Check THIS out... from our Health News forum:

http://www.reuters.com/article/healt...ame=healthNews
Makes one wonder about the ACCORD failures for the
aggressive group doesn't it?

Perhaps it won't be long that other benefits to the weight
gain may be found for type II's? One has to wonder!

Hi Mrs. D.

I find the whole weight issue completely baffling. I became diabetic (type 2), because I was morbidly obese. Didn't know I was. I was in the hospital with pneumonia and they took a blood test. They came to me and said 'did you know you are diabetic, your sugar is 365??"

I said "who's diabetic"??? I had no symptoms, wasn't thirsty, etc.

They put me on diabeta, glyburide, (but I never stopped eating, and topped out at over 300 lbs at one point. I was really on a self destructive course.

Only when I went to Cornell, saw a nutritionist, and followed that program, did I begin to lose weight (no easy feat at my age, believe me). It was like I had NO metabolism.

When I stopped the oral meds, and began the Lantus, well I began walking, and doing a lot more to control my health. Only then, did the readings significantly get lower. I remember once asking the doctor "is it true that diabetic meds make you gain weight?" and she said (quite uncomfortably), "well, yeah, because it's stored in the fat cells".

I then said "then how on earth can you expect overweight diabetic people to LOSE WEIGHT when the meds CONTRIBUTE TO WEIGHT GAIN??"

She just looked at me and said 'yeah, I know, it's a struggle".

See, nobody had the wisdom to tell me (when I was first diagnosed), that "Melody, these oral pills might contribute to your gaining weight, or to your not being able to lose weight". No one said one word.

I went on about my life thinking that if I took my meds, my sugar would be just fine. Didn't happen. I even went to a doctor about 15 years ago when my sugar was 265. She put me on glucophage. It didn't do a thing. Now I wasn't eating ice cream sundaes or anything like that but I was eating sandwiches, and chips, and drinking lots of diet soda with nutrasweet. That much I remember.

Would you like to know what that doctor told me when I went there for my monthly diabetic check-up?? She said "I don't know, maybe in your case, your sugar is SUPPOSED TO BE 265, maybe this is NORMAL FOR YOU!!!!"

Now being a lay person, not knowledgeable in ANY THING MEDICAL, why on earth would I question this?? I didn't.

Only when my NEXT primary care physician told me "you really should get off all this oral crap and go on Lantus". That's when two days later I joined the Accord program. I was put in the conservative group (in the diabetic study part of it). That was the turning point for me. Started walking, started eating WHAT I WAS SUPPOSED TO EAT!!! It came off slowly but it came off. And it's continuing to come off. That's the better way I believe because it stabilizes. I don't gain weight, and lose weight, etc. etc.

I look perfectly fine, and I feel perfectly fine so in my case, it's a good thing that I lost the weight. I can't imagine any doctor thinking it's okay for anybody to weigh what I weighed.

I think the weight gain (for the type 1's), well they might mean, if the person weighs 120, then that person might be better to weight 135 or so.

The type 1's that I know are all skinny as beanpole and eat like horses.

The guy down the block from me is Type 1, takes 5 shots a day, never checks his sugar, tells me "I know my body", I like to eat my pastries", (he lives for italian pastries). He's about 5 feet 10 and weighs at the most 145.

He has had several operations for diabetic retinopathy, works full time and LOVES TO EAT. But he's skinny as a beanpole.j

In Type 1, it's a whole other story with the weight thing. This guy couldnt gain a pound if his life depended on it. I know him for 7 years now. Speak to him all the time. He still won't test himself. I don't say anything, I just listen with fascination thinking "this guy can eat cannolis, italian pastries loaded with cream and sugar, and this guy is skinny as a beanpole".

And I have to watch every morsel that goes in my mouth.

It's all about metabolism, no????

P.S. His daughter weighs about 300 lbs. Go figure.

Thanks Mrsd, very interesting artcle.

And Mel I always learn something from your posts.

Walking, I used to love to walk on a track.

I really do need to try to exercise somehow but i have a disc issue in my neck that if I walk or bike the compression send me into a flare.

I do ok on the stationary bikes and elliptical stuff but dot have one at home and I am not good about going to the gym.

Also what is lantus? Right now I am on metformin for the insulsin resistance. I'll go google it too.

Lantus is a basal insulin. I hope I spelled it right.

It's different from the humalog, and novalog that the type ones take before each meal, (when they have to measure their carb intake and then they have to figure out how much insulin to take.

Lantus is a once a day, (either in the morning, or at night before you retire) I take it in the morning. It's major goal is to prevent spikes of your sugar going up, during the daytime.

That's how it was explained to me.

It comes in regular little vials, or it comes in a pen (the latest one is called the Star Pen, I believe), my friend just started on that one.

I get my supply from the Accord program at Cornell.

Been on it a bit over 3 years I believe. The metformin KILLED my stomach. I never got out of the bathroom, and it did nothing for my sugar readings.

The Lantus is the one thing that made a major difference in my diabetes. That, and giving up all the white stuff, going on Methyl B-12, going for walks, etc. etc. lol

It's a partnership. The meds, and the behavior. That's how I look at it.

The meds work, if you behave yourself when you eat. lol

I'm down to 22 of the Lantus. I used to be on 46. They lower it every few months according to my A1c.

There used to be a newer type of inhaled insulin but they've taken that off the market. Not because it didn't work, I just don't think they got the sales they thought they would get.

If I had gone on Lantus when it first came out, well I think I should have listened to my doctor. But all I heard was needles and insulin and my brain shouted NO.

So now my brain says YES....every morning.

take care,

Melody

Our medical community does not attend to this.

Some basic facts...
1) by the time you start to have higher sugars in the diabetic range for Type II... you have 1/2 or less of your pancreas left.
So it makes sense to use insulin sooner rather than later.
Many of the oral meds...the sulfonylureas like Glyburide cause
insulin resistance to get worse.

2) There are two factors to diabetes and insulin resistance
a) how much insulin your pancreas can make
b) how the insulin works at the cell membrane locations in your tissues. It is this SECOND fact, that doctors ignore.
When they give you oral meds, it lowers your blood sugar temporarily but it does NOT help insulin work at the tissue level. So the sugar floats around and is captured by fat cells instead, and you end up hungry again, and fatter.

Give too much of the wrong insulin you get fatter too!

You'd think with all the money floating around and all the people getting type II now, there would be some improvement in the way diabetes is treated? NOPE...even the ACCORD program shows that. The answers remain elusive.

You can search PubMed and find papers on HEALTHY fat people. I've read them. Genetically if a person is destined to be bigger (and I am not saying grossly obese)... but just bigger, they will be healthier at that weight.
Each person has a set point genetically for this. So if you stress someone into being thinner than their body WANTS, they will get sick. Too Big and they will also get sick.

When the researchers find the trigger for fat cells to increase in size and get priority of the all the sugar in the blood, we will find a cure for obesity etc. It is just not so simple.

So, Mel...you have done wonders so far. But look at how much work that was?
For you ...it is working. But it is not so easy for others.

Too bad it took me too long. Far too long!!!I had to be in my 50's to learn what I've learned.

I think they should outlaw all the fast food retaurants. No, I take that back. Want to know why?

When I was 18 years old and newly employed, I remember the BIGGEST THING ABOUT NEW YORK CITY, was Health Food Restaurants. Every few blocks another one opened up. They had juice bars. They used these big Vita Mix kind of things to make all these concoctions (like what I make Alan each morning).

I'll never forget going there and eating some silly sprout thing. It tasted horrible. Never went back. Wound up eating egg McMuffins, and burgers and fries for lunch. If it wasn't appealing to me, I wouldn't go near it.

So where did all the health food restaurants go?? You can't find one in NYC. You'll find plenty of Burger Kings, Wendys, McDonalds, Kentucky Fried Chicken, etc. etc. It now seems to be of a mind that if a person goes into a health food store, that person is considered to be eccentric. I have no idea why.

And all we see around us are obese people. It should start at the early stages, in pre school, with healthy snacks, with fruit. With peanut butter (I think that's healthy for kindergartners, right??).

Not chicken nuggets and fries. Good Lord, You should see some of the school lunches. And when they bring in healthy food, the kids leave the school and go to the nearest McDonalds.

I do not know what's happening to this nation of ours.

Oh, Mrs. D. Is there a chance in heck that one CAN REPAIR A DAMAGED PANCREAS, sort of like when the liver repairs itself, can the pancreas do the same?? Or are we diabetics doomed to be diabetics for the rest of our lives??

I'm just wondering.

Now I am depressed...1/2 my pancreas...

How can I possibly beat insulin resistance? My mom's side of the family all gets diabetes in their 50's, of course they are over weight etc. Gosh I really need to do more.

There is a morality becoming oppressing with diabetes.

On the one hand, everyone blames obesity.
BUT...there are hints that other things are also causitive.

1) antibodies to a certain virus have been found in people who are overweight/obese. This is a form of cold virus.

2) high fructose corn syrup, is very bad. Sucrose was removed from the food we consume by a consortium of corn suppliers here many years ago. This high fructose corn syrup consumed by small children by the gallon in "juices" is a serious problem.
Look at all the energy drinks... 28gm 35 gm of high fructose corn syrup in each can!

3) look at the incidence of pituitary adenomas that are found on random autopsies.

4) Ethnic differences in food handling/metabolism by the body.
The US is a melting pot of new mixtures of genes. Research into ethnic handling of certain foods, shows that Native Americans develop obesity faster and more deadlier than other groups. Blacks also have a problem with this metabolism.
There are some very good books out now on this... interesting reads. "Your Body Knows Best" is the one I read.
Did you know that people with Type A blood are most successful in becoming vegetarian? Type O's must have meat.
Type B's need some dairy? Type ABs do the worst with cancer (succumb faster than other types).

5) I personally believe that much of our struggles are genetic as far as weight goes, and diabetes risk.
You can only do so much. The rest your body will do.
There are people who can eat carbs all they want and never gain much weight. Others can't have ANY carbs much at all, and have to really restrict them.

So placing a morality label on people is unfair IMO.
And also greed within the food industry has morally ruined
many lives. The morality of it all, is rather depressing, at
least to me.

Wouldn't it be wonderful, if as soon a s child is born, they take a blood sample, run it through a human genome machine, and POOF, the readout tells you what dominant genes they have, what recessive genes, sensitivity to diabetes, this gene, that gene,

Then the solution is stem cell therapy, and they just infuse the child with all these fighting warriors and the kid has a defense system like nobody else.

Not gonna happn in our lifetime, I know. I long for that day. Maybe in 1000 years.

But what CAN happen in our lifetime is good genetic testing, and the results would give the parents enough info so they can start that kid on good eating habits. Or better preventive care.

I mean, it just seems that our government just doesn't care about our health, (I mean, they still allow cigarettes to be sold and they kill people).

I know it's all about money, but doesn't ANYONE in the government have a conscience? And especially with the rise in Autism, well I'd be scared to death to bring a child into this world.

And I read where they can do pancreas transplants. I know it's only done in severe Type 1 cases. But that's a start.

I long for the day when they can clone new organs, especially pancreases and everybody with diabetes can have their pancreas replaced.

It would be like getting a brand new start.

There are OTHER factors involved with diabetes.

There are substances made by the fat cells, that drive
insulin resistance at the cell level in the tissues.

I believe there is a procedure now to inject just the Islet
cells into the pancreas for type I.
http://www.isletsofhope.com/diabetes...nsplant_1.html

no need to replace the whole pancreas.. this procedure if adopted would be much easier on the patient etc.