Anurag K asked:
He is 27 yrs old, was very athletic and fit. Diabetes was diagonised in him six months ago,but he might have been diabetic for some years now.for some years he had been suffering from occasional acute stomachache. His sugar level always remains between 140-200 before or after fast, despite medicines. Doctor recently advised him insulin. We think dependence on insulin is risky and costly, so we are avoiding insuling and instead he is following tight yoga,exercise and diet schedule, to no avail. He is getting weaker day by day. Kindly provide your opinions. Does it mean he will not be able to live a normal life or his days are numbered?
We are doubtful if he has Type I or Type II. Doctors have never specified. He has undergone most of the tests recommended for such patients and eveything has been found normal.But we guess his case is of Type I. How can it be cleary determined? his Hb1Ac report was 197 mgdl. Isn’t is possible that his is only Type II? We’re worried and confused.
Is is possible his is only Type II? If it is so/not so, does taking insuling once makes one dependent on it for lifetime? Or should he try to take is for some time then try to manage without it once he becomes normally fit? It is possible?
Why don’t docs suggedst him to take vitamin-mineral supplements in the form of medicines to improve his health? He has always been taking normal food and exercises/yoga(as advised by docs now) for long as a routine. So,I wonder how the same can now control his sugar levels. He is getting weaker day by day, despite taking medicines to control sugar.
14 replies on “My brother is diabetic, I seek your suggestions?”
wy havent you been open and honest eith the doctor???there is a lack of communication, only he can tell you if it is type 1 or 2, insulin is not that costly, my husband had type 2 and he was on medication, and i gave him an insulin shot once a day {he wouldnt do it himself] at night, it helped considerably, talk to the dr. thats what he is paid for, and do not be afraid, good luck
have him get and stay on insulin(pharmacy companies may be able to help him out with his insulin and his supplies)have him eat 6 small meals a day(this keeps blood sugar levels more regulated)have him carry some type of smalll candy with him at all times(peppermint mand m lifesavers)and above all have him check his feet and hands everyday for sores and blisters(if he doesn’t this can cost him a limb his kidneys or eyes)have him follow his diet and also check with local police dept about license(it is now where a person with diabetes can get their license a different color-yellow the reason is if his sugar pluments and he is stopped by a police officer the police may think hes drunk but by the different color license the officer will be trained to know your brother sugar may be low and medical assistance is needed have him also check his sugar regulary to make sure its not to high or low hope this helps
My friend can control his sugar level by acid-alkaline diet. Read the book “pH Miracle for diabetes”. It is this book that give him the solution.
do you know BITTERMELON? it’s my sis and father’s maintaining vegetable… i make salad out of it, no sugar, just sprinkle with little salt and little vinegar..or eat it fresh… scientifically bittermelon was discovered as the most effective for diabetic patient… my father thought he got l and my sis got ll…. both maintain it by eating and now my sis cured her legs with open wounds and father actively back his normal task, he will be 60 on may 12 and sis is 36 with 7 children….. you can also try using CHARANTIA TEA which is made of bittermelon or better gourd……. im serious… check out charantia tea…. it’s very cheap here… i wish you are closer, i could always give you a sample…. it can be found here locally in the grocery store or at the drug store.
bittermelon or bittergourd or ampalaya in tagalog, paliya in cebuano, momordica charantia is the scientific name.
Good luck and God bless to your brother.
His days just might be numbered if he continues to refuse to take insulin.
It is not necessarily true that once he starts insulin he’ll be lifetime dependent upon it.
If what he his currently doing is not working, he obviously should begin taking his doctor’s advice. It is not uncommon for people to begin with injections of insulin and eventually, with the continuence of strict diet, eventually improve to the point of oral insulin and even no insulin. Close daily monitoring will determine the dosage and type of insulin he must take.
Be thankful that he’s treatable with the replacement of something his body is not able to produce on its own.
I had to take insulin shots while I was pregnant, and then was able to go off of them afterwards. I can think of many things worse than being insulin dependent. Keep ignoring it, and his kidneys will fail. Dialysis is much more debilitating, and waiting for a transplant can take years. I have had two kidney transplants, and diabetes is nothing to mess around with. Follow the doctor’s instructions.
My dad died from diabeties so you do what ever is nessasary regaurdless the cost to make him a comfortable as possible. Diabeties is more serious than most people think. Do what it takes get second opinnions..Anything!!
What you call ‘dependence’ on insulin as being risky and costly involves less risk and less cost than if he goes too long not being on insulin.
Besides the fact that your blood sugar may go low once in a while and you would have to eat something sweet, what is the risk of taking insulin if you take it according to the doctor’s orders?
Insulin is much cheaper than dialysis (poorly controlled diabetics are at much higher risk for kidney failure)
Insulin is much cheaper than costs that will build up if a person goes blind (poorly controlled diabetics are at much higher risk for blindness)
Insulin is much cheaper than cardiac care or heart surgery (poorly controlled diabetics are at much higher risk for cardiac disease)
Insulin is much cheaper than weekly visits to a wound care center or getting an amputaion (poorly controlled diabetics are at much higher risk for chronic wounds and amputaion)
Insulin might be more expensive than viagra, but for personal reasons, I opt for the insulin (poorly controlled diabetics are at much higher risk for impotence)
In my opinion, the benefits of being able to better control diabetes by using insulin are much better than the risk of having poorly controlled diabetes. Check out the link below to the American Diabetes Association where you can get some better information than anybody on Yahoo answers would be able to get you (including myself.)
Below is TONS of information from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (the CDC)
First, why do you consider insulin risky and costly. It is NOT risky when taken properly, and it is NOT costly when you consider that without using something to keep his glucose levels and a level that isn’t endangering him. There are far too many complications for diabetes that come when your blood sugar is not controlled [blindness, kidney problems, loss of limbs through infection, etc.]. His is not controlled.
It really doesn’t matter if he is type I or type 2. The treatment for both can include insulin.
I agree that taking insulin shots is not the easiest thing for you to do at first. I have been taking insulin for over 20 years now and it has become easy. At one point, I was taken off insulin and given oral medication. However, that didn’t do the job, and I was put back on insulin.
If your brother is not doing well without insulin, it would seem to me that perhaps it is time to take the doctor’s recommendation and take insulin.
BTW – is he seeing an endocrinologist? If he isn’t, he should. Endocrinologists are very uptodate on information about diabetic treatment.
No matter what the decision, I wish him well.
To be frank, it sounds like he may have a late/slow onset form of Type 1 diabetes, or an insulin requiring genetic form of Type 2 diabetes (i.e. certain forms of MODY).
You HAVE to understand this: If he has Type 1 diabetes or MODY, he HAS to take insulin, or he will die. His body can no longer produce it. Vitamins and minerals are useless to replace a pancreas or a hormone. Nothing is chemcially the same as insulin except insulin. There is NO “natural” cure for Type 1 diabetes, which is why a) ALL Type 1 diabetics quicky died before the discovery of insulin, and b) They still will die if insulin therapy is stopped.
Do not make your brother suffer a prolonged death. You are doing more damage to his organs every day you go without proper treatment. This is not 1910 anymore, and insulin is available everywhere, so why are you denying him if he is “getting weaker” by the day and “doctor’s advise insulin”. What are you waiting for? That is abuse and neglect, which may lead to severe organ damage and death!
I have posted this previously in response to the same question, and it is obvious you have still not done a thing. I have explained that there is genetic and antibody testing for Type 1 diabetes, as well as checking his c-peptide level. If his c-peptide level is low, he needs insulin period. Usually a low c-peptide level early on in diabetes always indicates Type 1 diabetes. There are genetic tests for MODY, but they may be hard to come by depending on where you live.
If you want your brother to live, get him to the doctor. If you let him die in this day and age from a treatable condition (unless he refuses treatment and is mentally fit to know what will happen), you deserve to be punished. Type 1 can progress very fast. His blood sugar may be dangerously high by this point.
The way the doctors found out my son was a diabetic was a simple urine test, sugar in the urine. That was when he was 3 1/2 years old.
Diabetes is hard to understand and grasp all of the concepts of the disease clearly. Go to the American Daibetes Association website and contact them and aske them to mail you the wellness and management kit that they mail to diabetic patients to help them deal with the day to day struggles with the disease. Your brother’s docotr should ahve told someone whether he has Type I or Type 2. Type I Diabetes usually shows up in childhood and they have to start on insulin in their childhood. If he has not been on insuling during his childhood, and he is just recently been diagnosed, more than likely he is Type 2. Type 2 Diabetes is where the pancreas inour body makes insulin, but it is not enough to do the work that it is required to do, and that is why we as diabetics have to take extra medications and sometimes insulin to help get tighter control on the sugar levels. If the doctor wants your brother to start on insulin therapy, this might be the best course to follow. If your brother does not take what the doctor is recommending, then he may possibly get weaker and weaker and the complications from Diabetes are far greater than not taking the medicines that the docotr wants us to take.
Have faith, and if you do not trust the doctor that your brother is going to, then I would advise you to find another docotr and see if they can help your brother.
I am diabetic and did not want to take medication either, but I take it and my fasting levels are high in the morning but level out during the day. You can check out other websites for more information.,, and
my dear friend, i strongly suggest u take ure doctors advice and get him on insulin.he seems to be type2(late onset)sines family history is not given it is heard to say weather genetic origin or life stile is the cause, please do not Raleigh totally on hocuspocus to see him through these heard times.continue with the vitamins they do help.the long term repercussions will only take about 8 years to manifest so do not spend more time playing the fool the cost of insulin is nothing com paired to loosing ure 27yer old brothers legs. and no insulin is not habit forming it is there right now in ure body, ure bros problem is he is not pro deucing enough or not making use of what he is making called insulin resistance. first buy a good(not cheap)blood glucorse monitor monitor hi cbs(capilari blood glucorse)2times a day 1.fasting(60-110mg/dl) 2.ppbs(2hours after a major meal)to be a round 140mg/dl. do this for one week and go see ure doctor(pl take the readings with u)
ok so insulin does not cost that much, and im sure that excercise and proper diet will help, but it will not cure diabetes, he need the insulin. ask the doctor which type he has, and the doctor will tell. he will be able to live a normal life if he keeps on the insulin, if he is unable to put a needle in his body then he can ask about an insulin pump. the pump itself is costly, but it is a one time cost and then just have to pay for insulin to fill the pump.
i know lots of people that use insulin and they do not have problems with it, and they still live a normal life as if they never had diabetes. still play sports, still have kids, even some insulins will allow them to drink alcohol (if they wish to do so). on the nest doc vistit do not forget to ask about which diabetes type he has so that everything will be cleared up. and the doc will answer any questions and concerns of the family, but they have to be addressed in order for him to give the information. hes not a mind reader, he cannot figure out everything you want to know about the situation,