Diabetes No More? What's Really Going On?

[escobedo89]

One of my elderly aunts (she's in her mid 70s) was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes about 30 years ago. She had to take insulin every day, twice a day, to maintain good blood sugar levels. She is notorious in the family for not taking care of herself; She's not one to eat the healthiest food and she's only recently began exercising. Oh, and she's been on dialysis for a couple years AND is suffering from macular degeneration.

Why am I writing all of this? According to her doctor, not an alternative medicine quack, the diabetes is completely gone. Gone. Her blood sugar levels kept going too low because of her medications. Her doctor told her to stop taking insulin and now her numbers are within a normal range. She hasn't taken insulin for months. Plus, the condition of her eyes has improved.

What's going on here? Did the dialysis help THAT much? My aunt and family claim it's a miracle (they're very religious...as a matter of fact, she claims my faith-healer uncle said that "someone in the congregation" had been given a new pancreas while she was at church around the time her blood sugar kept going too low because of the insulin). This is all ver strange to me. Thoughts??

 

[steve s]

Gone? Or just under control? Plenty of diabetics are able to keep it under control without medication. But if they go back to eating a lot of high-carb foods, their blood sugar levels will rise.

Steve S

 

[escobedo89]

I'm aware of that, but this doctor said it was gone. I plan on calling this doctor and the American Diabetes Association tomorrow to find out more. My aunt says that the insulin made her sugar too low, which it has for a long time, I believe. The doctor told her to stop taking insulin and sure enough, her blood sugar is normal. She still has macular degeneration and is still on dialysis. But her diabetes is apparently gone, which I didn't think was possible.

 

[steve s]

There's some sort of glucose response test that they can do in which they have her drink a glucose solution and then see how she responds to it over the next few hours.

Steve S

 

[Beerina]

Did she just drop 90 pounds? Type II seems to be related to abdominal belly fat.

Which makes me wonder -- if they surgically removed it, and would a person's diabetes get betfer?

 

[escobedo89]

Well, according to her, she's "been completely healed by the Lord." LOL I have to admit that her apparent good condition (blood sugar wise) is bothering me. I grew up in that system and have since left it...but I can't help think over and over about it (I have OCD)

 

[steve s]

The lord decided to wait 30 years to cure her? Nice guy.

Steve S

 

[escobedo89]

Did she just drop 90 pounds?

That's the crazy thing! She really didn't do anything and she still has somewhat bad kidneys and eyes. As I said, I'm calling that doctor tomorrow. Is it a diabetes/hypoglycemia fluke?? I'm sifting through medical journal archives trying to find an explanation.

 

[escobedo89]

The lord decided to wait 30 years to cure her? Nice guy.

Steve S

LOL that's exactly what I thought. But, haven't you heard? The guy works in "mysterious ways." LOL

 

[steve s]

LOL that's exactly what I thought. But, haven't you heard? The guy works in "mysterious ways." LOL

Or "A day is like a thousand years" or some such nonsense.

Steve S

 

[escobedo89]

I've heard of spontaneous remissions of cancer. Can the same happen with diabetes? Is it possible for her damaged pancreas to simply repair itself like that? I. Thinking that her dialysis and other possible meds may explain it...it has to. Grr...I hate uncertainty like this

 

[casebro]

Here's a study that says yup: http://www.diabetes.org/news-resear...abetes-research/dialysis-reduces-insulin.html

I eagerly await the day when the genes that cause diabetes II are fully understood. I suspect that there are several kinds, one of which may show big improvements when dialysed.

 

[Beerina]

Well, insulin resistance in cells is caused by something -- possibly dialysis helps get rid of it in ways that kidneys don't. Or liver doesn't, for that matter.

 

[Roboramma]

Or "A day is like a thousand years" or some such nonsense.

Steve S

In which case it's like he less than an hour to cure her!

 

[Robrob]

Pretty tough choice between dialysis and diabetes. Not for nothing but I'd wait 30-90 days and see what her A1C levels are.

 

[escobedo89]

I was reading that dialysis can reduce the need for insulin in Type 2. I've also read that beta cells can be completely and spontaneously regenerrated. However, the latter is pretty rare. I think my aunt is in remission and the doctor telling her that she had no sign of diabetes was misconstrued by my aunt to mean she's forever diabetes free. I worry she may develop the symptoms again and not take the insulin. I have yet to find a doctor that has ever seen a diabetes "free" patient.

By the way, claims like this are common in my family. Hell, one of my uncles is a faith healer. I'm trying my best to remain objective and rational, but it can be hard when those you love are always, quite literally singing the praises of that belief system.

 

[BNRT]

I think my aunt is in remission and the doctor telling her that she had no sign of diabetes was misconstrued by my aunt to mean she's forever diabetes free. I worry she may develop the symptoms again and not take the insulin. I have yet to find a doctor that has ever seen a diabetes "free" patient.

That was my first thought too. If you weren't there, maybe your aunt misunderstood what the doctor said.

 

[Tatyana]

I have heard of this happening before when a little old lady started exercising.

She had the beginnings of macular degeneration and the endocrinologist had to inform the DMV that she could no longer drive, so she started to ride her bicycle everywhere.

She also reversed her diabetes.

As type II diabetes is, for the most part (up to 80% of cases) a lifestyle disease, if you change your lifestyle, then you can ameliorate the disease.

No miracles, it is probably the exercise.

As well, if she had been in another country other than the US, she probably would have initially been on metformin, not insulin.

The introduction of this drug was quite late in the US.

The diagnosis and treatment of diabetes has also improved over the last thirty years, medicine progresses, so it doesn't really surprise me that she no longer needs insulin.

However, if she is still on dialysis, she still needs to take care of herself.

Having failing kidneys is a terrible medical condition, and unless that has been completely reversed, there is no medical miracle.

 

[casebro]

She may remain diabetes free for the whole rest of her life- End Stage Renal disease usually lasts about two years with dialysis. At her age she is not a good candidate for transplant. You might as well let your uncle faith heal her for all he's worth, it'll make them feel better.

 

[Silly Green Monkey]

Type II diabetes is not caused by pancreas damage, the pancreas is usually normal. The problem is that body cells are unresponsive to insulin, so insulin levels are greatly increased normally (and with drugs) to overcome the cells' resistance.