The End of Diabetes: The Eat to Live Plan to Prevent and Reverse Diabetes

Each of us came to diabetes in a different way.

Some were born with it. Others developed it in midlife or their senior years. Some are type 1s. Others are type 2s. Some manage the ailment well. Others don’t. Some take insulin, others don’t. The differences abound.

Yet we are linked by a commonality: diabetes itself. The disease is serious, particularly if we don’t manage it properly.

It is strange, therefore, to listen type 1s and type 2s speak to every other as if the other crew were some kind of alien creatures!

Perhaps my own story will explain my surprise when I 1st heard about the strange, inexplicable abyss that exists between the ones and twos:

I presented as a type 2 tardy in life. I turned up with an A1C of 8.5. When my doctor told me I had diabetes, I really had no concept what it was.

With some reading, I learned that I had to change my lifestyle: eat less sugar, lose weight, exercise more, and become aware of about a appropriate diet. I followed the advice. When these changes did not produce results, the doctor prescribed metformin. First 500 mg, then 1000, then 1500, then 2000. Before long, my regimen included Januvia, and later some other non-insulin interventions. Nothing seemed to work.

I soon joined a type 2 support group. As they complained about their struggles, I heard their thoughts about type 1s. Some of the comments went like this:

“I’ll be fine because I’m not insulin-dependent like the type 1s.”
“Type 1s are lucky, because they can adjust insulin and eat whatever they want.”
“Type 1s have no idea how hard it is to exercise and eat right.”
“I’ll never need insulin, because I take metformin.”
“I don’t really have diabetes, but type 1s do.”

I was not sure what to make of such comments. Were type 1s in some special, “privileged” category? Did I not really have to worry about diabetes, because others called type 1s were worse off?

It was about this time that I was at a social gathering and met my first type 1. He was a man my age, who casually mentioned the word “diabetes” in a conversation. Since I too was diabetic, I was looking for a sympathetic ear. I explained my predicament as a person with type 2. How in the world could I get my A1C down? Was I exercising enough? Would I be okay if I ate less pasta?

He laughed, lifted his shirt, and showed me a device, which I later learned was an insulin pump. It had a plastic tube attached to his skin. He had something else he called a CGM. He said, “You don’t have real diabetes. I do. I’m a type 1.”

The type 1 went on and on about how difficult life was for him … but not for me. He said, “Just exercise a lot, eat less, and avoid cookies, cakes, potatoes, rice, and bread. You’ll get over your diabetes in no time at all. Wish the solution were as simple for me. Be glad you’re not a real diabetic.”

Later, I would find out what he meant.

I was eventually diagnosed with type 1 myself. My body had stopped producing insulin. I quickly learned about multiple daily injections, long-acting and fast-acting insulin, and the vocabulary that would later become all-too-familiar: pumps, CGMs, insulin strategies, and more.

Now that I was a bonafide member of the real insulin club (a membership that no one wants!), I heard similar pejorative comments about type 2s:

“We are true diabetics, because we are insulin-dependent.”
“I’ve had this since birth, not type 2s.”
“Type 2s have it easy. They just have to lose a little weight and eat properly.”
“No type 2 has the foggiest idea about what we type 1s go through.”
“Just let a type 2 try to manage sugars throughout the day the way we do.”
“Type 2s don’t have to suffer dangerous lows the way we do.”
“Type 2s are obese. If they had self-control, they’d lose weight and have normal blood sugars.”

The list goes on.

There is obviously much ignorance that prevails. But worse, there is a tone of one-upmanship.

In a recent article in Diabetes Daily, I addressed how ridiculous it is that people with diabetes compete with each other and often brag about how well they are doing. One says, “I manage my sugars perfectly.” one other says, “I eat better than you.” One says, “I only take 20 units a day.” Another says, “I exercise more.” One says, “I keep my sugars in a tight range.” Another says, “my A1C is 5.0%.”

Truth to tell, such comments are absurd. We are all in the same boat. Some struggle more, others less. Some take insulin, others don’t. Some manage with oral medications, others have to inject. But we all fight a battle with diabetes.

We need to care for and about each other … all of us. I strive to support others with diabetes, whether they are type 1s or 2s. Does it really matter? I have friends in both groups.

We are stronger when we work together, stronger when we educate each other, stronger when we have empathy for anyone involved in this fight for health … and life.

Yes, we’re all in this together, and the sooner we come together as a group, the sooner we will find ways of managing this daunting disease.

Diabetes Daily

The End of Diabetes: The Eat to Live Plan to Prevent and Reverse Diabetes