Big changes in the life of Nikolai

[Nikolai]

Mine is genetical. It's diabetes mellitus MODY 3. So neither type 1 nor type 2. I have a gene coding for it. If you have the gene, you get the disease within 30 years old. I got it at 14. Two of my 3 siblings have it. My mum and both her siblings have it. Her father and his father had it. Before that, we don't know. They say it's 50% chance of getting the gene inherited. For us it's 75 and 100% for the last two generations...

[OneFootInTheGrave]

Exactly - if you have some subtypes, etc... you are stuck with it, if your body is "programmed" to have insulin resistance, but "good" lifestyle can help manage it easier, except that it is hard, if it you are not used to it, like most of us.

[-Jrabbit]

Isnt it true that the medical establishment has significantly lowered the chemical levels for a diagnosis of diabetes?

Not to trivialize a tragic disease, but I wonder if there isn't an element of pharma companies creating demand for their meds involved in the "explosion" of diabetes cases...

[N35t0r]

Most of the explosion of diabetes cases is Type 2 diabetes, brought on by the increasing obesity and sedentarism levels worldwide.

[onodera]

Good job, Nikolai!

[Dinner]

I hear fonio (a type of grain from west Africa) is very low in sugar and has properties which help diabetics. Supposedly, it can be made into pastas and breads allowing diabetic people to eat those foods and yet still keep their blood sugar levels down. It's all the rage right now at natural food stores.

[Nikolai]

Isnt it true that the medical establishment has significantly lowered the chemical levels for a diagnosis of diabetes?

Not to trivialize a tragic disease, but I wonder if there isn't an element of pharma companies creating demand for their meds involved in the "explosion" of diabetes cases...

Doubtful. Never heard of anything of the sorts. Myself, I get extremely high blood sugar if I forget my meds. Same with all I know with diabetes.

[Nikolai]

Good job, Nikolai!

Thanks!

[pchang]

Ca 1.78.

Try limiting carbohydrate consumption to 200g per day. If there is less fuel for your body to convert to sugar, there will be less need for insulin. In addition, walking fast for 20 min. (enough to get your heart rate a bit elevated) after eating will cause your long muscles to take up excess sugar in your bloodstream from what you have digested (which results in less need for insulin).

[DaShi]

Doubtful. Never heard of anything of the sorts. Myself, I get extremely high blood sugar if I forget my meds. Same with all I know with diabetes.

On demand sugar rush!

[Sava]

(I just read the OP and nothing else, so if it turns out you died or something, this may seem like an inappropriate response )

BUT ANYWAYS

Nikolai

[Nikolai]

Try limiting carbohydrate consumption to 200g per day. If there is less fuel for your body to convert to sugar, there will be less need for insulin. In addition, walking fast for 20 min. (enough to get your heart rate a bit elevated) after eating will cause your long muscles to take up excess sugar in your bloodstream from what you have digested (which results in less need for insulin).

Thanks for the tips. I try to take some walks each day, not always successful, but it's better than nothing.

(I just read the OP and nothing else, so if it turns out you died or something, this may seem like an inappropriate response )

BUT ANYWAYS

Nikolai

Read on, that was one year ago.

[Dr Strangelove]

My life might be in for a change for the good.

I've got new meds for my diabetes, which helps my weight.

I have severe insulin resistance, which means my body rejects much of the insulin I take. Soon two weeks ago, I was admitted into the hospital to see what we could do with it. I used ca 300 IE of insulin each day, which is an enormous amount! Especially considering insulin is a growth hormone...

So I got set on a radical solution: I was taken off my insulin all together. Last 1.5 week, I've had three new meds to take or my diabetes.

One pill which makes my body produce more insulin than normal (my body produces too litte and I have resistance as I mentioned), one pill that makes my body remove more sugar into my urin than normal (which means I need to pee more often and drink more, but it makes my blood sugar much better!) and a syringe that makes me less hungry and that lowers my insulin need.

This means that in ca 1.5 weeks I've lost ca 6 kg! (google tells me that equals a little more than 13 pounds)

A new, more fit Nikolai might be emerging.

So one pill is in the same class as glyburide, one pill is something like Invokana, and the shot is Byetta or something like it. Nice, but for me to prescribe a regimen like that it would take hours on the phone arguing with an insurance company. The Invokana and Byetta would require what's called "prior authorization". I'd have to prove to an insurance company that alternative therapy won't work. The people I'd have to talk to initially would be untrained call center workers following a pre-established script. First I'd have to slog through a maze of digital operators. Odds are I'd wind up talking to a person who would inform me that the department I reached doesn't handle that item or that specific plan so I'd be re-routed through another maze of digital operators. Reaching the call center minion would generally take a half hour to an hour. The call center person would likely inform me that he's not authorized to make a decision and then would fax some forms for me to fill out. After filling them out, if criteria aren't met the request is rejected, so an appeal must be filed. With the appeal I'd finally get to talk to a professional, usually someone who couldn't hack a real practice who now serves the company. All told this process can take weeks and waste hours. Needless to say I avoid it where possible.

[Nikolai]

Insurance? Try going to your doctor. Don't you have that system in the US? For me, insurance is for travel and things I own. Not for medical stuff.

[OneFootInTheGrave]

??? Doc is in the US >>> insurance hell, and I believe he prescribes (or avoids due to the mentioned hazards ) meds to his patients.