OT: Diabetes forum

[bigdave36]

We recently found my wife had type 2 diabetes. Does anyone have a forum they like on this topic. One similar in feel to this forum would be great.
Thanks

[Uff Da]

I've been diabetic almost seven years and have participated on about half a dozen different diabetes forums over that time. I one I like best and currently use the most is

https://www.diabetesdaily.com/forum/

[Janknitz]

On Facebook I recommend https://www.facebook.com/groups/reversingdiabetes/ They don't get everything right (I complained a while ago when a moderator decreed that weight loss was an absolute cure for OSA). But they have the right approach to diabetes. The group has a "toolbox" which is where you should start.

Their group is based on the work of Dr. Richard K. Bernstein who wrote the book "The Diabetes Solution" You and your wife should definitely read that book--you can start out with free chapters here: http://www.diabetes-book.com/read-onlin ... -solution/ Diabetes is NOT a progressive disease, it CAN be reversed through diet. That doesn't mean cured, and other than his book, Bernstein isn't selling anything. He's saving lives. He also has a series of videos on YouTube under the heading "Diabetes University".

Another great resource is http://www.phlaunt.com/diabetes/index.php She follows Bernstein's principles but summarizes it in a clear and easily understood way.

Watch out because some of the forums are run by diabetes Nazis--their way or the highway.

There's a steep learning curve here. Bernstein's advice is counter to conventional wisdom and your wife will be told that she should eat a minimum of 6 servings of 45 g of carbs a day and avoid fat, especially saturated fat. She'll be told Bernstein's approach is dangerous and a heart attack waiting to happen (it's not). It's hard to know who to believe. But she should listen to her meter. Have her watch what happens to her blood sugars when she follows the conventional advice and when she follows a low carb approach. It should be obvious that a diabetic is a carbohydrate intolerant person, and when you feed a carbohydrate intolerant person a lot of carbs their body is going haywire. Studies demonstrate that controlling blood sugar through medication alone does not prevent the diabetes complications. It's out of control blood sugars that cause diabetics to lose limbs, lose eyesight, have heart attacks and strokes. She can learn to use diet to keep her blood sugars (and insulin levels) in normal ranges and live a healthy life.

[Okie bipap]

My wife was diagnosed with type 2 several years ago. She decided to take an active approach to managing it. She watched her blood sugar levels closely and noted what foods caused it to spike. We went on the South Beach Diet which is a modified Mediteranean type diet. Last year, our doctor told her she was no longer diabetic since her blood sugar and AIC had been in the normal range for over three years. We still don't eat a lot of carbs, fried foods, oriental foods (these caused her blood sugar to really spike). We mostly eat fish, chicken, and a little beef once every two weeks or so, lots of vegetables and green salads with vinegarette style dressings.

[old dude]

If you will simply buy the latest edition of the Bernstein book mentioned by Janknitz and follow it's protocol 100% religiously you will have done all that is possible to do in mitigating this insidious disease. Do not cheat but eat *exactly* as called for, including the fat. Be prepared to look your doctor right in the eye and tell him that both what he and the ADA teach is wrong.

Then after 60-90 days have him check your A1c and lipid profile and enjoy watching him mumble and shake his head.

Caution: don't even bother doing it halfway.

[Slartybartfast]

There's a real need for proper education of folks on diabetes. We've been lied to for many years by the ADA, AHA, AMA, ADD, DEA, and the FBI.

Example: My 88 year old Mom had a silent heart attack last Winter. Her first and only one. She had angioplasty and a stent placed. While she was hospitalized, she was placed on the ADA hospital diet. She's a Type 1 diabetic, and has kept it under control. But while she was in the hospital, eating the prescribed ADA diet, her blood glucose level was in the 300s.

"Oh, that's no problem, we'll just give you more insulin," they told her. That's the problem. Their belief is you can eat pretty much what you want (within reason), and you can keep blood sugar within the desired limit by increasing your dose of insulin.

Mom knew better how to manage her diabetes than the people in the hospital did. When she came home, she went back on her usual diet and her numbers returned to their former near-normal levels.

If you want to get a jump on learning what diabetes is all about, and what works, and what doesn't, Dr. Jason Fung, a nephrologist from Canada, has a series of videos on YouTube which explain, pretty convincingly, why the ADA approach is flat wrong.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dimP7IdM2Og

[chunkyfrog]

When I was in the hospital, I was given OUTRAGEOUS amounts of carbs.
I gave most of the carbs to family members, who brought fresh, DECENT food from our garden.
My every carbohydrate needs to be balanced with either in$ulin or activity.
My joints are old, my budget is tight--limiting carbs is easier than dealing with the consequences.
My eye doctor said that I have no diabetes related eye damage. Going with that . . .

[halokittie]

TuDiabetes Forum is a great place for T1 & T2s. Very knowledgeable people, active forum, lots of help.

https://forum.tudiabetes.org

[SewTired]

I agree with everything that JanKnitz said except her statement "Diabetes is NOT a progressive disease, it CAN be reversed through diet." This is NOT TRUE. You can delay progression, but you can also do everything right, consuming virtually no carbs and it will progress. You may delay the rate of progression.

I should add that I have issues with the term 'reversed' as it implies that damage will get better.

By the time you are diagnosed with type 2, you already have significant damage. You can't fix what is broken already and your body has to step up using what is left. You CAN take the pressure off those damaged parts by controlling with diet and meds. My Dad stopped progression of his Diabetes 2 for 20 years after diagnosis. So, yeah, diet and weight loss can work well. My late uncle did all the same things, eating fewer than 20 carbs a day, and his diabetes continued to progress, although probably at a slower rate than if he had continued the 45 g/carbs per meal. On the hand, neither of them developed problems with their eyes, which was a huge plus.

[SewTired]

Example: My 88 year old Mom had a silent heart attack last Winter. Her first and only one. She had angioplasty and a stent placed. While she was hospitalized, she was placed on the ADA hospital diet. She's a Type 1 diabetic, and has kept it under control. But while she was in the hospital, eating the prescribed ADA diet, her blood glucose level was in the 300s.

"Oh, that's no problem, we'll just give you more insulin," they told her. That's the problem. Their belief is you can eat pretty much what you want (within reason), and you can keep blood sugar within the desired limit by increasing your dose of insulin.

In only a small defense, at the hospital, they have different goals. They deliberately want your blood sugar higher at the hospital to prevent lows, but 300 is way too high for me. I get all sorts of blurry vision going on possibly due to the retina damage I already have (not diabetes related). Anyway, the doc told me that any time I go into the hospital to ask the admitting doctor to NOT put me on a diabetic diet and then just choose what I want. FWIW, my bro had lows in the hospital and the floor nurses don't know how to treat these events - they use the beverages on the floor, but they are all low carb (No real juice). Scary. I have since added 2 cans of Dole 100% Pineapple Orange Juice (26 g carb/can) to his hospital bag just-in-case.