obesity can cause diabetes, but diabetes can cause someone to gain weight from all the excess sugar, which came first?
  • rwac, on 04/21/2009, -1/+6Benfotiamine (a form of B1), Pyridoxamine, P5P (forms of B6) and Taurine are known to have anti-glycation effects.

    All of these are pretty safe too.
  • mrremy, on 04/21/2009, -0/+5"It takes an incredible ammount of money to get a drug to market."

    Kind of off topic, but is that what justifies the huge drug costs? I pay 31 dollars/month for a generic psycho stimulant (generic adderall IR) dosage monthly. The majority of pharmacies i went to for pricing drugs were on a consistency with that.

    WITHOUT insurance, I recieved no price UNDER $525.00 from ANY pharmacy.

    Alas I digress, but still don't think $525.00 is reasonable in a company making amphetamine, jesus freaking christ the copyright was granted for this in the 1920s or 30s! sold by the bottle, even as a supplement! Pharmaceuticals have now become daytime robbery fans.
  • Kellster, on 04/21/2009, -1/+6As a "cured" type 2 diabetic, I can tell you that the meds people take to control type 2 diabetes are a PART of the problem. Taking Glipizide (and to a lesser degree Glucophage/Metformin) limits your ability to lose weight, and in several documented cases, may cause you to become dependent on them to survive. There are more than a few cases of people taking Glipizide for multiple years, and after losing weight and modifying their diet, actually becoming incapable of generating enough insulin without it - effectively type 1.

    Exercise. Eat right. That's all you have to do. I swear.
  • ahawks, on 04/21/2009, -0/+4Type 1 or type 2?
  • purplesun2, on 04/21/2009, -0/+4A friend of mine was diagnosed with Type 2 in her early 20s. Through diet, exercise, and seemingly sheer force of will, she got herself off insulin and developed a sort of mental ledger wherein she always managed to keep her blood sugars right where they should be at all times.

    Then, she fell down a flight of stairs and broke her leg severely.

    Since then, she's struggled with her diabetes, as she can't exercise as much and spending long lengths of time grocery shopping for the good food she needs causes her leg to spasm.

    So, it seems, at least in her case, it can be controlled - but it takes a lot of work, self-discipline, and, to some extent, luck.
  • inactive, on 04/21/2009, -0/+4They just want to drug you so they can drug you more later.

    I put it this way, Any thing your force, something will have to break some time. Drugs force your body, that is why there are side effects. Nutrition allows your body to do something, that is why it is natural.

    The sugar came first. It used up all of the vitamins and minerals in the digestion and invited in the fungus which stripped you of other essential minerals. Which opened you up for more problems. One small part of your body gets out of balance and invites all of the other bad guys
  • werries, on 04/21/2009, -0/+4As in, debilitating and really, really hard and emotional to get out of?
  • nullcodes, on 04/21/2009, -0/+3Although there is no CURRENTLY no cure for type 1 diabetes (actually a few cases have possibly been cured), it's not accurate to say there is no hope of cure. There will be a cure .. once both of two steps are perfected (one alone is insufficient).

    1. A method to tolerize the immune system so that it won't target the pancreatic cells (a few companies are working on promising approaches for this .. one approach of many is a special type of vaccine that ensures immune cells taht target insulin producing cells are eliminated)

    2. Utilize adult stem cells to regrow the person's own pancreatic cells and transplant them back into the diabetic person.

  • da233, on 04/21/2009, -3/+6Diabetes is going to be a thing of the past within 15 years due to stem cell research.
  • DirtPile, on 04/21/2009, -3/+6Learn your biology.
  • anxdiety, on 04/21/2009, -1/+4I agree and dugg you back up. I'm a type 1 diabetic as well. When I was first diagnosed they said I was type 2. A year later after losing 40lbs (down to 135 at 6'1") and avoiding all forms of both carbs and sugars I ended up hospitalized. Now things are a lot more under control since taking insulin.
  • chillymanilli, on 04/21/2009, -0/+3I guess you must be in the US as if you were in the UK you would be able to get an exemption from prescription charges
  • DrewG7, on 04/21/2009, -1/+4Diabetic since 1/15/05...I want this cure dammit, I need that bowl of Penne alla Vodka, NOW.
  • Kellster, on 04/21/2009, -0/+3How does that work, exactly? I had the exact opposite result. Once I stopped taking the Metformin, I lost weight MUCH more easily. And just to be clear - I wasn't massively obese. I was 255 (at 6'2") at my peak, with totally uncontrolled type 2. I lost roughly 50 pounds of fat, and am clear of any diabetic symptoms.
  • Kellster, on 04/21/2009, -0/+3Sounds JUST like my situation (posted above) - and I agree completely. It was even worse for me. The first doctor I had gave me NO sense of the urgency at all - just kept upping my dosages, until it was totally out of control.
  • fapfaptrain, on 04/21/2009, -0/+3Both.
  • anxdiety, on 04/21/2009, -0/+2Canada actually.
  • priegog, on 04/22/2009, -0/+2@buckrogers1965:
    Wow, for your own good I hope you never any chronic diseases, and instead die a quick death. Otherwise having that mentallity will cause you much suffering. Or else that you decide to rethink.
    So I'll answer you in order of the idiocies you said:
    Knee surgery: that study was only talking about articular debridement to try and alleviate osteoarthritis, which was a heatedly debated topic even before this study. And a lot of doctors didn't recommend that surgery in the first place.
    antidepressants: that study only showed that they didn't work for things that weren't originally the intended applications; ie: major depression (also called endogenous or biochemical depression). This problem arose when many phsyquatrists got convinced by big pharma to give antidepressants to people who didn't need it.
    Cancer: give me a ***** brake... for your sake I hope you neveer get one, cause if you do you'll be dead in weeks instead of a) getting cured or b) living many years (dependings on a lot of things, of course).
    It really frightens me that people who think like you exist in the XXI century still. People bash religion like it's the plague, but this kind of superstitious thinking is what REALLY sets back society.
    I take it you've never met ANYONE with psoriasis (or any other autoinmune for that matter), acid reflux, cancer, diabetes, obesity, various bone diseases, and an immense list of etceteras; who are under treatment and lead a normal life because of it... So I gotta wonder what your social life is like.
    As a plus I strongly recommend you read up a little on evidence-based medicine and maybe a book or 2 on physiopathology.
    But then again thinking the way you do I don't know if it'll do you any good anyways.
  • priegog, on 04/23/2009, -0/+2@xkvtor:
    No, you won't get away with a stupid, pointless, erroneous, and otherwise ad-hominem comment.
    Please answer ALL that I've posted (including my replies to your posts which you just ignored without any explanation whatsoever. And to lead by example I will answer both this and your other idiotic comment in the above thread.

    1) please provide a list on the types of cancer and the stages in which "watchful waiting" is the correct approach. Because I'll tell you right now, I can count them with the fingers of one hand. Whereas there are hundreds of different types of cancer, not to count their different stages, all of which require different treatments, and most of whom are backed up by 1A-level evidende (do you even know what that means?).
    And 2), about your comment from the other thread, which also gave exactly zero answers to the points I made, dude, do you even know how the FDA and medicines work? The FDA doesn't grant any patents (that's my best guess as to what you meant by "monopoly"), and it isn't restricted in any way, so your doctor is absolutely free to prescribe it to you (and you tu buy it) for whatever ailments you might think it'll cure. So, why oh why don't people use it to cure their diabeetus (aside from the fact, of course, that scientifically it doesn't make sense)?
    Well because it's yet another snake oil proposed by people with unclear (to me) motives to get suckers like you to believe that based on (I'm just guessing here) a miraculous healing of some dude who, of course, also has a great story to tell about how he was researching it, but big bag pharma found out, and tried to kill him to protect their bussiness model...
    Are you starting to get where I'm going with this? I suspect not, since you didn't back out when confronted with evidence, which is always a sign of some sort of fanatism. I'd also like to know what you field of work is. As for me, I'm a 5th year med student, but to you that must mean I'm part of the conspiracy, and that's why I'm trying to fool you...
    But honestly now, don't bother to reply if you're not going to DIRECTLY address any of the points I made. Life's to short to correct people impervious to reasoning.
  • Niocan, on 04/22/2009, -0/+2*ahem*
    It does. Why? Because Cannabis is a homeostatic enhancer. Get high, eat right, and you'll be free from diabetes in about a month :)

    http://www.scientificfactsofpot.com/studies.htm#Di ...
  • inactive, on 04/21/2009, -0/+2Hmm, you think only the "medical community" can save your health? Interesting viewpoint. No.
  • anxdiety, on 04/21/2009, -1/+3and sadly the stem cell treatments that work for Type 1 are considered illegal as of yet.
  • DrunkinParis, on 04/21/2009, -0/+2my grandmother had type 2, and with diet her blood sugar was controlled. not to say that all people with type 2 can be cured with weight loss, not everyone with type 2 has weight issues. saying they are "cured" is a bit of a stretch though. its more "body stress reduction" losing weight reduces stress which creates problems for a person's body with insulin production and absorption. if they want to say someone is cured let the have type 1 and eat 15 candy bars and then an hour later have a blood sugar reading of 120. to me, that's cured.
  • inactive, on 04/21/2009, -0/+2Seems like you are the one with some learning to do.
  • kerbe6, on 04/21/2009, -0/+2Dugg because someone needs to notice that you are repeatedly spamming Digg and ban you.
  • fapfaptrain, on 04/21/2009, -0/+2I switched to Novorapid when I went on the pump, and it makes me feel good I'm not supporting Lilly.
  • flashback87, on 04/21/2009, -1/+3as wicked as drug companies are.... they get a lot more ***** than they deserve. Go look at any final release article on a drug and count the number of MDs and PhDs listed on it.... it can easily be 100+, what do you think it costs to employee 100+ doctors for several years?

    It takes an incredible ammount of money to get a drug to market.
  • keifa, on 04/21/2009, -0/+2It's not nice to beat diabetics. They have feelings too.

    But seriously - so many diabetics - so much High Fructose Corn Syrup, which is also probably genetically modified.

    Everything has it. Part of it is that we now accept food-like substances as food. Look at the ingredients in any given bread for example. There are a ton of ingredients including HFCS, oils (usually hydrogenated) and other stuff that is supposedly "safe". I try to stick to items with the fewest ingredients possible.
  • s0nicfreak, on 04/21/2009, -0/+2"spending long lengths of time grocery shopping for the good food she needs causes her leg to spasm."
    That's just a ***** excuse.
  • nepidae, on 04/21/2009, -1/+3No, I was talking about alcoholism and being fat, not marriage.
  • Thuktun, on 04/21/2009, -0/+2The issue here is type II, which is insulin resistance. It's been linked to being overweight in certain areas of the body and losing that weight can cause that resistance to fade and glucose levels to become more normal.
  • inactive, on 04/21/2009, -0/+2There is also carnosine.
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