PSA - Type 2 Diabetes

I know a lot of us here, get the warning that you are Pre-Diabetic, don't ignore it. Until a few years ago, your doctor rarely even tested for it, now it is a big deal.

My Brother most likely will go to heaven tomorrow due to Diabetes. He never went to the doctor, but was tested 15 years ago, and they told him he was Pre-diabetic. He pretty much ignored it. Fast forward 2-3 years ago, and he started getting numbing and pain in his feet (neurotrophy), went to the Dr and was told he is Diabetic, still kind of ignored it but he was dealing with his feet being cold all of the time, then they started turning blue. Went to Dr and eventually they had to amputate his toes (14 months ago) and he went on Dialyses every night for 9 hours. At that point walking and infections were rampant. Heart surgery didn't help while he got weaker and weaker, by December 2025, he could no longer get out of bed and has been bedridden since.

Two weeks ago, while weighing 130lbs (should weigh 190lbs), the doctors finally told him that he will never get on the kidney transplant list and this is the best his life will ever be, bedridden and on Dialyses every day. His wife of 8 years is a wreck, and he made the decision to go off Dialyses and let nature take its course. As the oldest brother, I told him this is very selfless and I was proud of him, he thanked me and really appreciated that I saw what he was seeing.

He is only 53 years old and 7 years younger than me. If you have blood surgery issues, it is easy to turn around the effects, trust me, I did. I went from an A1C of 8.2 to a 5.2, it really wasn't that hard. DON'T IGNORE

OMG, I am so sorry!
My wife's Uncle went through this. It is NO JOKE!
It got to the point after 2 amputations...he said they aren't cutting anything else off...Eff IT!!!
He was gone pretty soon after.

I am sorry you are going through this.

Sorry to hear about yore brothers' health and imminent passing. Same happened to my FIL, told Prediabetic and did little to check sugar or cut back, only slightly made any effort. Got worse, saw number crash and was told to do insulin shots, had all the numb hands and feet issues, couldn't walk like before and finally said Eff This. Didn't last 2 months after that.

I went from same, was told Prediabetic and soared up to 8.3 in less than a year, got serious about it and 2 years later not even Pre-D anymore.

I'm still mid-section fat though LOL - Michelin man or Kool-aid, not sure. But hey all my numbers are great LOL

Very sorry to hear this.

Crusty said:

Sorry to hear about yore brothers' health and imminent passing. Same happened to my FIL, told Prediabetic and did little to check sugar or cut back, only slightly made any effort. Got worse, saw number crash and was told to do insulin shots, had all the numb hands and feet issues, couldn't walk like before and finally said Eff This. Didn't last 2 months after that.

I went from same, was told Prediabetic and soared up to 8.3 in less than a year, got serious about it and 2 years later not even Pre-D anymore.

I'm still mid-section fat though LOL - Michelin man or Kool-aid, not sure. But hey all my numbers are great LOL

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There is a misconception that being Fat will make you be Diabetic while they do go hand and hand, they don't always correlate. Being in shape does help with all the side effects of Diabetes, along with diet. But you can still be fat and not a diabetic and be skinny and be a diabetic. The problem with Type 2, you really don't feel anything in your body until it is too late, no pain, no energy issues or anything. Blood flow is the biggest side effect, especially in your legs/feet.

If you are on Instagram, follow this guy "Insulineresistant1" He really will help you with easy diet things as well. Pretty much stay away from Carbs, no pasta, no rice, no bread.........pizza really bad as well. Other than that, it is way easy.

Damn.

Cookie said:

There is a misconception that being Fat will make you be Diabetic while they do go hand and hand, they don't always correlate. Being in shape does help with all the side effects of Diabetes, along with diet. But you can still be fat and not a diabetic and be skinny and be a diabetic. The problem with Type 2, you really don't feel anything in your body until it is too late, no pain, no energy issues or anything. Blood flow is the biggest side effect, especially in your legs/feet.

If you are on Instagram, follow this guy "Insulineresistant1" He really will help you with easy diet things as well. Pretty much stay away from Carbs, no pasta, no rice, no bread.........pizza really bad as well. Other than that, it is way easy.

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Thanks for the PSA and my condolences for little bro. I can't imagine surviving my little brother... I have bloodwork planned for this week. Been 5 years since I saw a doc for non-emergency room type stuff.

Blood sugar and general health: if it comes ready to eat in a package and you don't recognize it as whatever it came from, don't eat it.

Condolences, Cookie.

I'm on other meds that require blood work at least once a year. Diabetes is not a worry, but I do get to hear that I need to lose weight and drink less..

Kraut_n_Rice said:

Condolences, Cookie.

I'm on other meds that require blood work at least once a year. Diabetes is not a worry, but I do get to hear that I need to lose weight and drink less..

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Nonsense.

Cookie, Sorry to hear this. I hit pre-diabetic and got serious. I dropped 60 pounds and turned my eating and habits around. I'm A1C 4.6 now. All my other numbers are in and doing much better. I also found that accepting the "Well, i'm older now and with age comes the pills..." It doesn't have to be that way. I'm off all prescriptions except a sleeping pill. If you can find me a legitimate alternative to sleep pills for my insomnia, I'm all ears. I'm doing whatever it take to stay off pharmaceuticals.

Pre-D myself. Hit 7.6 after 6 weeks of debauchery in Glamis. Diagnosed as Type 2 after that blood test. Got serious, didn't take the pills. tested 4 more times in 4 weeks. 7.4-7.1-6.8 then 6.5 eating good and not drinking. Testing Blood sugar was in the normal range. Need to stay focused and keep it low.

I've been on GLP-1 medications, tried Ozempic (great for Diabetes), Wegovy (dropped weight too fast) and it was Mounjaro (best of both weight/diabetes) that worked for me. Allot of trial and error, nausea and constipation. It helped kill allot of the sugar cravings, that was huge win for me, no longer crave it or when something is too sweet...i don't even like it anymore.

I stress eat, dopamine junky.... but shitty food now makes me feel sick shortly after.... it's a long slow steady change.

Consider it, it's worked for me so far. 2 years in, so i obviously didn't melt away LOL - still other crap i have to get better at.

Wife was ignoring her type 2 diabetes and had a mini-stroke in November at age 50. 4 different areas of the brain got hit. She is a very different person now.
I highly encourage anybody that has a family member with diabetes to dig deep and educate yourself as much as you can. Often times they don't even know what to do... Bringing awareness to them is the best you can do to help them.
But in the end, It's hard to help people that don't want to help themselves. I have a lot to say about that but I'm still processing everything myself..

Here's the best piece of advice. Just losing weight isn't enough. Diet change, routine change, habit change. AND...most importantly, don't get discouraged. I have played the game of 3 steps forward, 2 steps back the past few years. The damage we have done is not easily reversible...and...like it or not, we're getting older.

Even after losing weight, stopping drinking, eating better, etc...I developed a heart issue. I had heart surgery last month. Doing much better but I can't help but ask..."Now what?, What's next?" I have a few more appointments for some checks and to get more information but after that, I can rest a while. There's nothing else left to check.

20 years ago I had French toast every day for breakfast.

6 years ago it was two donuts, a Bagel sammich and two 8 oz Redbulls before lunch.

Today, it's Dave's Killer Bread (21 Grain organic) with Justin's Peanut Butter and tall glasses of water.

I don't drink, never "needed" to. Watched my best friend die in 2019 because of it.

Pretty stoked that I used the computer in my head and willpower to change my habits and got ahead of my ultra shitty diet, earlier than later.