can you get rid of diabetes?

I am overweight and have gotten diabetes. If I lose weight, will diabetes go away? Or will I have diabetes forever???

[JDRF-Team-LRS]

Hello SaturnStroll,
NOne of us here is a physician, but we're pretty experienced and knowledgeable about this disease.

Many overweight folks who develop diabetes have Type 2, but you haven't mentioned whether you have Type 2 or Type 1.  Do you know which type you have?

Folks with Type 2 who return to a healthy weight can often stop taking meds and can control their diabetes with exercise and a sensible diet.  Technically, however, I don't think they are cured because if they drop their good self-care, their symptoms (and potential risks for other nasty complications) will all return).

Folks with Type 1 diabetes who may be overweight, can often lower their dosage of insulin, but will not be able to stop taking insulin.  Folks with Type 1 (also called Juvenile Diabetes even tho' many of us are adults now!) lose the ability to produce insulin and thus, even with weight loss, we must continue to take insulin.

Do you have a team to help you?  Weight loss is tough.  The frightening diagnosis of diabetes can get folks started, and yet it often takes a good strong will AND a helpful team of family, certified diabetes educator, diabetogist/endocrinologist to help a newly diagnosed diabetic develop good new habits to replace the comfy ones that must be tossed aside.

Please check in again and share a bit more about the "type" you are.  That way we can point you to some additional good resources.

[TonyAlmeida]

The stark reality is - once you have Diabetes (either Type 1 or Type 2) you have it for life.  Unlike illnesses like Cancer, which can go into indefinite remission, Diabetes doesn't go away.  There are no cures or fixes - just ways to "manage" it.

Diabetes is not a disease that comes and goes away in time - it is the "end result" of something that has happened to your body that A) destroyed the cells in your pancreas that produce insulin, or B) caused your cells to become insulin resistant, or C) a combination of both A and B.

As stated above - if you are Type 2 Diabetic (most overweight Diabetics are) - you take insulin sensitizer pills that make your cells receptive to insulin.  With the proper carefully controlled diet - you can control your sugar levels and reduce the number of pills you have to take.  Type 2 Diabetics usually have a functioning pancreas.

If you are Type 1 - your pancreas no longer will produce insulin and you need to inject insulin in order to control sugar levels even if you properly diet.  With Type 1 - there is no feasible way around giving yourself insulin shots. "Insulin pills" do not exist, neither does an "insulin patch" - although there is research into these insulin delivery methods.

[ajandlauren]

I'm afraid I might be getting diabetes, if I do can I get rid of them?

[REALITY9013]

I was diagnosed with diabetes two years ago when I went for my annual physical, my sugar reading was 210. My Doctor then, placed me on Advandamet, and I began losing over 40 pounds from worrying after reading all the horible things biabetes does to you. I didn't want to be in that category or ready to die this early in my life. I lost the weight and sugar levels were back to normal, My new Doctor took me off the medication and for over a year I kept the weight off and sugar seemed fine. I began to believe that weight loss had nothing to do with it so I began eating back like I used to, you know the "comfort foods" well I gained 30 pounds and recently my employer had us have a blood test done. Guess what? yep sugar level 180...tryglicerides 210 they obvious go hand in hand with one another. I remember when I saw a nutrienist she told me I could beat the diabetes type 2 by excercise and diet but she said this will have to be a life change and not just a diet. She explained that diets are short term life style changes are a lifetime. Well for me, I am going back to no firied foods, no sugar, and alot of salads, chicken,seafood, and lean beef.....and back to the gym!!!!!!   My sugar was not as high as it was when intially diagnosed 2 years ago so that is encouraging...........i will report my results I am 224 pounds now with a goal of 180lbs and then another blood test. Don't give up.....make that life style change, I will say it is hard and don't do what I did after you lose it,,,,,,keep it off.

[Rachel_R]

"The stark reality is - once you have Diabetes (either Type 1 or Type 2) you have it for life."
Not entirely true. Early on it is possible to reverse t2, especially with weight loss, exercise and diet. The longer you put off attending to your weight loss, the higher your risk of having diabetes for life.

[hava]

These Yog pranayam exercises will help control the diabetes and the side effects.Build up the timing gradually.If you feel tired or dizzy, stop and resume later(after about a minute).The benefits will be noticed in weeks as the sugar level is checked daily.Over the long term the diabetes will be in full control.

Kapalbhati -(Do it before eating) Push air forcefully out through the nose about once per second. Stomach will itself go in(contract in). The breathing in(through the nose) will happen automatically. Establish a rhythm and do for 15 to 30 minutes twice a day.
Children under 15 years – do 10 to 15 minutes twice a day.
Not for pregnant women. Seriously ill people do it gently.

Anulom Vilom –
Close your right nostril with thumb and deep breath-in through left nostril
then – close left nostril with two fingers and breath-out through right nostril
then -keeping the left nostril closed deep breath-in through right nostril
then - close your right nostril with thumb and breath-out through left nostril.
This is one cycle of anulom vilom.
Repeat this cycle for 15 to 30 minutes twice a day.
Children under 15 years -  do 10 to 15 minutes twice a day.
You can do this before breakfast/lunch/dinner or before bedtime or in bed.Remember to take deep long breaths into the lungs.You can do this while sitting on floor or chair or lying in bed.

Also everyday, press the centre point of the palm of both your  hands 40 times with the thumb and press the tips of all fingers 40 times each.
To stimulate the pancreas to produce insulin: mandukasan - kneel down(with feet pointing inwards,and sit on the ankles/heels, Vajrasan position), breathe in and breathe out completely and hold your breath, pull the stomach in, press both your  hands on stomach, bend forward as much as possible keeping the head straight, hold for 5 to 15 seconds and come back up while breathing in. Repeat  this 3 times daily  to stimulate the kidney and pancreas.Mandukasan2 - Repeat the whole process,but this time with with fists of both hands pressing against the stomach.Mandukasan can be done sitting on a chair, if you cannot bend the legs.
Continue the breathing exercises once a day, after the diabetes is in full control.

[sadie1234524]

i have got type 1 diabetes can i have diabetes for life or is there something to treat it..

[Zoelula]

Sadie

This thread has gotten a bit confusing because people are talking about both Type 1 and Type 2 which are very different types of diabetes. For Type 1 diabetes you need to take insulin to manage your blood sugar, and you will always have to do so. But if you take the right doses and test your blood sugar and eat a good diet, you won't have complications. If you are young, you can hope that in the future they will develop a cure.

By the way, Type 1 is no longer called Juvenile Diabetes but simply Type 1. Besides the fact that young people grow up, the medical profession is recognizing more and more people as developing Type 1 later in life. I was diagnosed at age 58. I may act juvenile at times, but chronologically...not so much!

[nikki950]

My boyfriend is on the way to diabetes type 2 and im really scared...im only 17 and i dont know how to help him. i keep telling that he needs to excerise everyday but he is so stubborn and wont listen to me. how can i help him?? or should i just leave him and he will have to learn the hard way?

[Zoelula]

Is he diagnosed as pre-diabetic Nikki, or are you just concerned about the way he doesn't take care of himself in general. Not everyone who eats poorly or is overweight gets diabetes. However if he is pre-diabetic he will definitely develop diabetes and diabetic complications if he doesn't make changes in his lifestyle. Diabetic complications are not pretty and include blindness, amputations and kidney failure.

As for what you can do about it, that's another question. It's really hard to convince someone of something when they are in denial and being defensive. All you can do is express your caring and concern. You can download useful information and leave it around. Diabetes is a disease that can be managed, but if ignored it will only get worse. If you are too bothered by his behavior and leave him that is your choice. It's very frustrating!

[Zoelula]

By the way, this is the Type 1 forum and there is another thread for Type 2. Issues are very different.