i am 54 don't drink not o weight i have type one dbts i cant give up sugar how bad could this be?

Answer 1

You will need to carefully watch your sugar intake. The worse case scenario is death. However, I describe the main details here for you:- Finding out you have diabetes is scary. But don't panic. Diabetes is serious, but people with diabetes can live long, healthy, happy lives. In type 1 diabetes, the body does not produce insulin. Insulin is a hormone that is needed to convert sugar (glucose), starches and other food into energy needed for daily life and you have to inject it yourself. In order to keep the blood glucose level close to normal after eating, you need to inject just the right amount of insulin to deal with the food that you eat. It is also important that the injection is timed right, so that the insulin is arriving in the bloodstream at the same time that the glucose from the digested food is being absorbed from the gut. If there is too little insulin (for the amount of glucose coming from the digested food) then the blood glucose level will rise too high (hyperglycaemia). If there is too much insulin (or not enough glucose coming from the digested food) then the blood glucose level will fall too low (hypoglycaemia). So, your food intake needs to be closely matched by your insulin injections. This is why you will need to consider not only what you eat, but how much you eat, and when. Patients with diabetes type 1 are afflicted by an autoimmune illness which results in complete destruction of pancreatic insulin-producing cell, the so-called beta cells of the islets of Langerhans. These chronologically ill persons must receive insulin to survive. Given proper guidance they can experience a relative normal life. However, this requires that they take over the responsibilities of the beta-cell "manually". That is, they must monitor their blood sugar level, plan their physical activities and their meals and calculate the amount and type of insulin that they must administer. No easy situation! Hypoglycemic episodes due to unbalanced insulin dosing do occur in some patients. Advice on correct insulin doseing will be obtained from your doctor, the diabetic clinic or the hospital.
Hope this helps
Matador 89

Answer 2

First of all, if you have been Type 1 since childhood (you may have been diagnosed as an adult though), you most likely have some genetic protection from complications if you have been able to survive this long. This is good.

The main issue for you is NOT eating sugar, but what your blood glucose levels are. If your control is fairly good, there is no reason why a TYPE ONE diabetic needs to give up sugar (Type 2 is another story).

All you need to do is use the new insulin analogues (Humalog etc.) and learn to count carbohydrates to work sugar into your meal plan. Of course, you should still eat healthy like everyone else for general health, but you can also have treats, just like everyone else.

If blood glucose is properly controlled, a healthy diet is the main staple of what you eat, and you know how to adjust insulin doses for treats, this is not any more harmful to a Type 1 diabetic to have sugar than anyone else. Wait about 15-20 minutes after you take your Humalog so you won't have a huge spike in your BG when simple sugar is consumed. ONLY do this when you have simple sugar.

Please schedule an apointment with a Certified Diabetes Educator who can show you how to do this.

Most people here will tell you "you will die from sugar" or that their (Type 2) diabetic grandmother died from eating cookies. Most media and lay information about diabetes refers to Type 2.

Newsflash...if you are still alive after having Type 1 this long, I highly doubt a weekly cookie will kill you. In fact, since any carbohydrate will raise your BG (bread, rice, beans, potatoes, milk...) you might as well cut out ALL these healthy foods if you follow this advice.

Most people who don't take care of their diabetes die period, no matter what they eat. Taking care of your BG levels is the key.

As a Type 1, you CAN work treats into you meal plan. Please review what I said and see a Nurse Educator or Dietician. Lots has changed.

I also want to point out that a Type 1 diabetic (the severe non-preventable form of diabetes) can have very unstable and abnormal blood sugars even WHEN they practice tight control AND follow a strict diet. Years before home blood glucose monitoring and better insulin, Type 1 diabetics often died with many horrible complications early on despite all being on a VERY strict "no sugar" diet. If this disease is going to shorten a lifespan regardless of what you do, or someone has lived their entire life with this horrible disease and are ok thus far, it seems kind of stupid to chastise them for having a treat. The key is moderation.

Answer 3

It's Bad for Type 1 and any Diabetes, because if you continue sugar as your main substance then Regular Insulin is going to substain your life for the rest of your life. With this in mind you will be living the yo-yo effect which will cause complications to result effecting eyesite, kidneys, Vascular problems and Conjestive Heart Failure.
Let's say you buy a bag of M&Ms', eating the proper amount according to your Diet you be be allowed 3, not 3 bags, 3 M&Ms' this is based on an 1800 calorie Diet. If you decide to have your Diet expanded to lets say 2200 calories, your Insulin value is also going to be increased and your exercise program increased as well. Now your sitting at 2200 calories and you decide not to eat regular meals because that bag of M&Ms' is looking good. You eat the M&Ms' and take a blood draw, hey wait a minute I didn't eat any thing else but M&Ms' why is it 550mg? The Insulin you are taking to counter the sugar does not react as Insulin aquired by your Pancreas. To many factors are missing using Injected Insulin. Thus you have the yo-yo effect. If quitting sugar is not an ubtainable option then try using the Pump. With the pump you program in what your going to eat and the program instructs the pump to inject enough R Insulin into your body to cover the amount of carbs you counted for your snack or meal. The pump does not work with NPH insulin. It is designed to only administer Regular. I think you ought to quit sugars and get with the program. It's called Diabetes and it wants to destroy you and all that are effected by you. If you don't take control of it first, it will destroy you and deliver you a miserable life. You need to cut down on sugar which is one of the main factor's in the Diabetic Regiment.
Good Luck & Good Health

Answer 4

I am a mother with a son who is a type one diabetic. He is taking Lantus and his fast acting insulin. He is allowed sugar, it really depends of the type of meds you use. The rule we follow is sweets with meals so he can do insulin to cover the carbs. The old school ways were no sugar never. It is tough having to have rules on when and what you can eat and alot of people don't understand that. Do your best because excessive high blood sugars can lead to diabetic neuropathy especially if you have had diabetes for a prolonged period which I am assuming you have, which is nerve damage causing problems with your circulation, vision, your ability to tell if your high or low, sudden and severe pain, and so forth. Be careful with yourself I believe a cure is coming very soon, you don't want to cause yourself irreversible damage.

Answer 5

Well, you are aging your organs faster with sugar. If sugar is bad for people without diabetes or can instigate type 2 in relatively healthy people, then why would you want to promote blindness and kidney failure?

It's about quality of life. Suffer many years waiting to die... or living life to the fullest with energy and things to do.

Obviously at age 54 you are starting to feel the affects of aging before your time... so, you want to reverse those biomarkers of aging, no???

It can be done for Type 1 diabetics. Just because the medical paradigm writes them off doesn't mean you have to.

Answer 6

Most people with Type 1 learn how to adjust their insulin so that they can have some sugar. Adjusting insulin is very important since your sugar is high no matter what you eat ...without the insulin.

Answer 7

why not just cut down? i have diabetes too (type 1) and have some sugar. just not in my drinks and i try to watch the rest of it. but i have it when i really want it.

Answer 8

don't give me that C#$P, you can give up sugar, you just don't want to. what will it take to Quit? losing a kidney, how about a few toes or fingers? or a leg, how about your eyesight? your not just talking about losing body parts but eventually your life. but its your life right? you are an adult and should know better, i would venture to say that if you don't take care of this now you wont see your 64th B-day.

Answer 9

no idea why you would want to change up what youve been doing. if you have type one just continue on what you have been doing since if its type 1 youve had it since you were a child.