Is getting off Insulin a Diabetes cure
For a type 2 diabetic which most of us are, the pancreas will still produce insulin but our bodies just acquire a natural resistance for it. Most of us take oral medicines to combat the insulin Resistance, but some of us especially those who are overweight are prescribed synthetic insulin to help process glucose in our bodies.
When I was diagnosed way back when, I was placed on an insulin regimen and it was working my problem was the fact that I have a phobia for needles so it was a physical and psychological battle everyday that I injected my insulin and I was blessed when I didn’t have to take insulin anymore after a few years.
What worked for me was a combination of exercise and diet changes which included a gradual weight loss that I was able to get off the insulin and now I am just on oral medications.
Weight loss happens to be a key component in getting off insulin and getting your doses lowered even for oral medications. Although the stats haven’t been quantified, a 5 to 7% drop in weight will reduce a prediabetics chance of not contracting diabetes.
My biggest gripe with this doctor happens to be the fact that his guidelines are just too stringent, for example he recommends a 600 to 800 calorie a day diet which is about half the recommended diet guidelines and I think that is not healthy to say the least.
It is interesting that there are more and more doctors prescribing into this strict regiments.
Is this a Fredrick Allen disciple’s movement? for those who don’t know Fredrick Allen was a doctor in the early 1900 who created a diabetes treatment regimen that included a very low calorie diet. While the early stages of diabetes cures worked at some level many of the patients died of malnutrition.
The premise behind this kind of thinking is nothing new and it is somewhat logical, I mean food raises your glucose levels so fasting or low calorie diets will be considered a cure for diabetes since low calories mean less glucose and thus your diabetes is cured.
Obviously this less calorie diet will eliminate the need for insulin as well but it doesn’t address the fundamental issue which is insulin resistance and how to account for that and eventually that’s gonna catch up to you because the resistance will only get progressively worse if left unchecked and could lead to severe complications later on in life. This happens to be the main gripe that the other doctors have to his program.
My thinking is that even as a doctor his program misses some fundamental key issues but to me the biggest problem I have with pharmaceuticals is the fact that they have some pretty nasty side effects that you have to deal with.
Natural cures are very much available and have been used for centuries to cure diseases and they do not have the side effects that come with pharma. Due to financial concerns however you know big pharma will never promote a natural cure and there is sporadic research available for dissemination on natural cures.
Take at your own risk they say. Interestingly enough a guy doctor will push a starvation diet and not go all the way and promote a natural cure that might help combat the disease.
Is getting off insulin really a cure for diabetes then?
To me for my own reasons I spoke about earlier then yes I would have done anything to get off insulin but if that means not curbing the resistance and other insulin short term and long term benefits then I don’t think that the risks outweigh the rewards
you can read the complete article from the LA Times here
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WELCOME!!
Dr. Lee left this response on the wrong article so I am adding it to the right one so the discussion can be kept cureent and correct.
thanks
the poor diabetic
This is Dr. Lee from the article.
The paper didn’t give the complete story.
Very Low Calorie Diets are not meant to be used for the long terms. Not all DM2 patients need to be on a VLCD.
VLCD can be used effective in the short-term to re-direct a patients course. The issue with this approach has been the re-feeding phase. This is where the incretin hormones have been a great benefit.
There has been numerous literature recently justifying the effectiveness of VLCD. It has been shown to be eliminate fat from organs from the liver, muscle, and heart.
In the Los Angeles times article, let me put the VLCD in context.
For the patient Mr. Burgess who was obese injecting over 800units of insulin a day.
What is more reasonable.
1. VCLD diet and transition to a health lifestyle or
2. Cutting his abdomen open and stabling the gut.
Dr. Lee
http://www.drandylee.com
I suppose it depends on how obese the patient is while gastric bypass maybe a drastic step for some who are marginally obese it can be a life saver for those morbidly obese have little in alternatives,for example those bed ridden because they are too heavy to move and every calorie they eat get retained.
I had very little knowledge of this VLCD diet and its requirements before I read this article and after perusing your website, I still could not find any information so I am off to gather some more information before I make an Informed decision.
Please take my previous post off your site.
If you could do this, I would be happy to explain the primary pathology in type 2 diabetes. In addition, I can then explain how stages of caloric deficit can trigger different hormonal responses to correct this problem of overnutrition. This would provide your readers a better forum to discuss this subject.
In addition, I think you are missing quite a few fundamental concepts about type 2 diabetes. There is too much misinformation on the web. Don’t perpetuate it.
Dr. Lee
I am sorry but for the sake of discussion I choose not to delete or moderate any comments after they have been approved. If you do have something to say then you are more than welcome to submit it to my readers.
thankyou
the poor diabetic
Dear Readers,
As a patient of Dr. Lee I have to say that he has changed my life. Both my parents are diabetic and have been on medication and insulin for years. It seems as if people espeically doctors are missing the point. You don’t have to have an 800 calorie diet, you just need to put down all the fast food and become educated on eating healthy. I don’t find many doctors that take the time with their patients like Dr. Lee. How many Dr.’s correspond with their patients through email or can get a call back within 10 minutes. I suffered from leg cramps, stomach cramps, back pain and fatigue. All that is gone. and I have lost 30 pounds in 1 year. Fifteen of those pounds were thanks to Dr. Lee. I know what it is like to be ignored by health care professionals because you are labled fat and if your are diabetic many make you feel “like you just eat way too much” and if you are in minority group you just get ignored or constantly given meds. Life is too short, change is good!!