[Diabetes] General Chat and Support Thread

newmug wrote: »

r does eating carbs induce the production of insulin?

In a healthy person it does in a type 1 it can't and in a type 2 depending on what stage of preogression it might be inhibited, no n effective or you could be too insulin resistant.

Either way, would you have to produce EXTRA insulin to deal with both the carbs you've just eaten, AND the ketones in your body? Or is the mere fact that insulin has entered your system enough to switch off the ketone production?

Insulin promotes absorption of glucose into your cells, ergo lowering your blood glucose level, shutting off ketone production.

And if eating carbs equates to the same result as insulin production, why do diabetics steer away from carbs?

it doesn't

tbh wrote: »

but if that were the case, only diabetics would get hangovers I think the symptoms you're getting is more likely due to the 12 pints than the blood sugars

+1 on that

When you eat carbs, your body breaks them down into glucose, which gets passed into your bloodstream. Your body detects the rise in the amount of glucose in your bloodstream and that triggers the pancreas to produce insulin. Insulin is a hormone that allows the glucose pass into the cells where it's used as fuel. If you can't produce insulin, the glucose can never pass into the cells, so no matter how many cakes you eat, you'll basically "starve" to death.

Correct, insulin activates insulin receptors which in turn start a signal cascade that activates the GLUT transporters, while a small amount of glucose can get into a cell without insulin present it is not enough for proper functioning over a prolonged period of time, high blood sugars indicate glucose is not being absorbed.

If no insulin is passing into the cells, they produce glycogen, which says to your liver "hey, do something quickly, we're dying here". the liver then processes fatty acids into glucose (which of course is pointless, as it can never get to the cells, but the liver doesn't know that). The byproduct of this process are the ketones. If you take insulin, the glucose in your blood can get into the cells, so they stop producing glycogen, so the liver stops the process so no more ketones get produced, and eventually they get eliminated from the body. The body gets rid of them through aspiration and through urine/sweat - this is why, if you keep producing them, your body goes into overdrive trying to get rid of them and you can dehydrate, and / or hyperventilate.

Close, glycogen is a form of stored glucose found mainly in the liver (but also in small amounts in muscle tissue). In a normal person low blood sugars trigger Glucagon secretion from the pancreatic alpha cells that tells the liver to break down glycogen for energy but in these cases a person has insulin to help the glucose go into the cell. In Diabetics you get a dysregulation of this system (it fails completely in type 1 diabetics hence why we can hypo so easily and in type 2 diabetics due to the affects of consistent high blood sugars, high insulin levels and zinc in the early onset and pro inflammatory conditions as well as many other reasons (too long to go into in depth)). Ketones are formed from the break down of fatty acids through acetyl CoA. This process is triggered by high or low glucose levels alone (AFAIK but my mind is a bit sketchy on this as it could be through hormonal/neuronal signalling).

Also, if I recall correctly, the ketones themselves are crystalline (I'm a bit vague on this if I'm being honest) so they can damage the cells while they are whizzing around.

They are crystalline in a dried state but water soluble, I think the damage is mainly caused by the shift in pH damaging the lining of blood vessels as it strips the lining of the arterial cell walls directly after the heart due its lowering in pH, also damages the vessels in the eye in such cases as well and other such issues.

There is obviously alot more going on and only some of this touches on my area of research so apologies for any errors.

Hal Emmerich wrote: »

What's this about????

My Father was diagnosed Type 2 few Months back, Doc gave him Prescription for Glucophage and sent him on his way.....

Your doctor should have recommended him to a Diabetes clinic for at the very least a full once over, normally the GP will give you a list of places, ask which one suits and write a referral letter (or send one) and they will contact you with an appointment. How did he diagnose him? did he do a fasting GTT or blood samples? Go back to your GP and ask for a referral ASAP, your GP is probably good at his job, a diabetes day care team will be better (more specialised) and notice any errors/changes that need to be attended, arrange eye checks, chiropody etc.

robinph wrote: »

Think I'm getting though about 330+'ish a day, but if anything I could do with a few more. There are more carbs consumed before and during training if needed to get the BG level where I want it, but I'd not be counting them in the daily total. Gels/ Lucozade certainly don't count as food anyway.

I don't count anything I eat while out on the bike or that is taken during excercise.

Good luck with DCM on Monday, don't forget the clocks change on Sunday.

Had to call it and say no, my knees have been giving me trouble over the last while, I thought I could pull out a half marathon and walk the rest but they said no to anything on the day (got a 200km cycle in on the Saturday though).

I just got my race number and chip through today for a marathon on the 6th November. Won't be a fast one because of the course profile, but hoping to get as close as I can to 3hrs to prove a point to myself.

Are you doing the NYC? My former running partner done it last year, loved it, fair play if you are or is there one closer to home?