Whilst I agree with a lot of opinions here as a 71 year old type 2 diabetic primarily diet and exercise controlled what I find frustrating is that cafes etc have a very limited choice for diabetics. We constantly hear from doctors dieticians etc about what we should be eating but like everyone else we like to stop for a cuppa too. Not complaining about the support for other diet problems eg gluten free for especially those who are actually coelics but why if diabeties is so wide spread and not necessarily a result of poor life choices canāt more consideration be given to those of us who are trying to make good choices. I understand they canāt cater for everyone, vegans, lactose intolerant etc any move in that regard would be appreciated.
It seems to me that this headline is highly misleading.
The customary presentation of a new type 1 diabetic is when they are becoming ill from hyperglycemia. Note HYPER not HYPO. Hyper is too high. Because T1 is an autoimmune disease your immune system is quietly but efficiently destroying the beta cells in your pancreas which produce insulin. As the insulin output falls below sustainability your body goes into emergency mode and starts breaking down fats to get the energy needed to keep you alive - think heart muscle, breathing, brain function etc. A byproduct of this breakdown is ketones, hence smelly breath - ketosis. Acid is also produced and starts to poison you from the inside as it gets into your bloodstream. About now the newbie T1 is becoming quite ill and will present to a GP or A&E. They are in DKA or at the very edge of it. Presenting to A&E is often safer coz very many GPs have no experience of T1 initial symptoms while at A&E they expect anything and deal with everything. It is childishly simple to check, a simple finger prick test will show off scale HI reading or a urine test strip will show high Blood Glucose Level. Class 1 symptoms for diabetes.
Simply put, DKA is not generally preventable in an undiagnosed T1 diabetic coz it is the natural progression as insulin levels fall. Some present to their GP coz of the other symptoms such as drinking buckets and weeing rivers as our T1 kids describe it. We tend to suspect a UTI so we are stunned at the T1 diagnosis. Unless and until insulin is supplied from some external source, excluding so-called honeymoon periods, DKA will progress coz there is nothing to stop it. Yes, unless treated it is fatal, about 3 weeks weāre told.
So many parents of T1 kids, such as me, are horrified when we realise how ill our kids were when diagnosed. Truly frightening.
That may be because they arenāt dieticiansā¦ a friend of mine bought me a fruitcake which was advertised as OK for diabetesā¦ a FRUITCAKEā¦ with raisins and sultanas and made with flour, all of which are most definitely NOT diabetes friendly. My BG skyrocketed after one slice, from a steady 6, to 14. The rest was binned.
When I go out for brunch with friends, I choose carefully, up to and including going without toast, and getting my coffee as a long black with a little milk on the side, or none at all. Your basic flat white, latte etc will push your BG up. Pots of tea are managed better. The problem with milk is that theres a ton of lactoseā¦ I switched to cream at home, but even that has its downfallā¦ fatty liver. So instead of daily coffee, I now have it occasionally and green tea or herbal with no milk/cream at all the rest of the time, no sweetener. But I gave that up more than 40 years ago when the Atkins Diet was a big thingā¦ another reason I no longer like much milk, it tastes too sugary to me.
Out for dinner on Wed night with a friend at her local bowling clubā¦ no idea what will be on the menu but I reckon I will be reaching for the test kit and insulin when I get home. Iāll be looking for things like chicken or steak and saladā¦ and no chips much as I love them.
FYI also T2, and 72.
