Diabetic Brothers Beat Odds With 8 Decades of Discipline

New York Times ^ | February 5, 2006 | RICHARD PÉREZ-PEÑA

[suzyq5558]

I have found lots of recipes on the web and so has my hubby. I have been eating alot of veggies and sweet potatos I can eat but when I eat whole grain bread I get yuccky feeling so I still really watch the carbs!!

[JLGALT]

I too am a type1. Somehow, I got through 44 years of life without it being detected but, it was about 12 years ago. Even though I'm under control I'm beginning to have major problems with my legs. This is kind of a strange question but my doctors don't want to give me an honest answer so maybe you can. What's the average life span of a male type 1? And does the problem with my legs portend the beginning of the end? If you know the answers, please just be straight with me.

Thanks!

[neverdem]

Cinnamon improves glucose and lipids of people with type 2 diabetes. I located that article by entering cinnamon and diabetes at PubMed.

[suzyq5558]

Thanks for the tip. I had been taking a tsp of cinnimon in my morning coffee till i got real sick then stopped. I will start up again ,my Mom swears by cinniomon

[GovernmentShrinker]

The disgusting thing is that these brothers have paid colossal amounts of money in income and Medicare taxes, which have been spent on providing unnecessary medical care, disability payments, housing subsidies, etc. to diabetics who flat-out refuse to exercise any self-control. The New York Times ran a huge series on this a couple of weeks ago. NYC's poor neighborhoods are full of people who simply refuse to test their blood sugar or use insulin, much less control their eating. One woman's daughter explained why: "She doesn't like needles."

[Ciexyz]

What a wonderful, inspirational story. Praise the Lord for the example of these two men.

[WaterDragon]

Wishing you the best in dealing with it.

My grandfather had adult-onset diabetes and died age 78. A skinny little Scots-Irishman with red hair by the name of Angus. My eldest sister also had adult-onset, but had been large all her life. She also died age 78 years. Neither of them had lost toes or limbs. Because of diabetes in the family history, I was a nut from an early age on nutrition, exercise and weight, vitamins and supplements, etc, for myself and later for my family. So far so good. Probably we weren't going to go diabetic anyway, but it didn't hurt us.

I can't agree with some here who consider self-discipline re eating, exercise, etc, as a diminishment to quality of life. Even for non-diabetics, such self-discipline greatly enhances one's health and quality of life.

[neverdem]

The New York Times ran a huge series on this a couple of weeks ago.

I linked to it at the end of comment 1, BAD BLOOD the series.

[Investment Biker]

Most think that for a well controlled type 1 that life expectancy at the time of diagnosis is 10 to 20 percent. For poorly controlled it can be 50% or more. These numbers do not include deaths from acidosis or hypoglcemica rather just from complication other than these. So if you were 44 at diagnosis and life expectancy was 38 then you loose 4-8 years well controlled and 19 years poorly controlled. (this is a bell curve and only applies to a single standard deviation).

Most problems in the legs are due to neuropathies. I would try the Benfotiamine. Escalate your dose upward but start at 600mg per day. Give it a couple of weeks before deciding if it helps. It has been used for years in Europe to treat alcoholic neuropathy and more recently diabetic neuropathy. It is a form of vitamin. For disclosure purposes, I have not financial interest in this recommendation.

[freema]

I can tell you my dad's story and hope there's something in it for you. He was a 30 year Diabetic having gotten it about the same age as you. His kidney's began to fail. (Keep a good eye on your kidneys.) I'll get to the legs in a minute.
He went on dialysis, peritoneal so he could do it at home because he thought that would free him up. It didn't. But he wasn't exposed to the depression at the dialysis center. Then one day he found something stuck to his toe. It was dead skin- the onset of gangrene. What we learned may help.

Diabetic shoes are designed to keep pressure off important parts of the foot. He always wore good shoes, but I think he thought diabete shoes were a sales gimmick. A good podiatrist is important, one that will work as a team with a vascular specialist to keep the circulation going. I now think that leg and foot massage (professional or not, it wouldn't matter) would have been extremely beneficial to him. This podiatrist we found didn't even want Dad to cut his own toenails-one nick could have brought trouble. To improve circulation, Dad's leg arteries cleared of blockage, he was put on a blood thinner (Plavix), and work vascular surgeon worked vigilantly and vigorously with the podiatrist who manually and medically (can't remember the cream to help 'eat' the gangrene) removing the gangrene (nearly to the bone), then generating regrowth (Regranex) Dad's gangrene WAS cured. No amputation. It took 6 months, 'firing' doctors who wanted to use neosporin, gauze, and who would have ultimately and simply amputated.


Stay on top of it, and one 'step' ahead. Sitting for long periods isn't good, alternate. Walking and eliminating salt are great for circulation. Smoking ain't. Podiatrist saw his cigarettes and read Dad the riot act, told him if the vascular guy saw them, he would probably refuse to clear anymore arteries.

Good luck!

[SamAdams76]

The kind of diet these brothers are on goes beyond diabetes. Watching your sugar intake, avoiding simple starches (which essentially metabolize in your body to sugar) and exercising make a big difference.

When I switched to a normal-carb diet a few years ago and started exercising daily (walking), I lost most of my excess weight and people told me I looked 10 years younger.

Since then, I've experimented putting processed foods back into my diet and each time, I start feeling lethargic and bloated again, put on weight and generally start feeling lousy. As soon as I go back to my diet of mostly whole foods (what you generally find on the outside perimeter of the supermarket), I'm feeling good once more.

This kind of lifestyle works.

[R. Scott]

that's inspiring stuff, especially for those of us with a high incidence of diabetes in our family trees.

Yep! I too have a family history. My father had it and family legend says my grandfather died of it.
I am also diabetic, and know several other diabetics. I made the changes in life style needed to keep from going blind and having my feet rot off, as have others. I now work out and avoid honey buns. I still eat chocolate – but in very limited quantities. I still eat pizza, potatoes and pasta – but in limited quantities. I still enjoy beer and Maker’s Mark – but again in limited quantities. My blood sugar level rarely raises over 180 (my highest level was 240) – if it does I work out for half an hour and it drops to around 100.
I have known other diabetics who just don’t seem to care. One friend has lost most of one leg and the other is on its way out. I will run into him at a bar drinking super sweet drinks – like Southern Comfort or Jägermeister – and eating sweet rolls. He claims he just can’t understand why the diabetes is eating him up.

[JLGALT]

Many thanks for your answer. I'll investigate the shoes tomorrow. Right now my kidneys are fine so I don't have that problem but, I also have Gout which makes my leg/feet problems a lot worse.

Again, thanks for taking the time to answer!

[Hardastarboard]

A major competitive bodybuilder from the 1980's, Tim Belknap, winner of Mr. Universe, Mr. America, and Mr. World, had Type 1 diabetes from the age of 15. I was always amazed that he was able to get so huge, muscular and strong and actually win competitive body building championships when he had been afflicted with Type 1 diabetes. Part of that amazement comes from knowing what type of diet those guys have to eat to get that big. I'm still in amazement today.

He used to give inspirational talks to Type 1 teens, and I always thought that had to be the ultimate uplifter for a kid who just found out that they had diabetes, to see this guy with huge muscles and a good life telling them that they could be OK.

[freema]

You are most welcome. SamAdams76 in a post after mine mentions processed foods-our family believes that is a significant issue with the diabetes 'epidemic'. Pop became a tremendous cook and as a result, we've got a lot of good cooks in the family : )