Every day, it seems, there's another gloomy news story saying that "diabetics" are more apt to acquire other medical problems, or drugs that help other people don't help "diabetics," or foods that are OK for other people to eat aren't OK for "diabetics."
Lately, for example, we've been told that peo...
Diabetes and Heart Disease: Do Certain Genes Increase Risk of Heart Disease?
1/29/09 4:17pm
Advice for diabetic people differs dramatically depending on whether it is type 1 or 2. This is confusing to diabetics and even more confusing to others. Let's make a new name for the less common type 1. Let's call it beta cell allergy or something else with no hint of diabetes in in at all, although for several transition years, we might well parenthetically note the older name for it. For example, Fred has beta cell allergy, (formerly called type 1 diabetes).
1/29/09 7:21pm
Interesting idea. The problem is that the two diseases overlap somewhat. For example, some type 2s have beta cell antibodies, and some type 1s have insulin resistance.
And much of the advice is the same for both types: count carbs, eat healthy foods, and exercise
In both cases, high BGs cause complications.
The big difference is that most type 2s need to lose weight and most type 1s don't. And type 1s have more difficulty with yo-yoing BG levels even when they're very careful with insulin doses and carb counting. There's no "buffer" of endogenous insulin production.
And a type 2 could take a few days "off" and only suffer the consequences of very high BG levels. A type 1 might end up in a coma.
However, type 2s are often at higher risk of cardiovascular disease, and they often suffer from prejudice of uninformed people who think "they brought it on themselves."
So yes, both types have unique problems. But I think the basics are the same: high BG levels that will harm you if you ignore them.
1/30/09 10:45am
Nitpicker picks a good nit. As a Type I diabetic, I am constantly obliged to make the I/II distinction to friends, relatives, fellow employees, and others. It is invariably depressing to me to recount the whole story, and the average victim promptly forgets it anyway while possibly recalling me for having a pedantic streak. With a different name, they'd remember, and this would never happen. Also, I do not like the "Type I" label. It's dehumanizing. "Juvenile diabetic" is preferable, but too wordy. Let us hope that it all becomes a moot point anyway when this disease is cured, though after 24 years of promises, it is a little hard to get enthused about the latest "breakthrough." They fade away as quickly as a blog entry.
2/16/09 9:08am
The "diabetic side" of my family all die of cardiovascular disease, but often at an advanced age. I accept I am not likely to emulate this but I'm going to try damn hard to keep the gene expression under control.
One has to wonder why if Joslin are aware of the connection between control and early deaths they are so concerned both on their website and face to face to recommend dangerous levels of carb intake, which guarantee poor control and the ensuing early demise.
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Gretchen,
Thank you for this article! I am often told that since I'm a type 2 I'm doomed to complications & medical disasters. I personally feel keeping my A1c to non diabetic levels ( last one was 5.1) will prevent all of them.
Thanks for the moral support!
Hugs,
Gracie