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The high BGLs caused by both types can wreak havoc with your body over the long term. But the good news is that with modern equipment and therapies, diabetics have the tools to effectively control their BGLs and prevent or forestall complications. And even if complications occur, modern treatments can prevent blindness, amputation and otherContinue reading “What are Type 1 & Type 2? Part 3”

In both types of diabetes this process is short-circuited and glucose is left circulating in the bloodstream, causing a high BGL. The body reacts by generating thirst, driving you to drink fluids that will be expelled and carry excess sugar from the bloodstream with it. That’s why the term diabetes mellitus (honeysweet urination) mentioned inContinue reading “What are Type 1 & Type 2? Part 2”

The word “diabetes” means high blood sugar. Type 1 and Type 2 both cause this but they do it in different ways. In fact, they are different diseases. Let me explain it by first going back to basics. Glucose (sugar) is a product of digestion, which breaks food down into sugar that is put intoContinue reading “What are Type 1 & Type 2? Part 1”

With research continuing, the name “insulin” was suggested for the curative pancreatic substance. Insulin means “island” and refers to the “Islets of Langerhans” which had been discovered by Paul Langerhans 40 years earlier. They were enclosed in a fibrous capsule that separated them from the rest of the pancreatic tissue. , so they really areContinue reading “A Brief History, Part 3”

Over the years therapies included a high fat and protein diet (which was on the right track,because it reduced the number of sugar-producing starches), eating excessive amounts of sugar (wrong track), an “oat cure” where the patient would eat 8 ounces of butter mixed with 8 ounces of oatmeal, opium or a whiskey/black coffee cocktailContinue reading “A Brief History, Part 2”

Diabetes has been diagnosed for thousands of years but effective treatment wasn’t available until the early 20th century. To help explain what earlier physicians saw and thought, it’s helpful to know how the disease operates. Diabetes disables the body’s ability to metabolize sugar. Excess sugar builds up in the bloodstream, causing the body to tryContinue reading “A Brief History, Part 1”

When you’re diagnosed with diabetes you instantly become a tightrope walker, even if you’ve got bad balance and a fear of heights. Your constant lifelong task becomes maintaining a blood sugar level as close to normal as possible without going too high or too low. Like every other tightrope walker, you need to pay attentionContinue reading “My Story”

Diabetes is a serious, life-threatening disease that’s reached epidemic proportions and the chances are everyone either has it or knows someone who does. Given its prevalence everyone should have a basic knowledge of it. The Diabetes Book offers this. The information presented is accurate, but please understand it’s a general overview and shouldn’t be usedContinue reading “An Important Note, Part 2”

The Diabetes Book is for everyone – diabetic or not – who wants a basic understanding of diabetes and some insights into the day to day issues involved in it. People with diabetes and those close to them will probably learn some new things. I know I did in doing the research. Everyone else canContinue reading “An Important Note, Part 1”

I didn’t tell people about my diabetes for 30 years to avoid negative perceptions of who I am and what I can do. During that time I co-founded a company that melted stainless steel and poured it to make castings for corrosive applications. I was as likely to find myself on one end of aContinue reading “What Does a Diabetic Look Like?”