Diabetes ruining my life......?? Weight loss and yeast infections that dont go away... please help

[gm0805]

Hello everyone. I am ashamed of writing this, for i know ive been horrible with ym diabetes. I have been a type 1 diabetic since i was 11, i am now 23. Always had it under ocntrol, eating right, etc.Abount a year and a half ago, i decided to stop taking insulin because i  read a stupid book "natural cures they dont want u to know abouit" which  said to stop all insulin and get cured. Since then, i have lost a lot of weight, too much weight for me. I went fro a size 9 to a 3. I have had an ongoing yeast infetion for a year now. I very recently started taking my insulin again, and i eat a lot, but dont gain weight. I took blood tests and everything came out good, except for my Blood sugar of course, its too high. Could this be the cause of my weight loss? And my yeast infections? If so, how can i get back on tract? has anyone been trhough this? I know i need to cut down on the sugar, i eat way too much fatteing food, but never gain weight. I realy wanna get my life back together. Thanks for any advice. God bless you all!

[JDRF-VOL-RL]

Hello.  I'm not a medical professional, just the parent of a kid with diabetes.  I'm glad you realized the error of your ways.  The cause of your weight loss is absolutely your high blood sugars.  As the body doesn't get the insulin it needs, it begins to consume itself.  

The most important thing to do, as you know, is to get your blood sugars back under control.  It sounds like you know how to manage your blood sugars once you get them back in range.  Have you checked for ketones?  Those are the byproducts from the process that caused you to lose weight.  If you have ketones, you must immediately act to get rid of those, and I suspect you do from your comment that you can't gain weight.  Your diet isn't as big of deal as you may think, because as long as you understand your carb ratios, you can eat pretty much anything, you just need to make sure you take the proper amount of insulin to cover it.  Now, that's not license to eat as much of anything as you want, it is just an understanding that, as a diabetic, you aren't limited to only low carb or no carb foods.  The yeast infection is likely a by-product of your high blood sugars.  I'd suspect it would clear up, with the help of antibiotics, once your blood sugars are back in control.

So the first thing to do check for ketones.  You can get ketosticks at your local pharmacy to do that testing.  The second thing I would do is make an appointment with an endocrinologist, if you haven't already.  They can talk you through how to handle the ketones, because the amount of extra insulin you'll need depends on a lot of factors.  They can also help you re-determine your carb ratios, get you back on the proper amounts of long acting insulin, and likely even get you in contact with a dietician to help you with what you eat.  They'll help you make a plan for getting things back in order.  Good luck!  I know you'll do great!

[Forum-vol-cmb]

You might also want to have your thyroid checked. I had Graves disease and ate and ate but actually lost weight. Graves disease is an overactive thyroid. Sometimes when you have diabetes you can develop other endocrine system diseases. I am not trying to scare you or make people think once you have diabetes you will develop another disease, but there is the possibility. The most common thyroid test is the blood test that measures the amount of thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) in your bloodstream. The test is sometimes called the thyrotropin-stimulating hormone test.

[stackchips]

how long can one survive without doing their insulin??

Ive always imagined getting stuck on an island without meds.  so how long would one last..???

[dp1962]

Please see you doctor asap.  I stopped taking my insulin last July I ended up in a coma for a month.  I had ketoasidosis along with complete kidney, liver etc shut down I was put on life support and told my family i would die.  All because I stopped taking my insulin then got really sick.  I am better now.  I just woke up ony day in the hospital and they said it was a miricle.  I also still get thos yeast infections its from high blood sugars. Don't take an antibiotic you get yeast infections from antibiotics.  The pharmacy has the over the counter creams or the doctor can give you that one day pill difucan.  Good luck to you.