Mrs Aussie is in surgery now

Glad to hear Aussie!! Prayers will continue for speedy recovery . . .

Glad to hear things are going well again.

An update for our friends who keep asking for updates.

Gina has had a rough time of it, her recovery has been notable for how slow it has been. She is improving but it has been a long and arduous journey, she is tough though.

The latest problem is she is now dealing with type 1 Diabetes, it is not severe at this time but wow, how much does she have to deal with.

type 1 ? …. dammit

Rather unusual for type 1 Diabetes to start that late. And it is severe. There is no "almost" type 1, that I know of. You sure it isn't type 2?

Type 1, AKA "Juvenile Diabetes" is a result of the immune system destroying the cells in the pancreas that produce insulin. The body does not produce insulin and you die. Type 2 is where the end use cells do not respond to insulin as well as they should. Insulin is a hormone that tells the cells to take up food (glucose) from the blood. Type 2: Cells don't take the sugar up because the receptor doesn't work like it used to in the presense of normal levels of insulin. Type 1, there's no insulin to tell the cells anything so they don't take up the sugar.

It is the less serious version, she has to test daily and take a pill. Sorry my ability to absorb all this is reaching its peak.

aussiesmg wrote: It is the less serious version, she has to test daily and take a pill. Sorry my ability to absorb all this is reaching its peak.

Metformin? That is the pill I'm taking for type 2....

Type 2. When she recovers from everything else, she can likely get over (or control with diet and exercise) the Type 2 as well.

Anyway, we all hope she gets well Real Soon Now.

Steve, I have type 2 and I have pretty normal sugar levels by taking a daily pill (Metformin), exercising 3 or 4 times a week and watching what I eat (kinda,sorta).

Yes Metformin, sorry I mixed them up.

She is still recovering, the drugs, the slow recovery and 87 months of winter are all taking their toll.

aussiesmg wrote: It is the less serious version, she has to test daily and take a pill. Sorry my ability to absorb all this is reaching its peak.

sounds like mine (Metformin)

Dr.Hess… what about the Type 2 folk that have to inject insulin ? when I was diagnosed my Doc called it insulin resistant, or insulin dependent …. is that an over simplification?

Steve, give Gina my/all our best… this is something she can live with (the diabetes) …

praying for the her and her heart

I'm glad we can be a place for you to vent, and thanks for the updates.

Well, Type 2 is, as I described, "insulin resistant." That is, the cells' insulin receptors are not working properly, or downgraded (fewer receptors per cell) or something. "Insulin dependent" is kinda misleading. Type 1 people are definitely dependent on insulin. No insulin for them and their cells won't take up glucose, their sugar levels spike and Very Bad Things happen. Some Type 2 people can not keep their glucose level under control with metformin or the other orals. They need a bit of extra help with some added insulin. Note that they have insulin onboard now, made by their own pancreas, but the receptors in the target cells are not reacting to it properly, so more insulin makes the receptors work a bit more and the glucose is pulled into the cells. Like if your motor was hitting on 2 cylinders instead of 4 and you put your foot on the floor, you would get a little more power out of the thing and might get to the off ramp.

In school, I heard of a physician that was curing Type 2 diabetics. He would admit them to the hospital, put them in bed, hook them to IV fluids, and then not feed them at all for a couple weeks. Their bodies would fix the receptor problem and they would be fine after that. Sorry, no linky.