Among diabetes patients, the obese outlive the trim
I am not sure what to make of this study. I always used to hear from a very fat friend that diabetics as they grew more severe LOST WEIGHT. She would tell me, that she saw 500lb people whittle down to very small weights just due to the ravages of diabetes. She knew one brittle diabetic who could barely keep weight on his body. I wasn't sure what to make of that. I wonder if you live long enough with diabetes if it will make you lose weight just due to health. It does seem some diabetes illnesses do make you lose weight in the severe categories as opposed to the insulin resistant-gain weight category. It's a hard one to fathom.
I've been a diabetic for 12 years, My A1C ran around 6.6 this time around. I sometimes do not understand the trajectory of this disease, such as what will I suffer even having kept the sugars in the controlled arena for the last 12 years? They've been controlled except outside of one 4 month period, where I had to add Januvia to the party. I was on Metformin even while just PRE-DIABETIC for the treatment of PCOS. I can still feel my feet and toes. Any diabetics of long duration want to chime in?
My father is a Type 2 and was always overweight. Around 15 years with diabetes and it got so severe that he has become very thin and frail. My sister is a Type 1 and before she was diagnosed was extremely thin. I think it's partly the lack of insulin to make you store fat. As diabetes progresses in severity and beta cells die your body stops even producing enough insulin to keep weight on. Yes, you can take insulin but it doesn't stay elevated in the blood the same way it is in early diabetes or especially in those with PCOS and hyperinsulinemia. I think this is called Type 2 1/2 which is like Type 1. Scary stuff. I'm sure the reason why your diabetes is so controlled is that your insulin level is so high that your cells can still respond enough to keep sugars low. That's good except for the scary effects of high insulin and what happens when your beta cells just can't keep up with that much insulin production? Hopefully, if you continue eating lower carb/GI diet you can correct it enough that you may never have to get to that point. Me too, thinking about the fact that my body is trying like hell to take me down the same path as my father (who is in extremely poor health and senile even though he's not that old) scares the sh*t out of me.
ReplyDeleteSorry about your father Kate. Yeah most of the Type 1s are thin from what I can tell and I think you are right about the lack of insulin to store fat. I had the diabetes doctor told me I am extraordinarily rare to be this fat and controlled diabetic. I guess that did help the doctors figure out my problems were more complex. I do have high high insulin in the body, they tested my insulin levels when I was getting tested for other things, and I think that may be one reason, my body is keeping up for now too interesting theory [I have immense hyperinsulimia] I know some of these genetics are horrible, you probably are doing your best as well. Even the autoimmune stuff I inherited.
ReplyDeleteI understand being scared, I do feel like I am a lot older then my age due to all the health problems. Take care.