Diabetes Misconceptions

Having diabetes can be very frustrating. Diabetics have to deal with insulin, needles, tons of doctors’ appointments, all sorts of added expenses and on top of all that we still need to listen to other people’s lack of understanding and lack of compassion. I thought now would be a great time to take a minute and try to clear things up and maybe rant a little bit

Can’t You Just Stop Eating Sugar?

This is by far the one that gets my blood boiling the most. I know that most people correlate sugar and diabetes because diabetics are unable to digest sugar effectively, but just omitting sugar from one’s diet does not eliminate diabetes. Furthermore all food will be broken down into sugar by the body. This sugar is called glucose and is used by the body for energy. Glucose is created in the body during the digestion process after eating carbohydrates. Carbohydrates and glucose are the body’s main source of energy. Our cells require it and need it. Eliminating carbs and sugar from a person’s diet is unhealthy and can lead to many health problems. Bottom line your body needs carbs and the longer you go without them, the longer you are starving yourself. You can certainly pick and choose carbohydrates based on what has higher nutrients like fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. You can choose to stay away from the over processed options, but if your goal is longevity, more energy, and strength you need a variety of different macro-nutrients and micro-nutrients.

Just Take Your Medicine, You Will Get Better.

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I hear this a lot. I assume this idea of “A pill for every ill” is because of Western society’s view that health is achieved through medicine. The truth is that all forms a diabetes are progressive. There are no cures yet and no two patients are the same. Some diabetics are on insulin, some are on pills, and others have been successful at managing their condition through diet and exercise.

A person newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes may have luck managing their disease without drugs in the beginning, but at some point their condition will require medication. Later that same patients diabetes will continue to progress until they are on insulin. There are different kinds of insulin and most insulin dependent diabetics find their insulin needs change as they grow older.

Aren’t you too old to be on insulin?

Ummm No! Like I stated earlier diabetes is a disease that becomes progressively harder to manage as you get older. You can be diagnosed at any age with either type. If a child is diagnosed with type 1 diabetes they are stuck with the disease for the rest of their life or until we find a cure. You never outgrow it and it doesn’t just go away.

I know that a big part of this misconception is as a result of calling type 1 “juvenile” diabetes and type 2 “adult onset” diabetes. These two terms are being used less and less by the medical establishment because they do not adequately describe the two types. They are miss leading and they have caused many people to be miss-diagnosed based age and sometimes weight. We need to focus more on the patient and less on the disease, because each person is different.

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You must love sugar!

Why because I have diabetes? No I do not LOVE sugar. I did not become diabetic because I free-based and snorted the white stuff. In fact I have always maintained a well-balanced diet. I am diabetic because I am a diabetic! I did not give myself the disease due to bad habits, it just happened. Type 2 runs on my fathers side and both types run on my mothers side.

Can’t you just lose weight?

Sure I could lose weight. Most people could stand to drop a few pounds, but that doesn’t mean I would be cured. I need insulin because my body doesn’t produce enough of it. I was a 115 pounds when I was diagnosed. Weight may be associated with diabetes but it is not the cause. There are skinny type 2’s and overweight type 1’s. There are rail-thin models that die of heart attacks and morbidly obese people with no health problems.

Some people gain weight when they start insulin and some people lose weight when they start Metformin. I gained weight on Metformin when I was misdiagnosed. My A1C shot up higher and I ended up in the hospital. Now I am on insulin. Weight is something every person should try to keep in check whether they are diabetic or not.