Organizations That Mislead People

This is a topic that I have been trying to write about for several months, but I would end up having a rant and not much in the way of facts. I may need to rein myself in even in this post, but I am determined to put this before you and maybe help you decide what is right.

First, the American Diabetes Association does not exist for the benefit of the patient, only for the doctors. Why else would they brag about spending only 72 percent of the funds they received for research? You can bet the remaining 28 percent went for their salaries and/or entertainment.

With all the money coming in from Big Pharma, you can believe they have many conflicts of interest and more money for their pockets.

I do not understand why they set the high numbers for A1c and post meal blood glucose levels. Are they so afraid of hypoglycemia that this drives their actions? A1c levels of 7.0% will bring on diabetes complications quite easily.

Now before I am accused of promoting a one-size-fits-all solution, the following are suggestions for your consideration.

		ADA		Reasonable
Topic		Guideline		Goals
HbA1c		7.00%		Below 6.5%
Fasting		Below 100 mg/dl		70 to 95 mg/dl
Pre-meal		70 to 130 mg/dl		70 to 95 mg/dl
Post-meal		Below 180 mg/dl		120 to 140 mg/dl
Before exercise - Low		Above 100 mg/dl		Above 100 mg/dl
Before exercise - High		Below 250 mg/dl		Below 180 mg/dl
Bedtime		Below 180 mg/dl		Below 140 mg/dl

What your goals are or become will depend on your risk tolerance. Many of the members of our support group have goals near or below the reasonable goals above. Many doctors will only use the ADA guideline goals.

The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics will not tell you to test and will use the ADA guidelines. Many of the Certified Diabetes Educators (CDEs) will not only use the ADA guidelines, but will mandate these. Others that are registered nurses and CDEs will promote nearer the reasonable goals.

I personally have a distaste for the organizations above because they only set one type of goal and do not want you to change because everyone is afraid of hypoglycemia if a person is using insulin or a few of the oral medications that can cause hypoglycemia.

This says nothing about the diabetes complications, which the ADA goals do nothing to prevent and actually encourage. That is the reason most endocrinologists and doctors consider diabetes to be progressive.