[Boomer]

I just saw diabetes mentioned over in the thread that is going on about pedicures. The post had to do with diabetics needing to take good care of their feet. I thought I would start a new thread here in the Medical Forum on the topic of diabetes.

Here is why:

My husband has two close relatives who are Type I diabetics. Both are hovering around age 60. They were diagnosed as young children.

Each of them now has an insulin pump. It seems like it has been maybe 3 years since they got them. Not sure.

The first relative to get one told my husband that she did not know how bad she felt until she felt so good. She has always taken excellent care of herself, but this :edit: disease can take its toll.

The second relative had heard about the insulin pump, but that was as far as it went. My husband put his two relatives into a conference call with him and said, "Now, talk." And they did.

The second relative decided to get an insulin pump, too. His wife said, "It has been life changing. He feels so much better."

I ended up in a conversation about this topic at a recent party. There was a woman there whose daughter, age 30, Type I, was thinking seriously about getting an insulin pump. I told her that I knew two people who were really happy they had done so, but I did not know if that was most often the case.

We have a friend who is a Type II who is starting to have some real difficulties with managing the insulin. He is looking into a pump, too. It seems like insurance companies can try to make a Type II jump through even more hoops to get it covered.

Anyway, when I saw the topic come up over in the other thread, I thought about this forum. That's really all I have to say here. I am but the messenger. But I know that diabetics or those close to them can often be very supportive with an exchange of information.

So I thought I would put the topic of the insulin pump out there along with the general topic of diabetes.

Boomer

[efrahin]

I have type II and so far I am controlling it with Glugophage (Metmorfin) and Glucotrol. However I do 30 minutes of tread mill everyday. It is a very dangerous sickness and it is growing by the day.
The doctor has told me that the best thing to keeping it under control is exercise, sometimes people can no do it because of problems with the knees and/or overweight, which may be the cause of the knees pain. It is a very hard battle, everything you touch has sugar in it, and in large portions; start reading the grams of sugar on every label and you will be surprise.

[Herb]

Boomer, Thank you for this post and talking about your family members. A pump has been suggested for me and I'm leaning in that direction. Herb

[Boomer]

Originally Posted by Herb

Boomer, Thank you for this post and talking about your family members. A pump has been suggested for me and I'm leaning in that direction. Herb

Herb,

You are quite welcome. If you decide to go the route of the pump, I hope that it works out as well for you as it has for my husband's two relatives. I don't know if it always happens like that.

My husband, though not diabetic, grew up with both of these relatives. So he has been well aware, all of his life, of diabetes and how complicated things can get sometimes. So far that Type I seems to have skipped the next generation of the family.

I wish you the best.

Boomer

[Herb]

Very kind of you, thank you!!!!

[Boomer]

Here I am being the messenger again. I think I had better make clear that I have absolutely no medical background of any kind. The information that I am passing along here is just what I have heard from diabetics that I know.

In the post where I started this thread, I talked about the success that my husband's two relatives are having with the insulin pump. Both of them were juvenile onset diabetes, Type I, and both hover around age 60 now. I realize that the pump may not work as well for everybody.

We have a friend who is Type II, adult onset, about 10 or 12 years. He has been struggling a lot with his blood sugar levels and with his weight. He really wants to try a pump but the doctor is trying other things first.

We saw him recently and he has started to lose weight and feels better since the doctor has added Symlin. I believe it is used along with insulin. He has been really pleased with it so far. The blood sugars are leveling out much better. And his belt is getting loose for the first time in a long time.

Anyway, there is a website symlin.com that will tell you all about it. I think it is primarily for Type II diabetics and is in addtion to insulin. In certain circumstances it may help Type I. The website answers lots of questions.

Again, I am just reporting what I am hearing from diabetic friends and relatives. I am certainly not qualified to give any medical advice of any kind. I am just putting this stuff out there in case someone wants to look into it and learn more so they can talk to their doctor. And I put it out there on the chance that it could help someone.

Diabetes is a tough disease to manage, and is all too common.

So anyway, that's the news on the Type II that I know and how he is doing better. He said that although nausea is the most common side effect of the injection of Symlin, he does not have it.

If you want to know more, the website will help a lot. symlin.com

I wish you well.

(And please do not forget that I am NOT a doctor, nor do I play one on television.)

Boomer