Type 2 Diabetes Myths and Mistakes – Part 2

This is continued from the previous blog.

#7. Diabetes means having to give yourself shots, and I can’t stand needles. Only people who are on injectable medications need to deal with needles. Today there are insulin pens that don’t require you to inject yourself and blood glucose meters that make drawing blood painless. Plus, there are many new medications that control diabetes without needles or risk of low blood glucose reactions.

#8. Eating too much sugar causes diabetes. Diet does not cause diabetes, although there is recent evidence that drinking many sugared drinks can increase your risk of developing diabetes if you are already at risk. And while sugar per se does not cause diabetes, it does contribute to obesity, which is a major cause of diabetes. Obese people tend to eat many sweets. But they also eat a lot of junk food and other high-calorie foods. Sugar is bad for diabetics because it elevates blood glucose, but so are foods that break down quickly into glucose in the blood, such as plain pasta, bread, noodles, and white rice.

#9. I know when my sugar is high or low. You can’t rely on how you’re feeling when it comes to your blood glucose level. You may feel shaky, lightheaded, and dizzy because your blood glucose is low, or you may be coming down with the flu. You may urinate a lot, because your blood glucose is high, or because you have a bladder infection. The longer you have diabetes, the less accurate those feelings become. The only way to know for sure is to check your blood level.

#10. People with diabetes can’t eat sweets. There is no reason type 2 diabetics can’t eat sweets as part of their healthy meal plan. When eaten in small portions or as a special treat, diabetics can eat whatever they want. The problem is that most of us eat too much of what we like. Diabetes doesn’t mean you can never have a piece of cake again, just a smaller piece, and you’ll have to be careful about what you eat with that piece of cake. Dessert a couple of times of a month is OK, but not every night.

#11. You are more likely to get colds or the flu if you have diabetes. Diabetes does not make you more vulnerable to contagious illnesses. However, you should get your flu shots, because diabetics are more likely to suffer serious effects from the flu.

#12. If you are put on insulin that means you didn’t take proper care of your diabetes. When you’re first diagnosed, your blood glucose may be controlled adequately by diet, exercise, and/or oral medications that help your body absorb glucose. Eventually, however, your pancreas may stop producing enough insulin. At this point you will need insulin injections. This is not your fault, but simply what happens as we age as the disease ages with us.

I had not heard or seen all of the items in the two blogs, but in talking with others, there could be many more. The misinformation often becomes accepted by people without diabetes and this often makes it more difficult for people who become diagnosed with diabetes.

Type 2 Diabetes Myths and Mistakes – Part 1

Like bad nutritional advice and the belief by many doctors that fat is still bad, misinformation about diabetes is everywhere. It is better to use facts than believe the bad information.

#1. Diabetes is not a serious disease. Diabetes is a serious, chronic disease that can be controlled, but it still causes more deaths a year than breast cancer and AIDS combined. Two out of three people with diabetes die from heart disease or stroke. Many people don't see diabetes as serious because people with diabetes often look like normal people, and this makes diabetes the invisible disease.

#2. Diabetes is a death sentence. Not true. The progress of this disease is in your hands. It takes a time to progress until you lose limbs. Medications can be provided, but the initial treatment is often diet and exercise. If you choose to follow the recommendations you’ll do well. It is often difficult to change your lifestyle, but it is definitely possible.

#3. If you are obese or overweight you will get diabetes. Weight is a risk factor for diabetes, but there are other factors, such as family history and genetics that also play an important role. Most overweight people never develop type 2 diabetes, and there are many normal-weight type 2 diabetics.

#4. If you have diabetes, you can’t do too much exercise or you might get a low blood sugar attack. If you are on insulin or a medication that increases insulin production in the body, you have to balance exercise, insulin, and food. However, many type 2 diabetics are not on insulin, and the most commonly used oral medications for diabetes, such as metformin and sitagliptin, don’t cause low blood glucose at all, no matter how much exercise you do. In fact, exercise is crucial to controlling diabetes, along with weight loss.

#5. Insulin will harm you. I don’t want to be on insulin because as soon as Grandma went on insulin she died. This is a common assumption and often happens because the doctor kept the person on oral medications until it was too late. Insulin is a lifesaver, but it’s also difficult to manage for many people, but mostly for doctors because they are not up to date and fear hypoglycemia. It’s crucial to test your blood glucose levels many times a day when you’re on insulin to avoid low blood glucose reactions that will harm you.

#6. Diabetes means your body doesn’t produce enough insulin. This is true in type 1 diabetes, where the pancreas stops producing insulin completely. People who develop type 2 diabetes, which is the most common type of diabetes, usually have sufficient insulin, at least when they are first diagnosed. Their problem is that the insulin doesn’t work properly. It fails to cause the cells in their bodies to absorb glucose from the food they eat. Eventually their pancreas may stop producing enough insulin, so they will need insulin injections.

This will be continued in the next blog.