Rage Against The Misinformants

Modern western medical training is downright shameful, especially when it comes to educating patients newly diagnosed with diabetes.  They really need to get their act together.
Because doctors are all about advocating the high-carb, low fat diet, countless diabetics struggle through life believing they are doing everything right when, in fact, their blood sugars are nowhere near the levels of non-diabetics.  They often experience diabetes-related complications, even though they are doing everything their doctor tells them to do.  They are also often told conflicting things about what they can eat.

"Basically, you can't eat anything that tastes good."
"You can eat whatever you want, in moderation, of course."

So, um, which is it?  Misinformation is everywhere, spread by different doctors.  No wonder so many diabetics are struggling, myself included!

I lived under the dark cloud of hopelessness because I was never given any correct information.  I never believed I could have normal blood sugars because, well, face it, I'm not normal.  I'm a diabetic and diabetics have different blood sugars than non-diabetics.

What a bunch of hooey!  I've come to learn, from one of the oldest known living type 1 diabetics, Dr. Bernstein, that diabetics can and DO have normal blood sugars.  It is not impossible! 

Another thing he taught me is that normal blood sugars are a lot lower than the medical professionals would have you believe.  I was told all my diabetic life that normal blood sugars are 80-120mg/dl (that's partially true), and what's more is that some doctors tell their patients to keep their blood sugars as high as 180-200!!  Why?  Because they are afraid that any hypoglycemic episodes (low blood sugar) a patient may experience could be cause for legal action against them.  So what does that tell you?

According to Dr. Bernstein, who has done numerous tests on non-diabetics, normal blood sugar numbers fall into 3 age groups:
Pregnant women: 65mg/dl
Children: 70mg/dl
Adults: 83mg/dl

How do diabetics achieve normal blood sugars like this?  By following a low-carb, high fat diet.   Contrary to popular belief, fat does not make you fat...carbs do!  There's a reason the Watkins and Atkins diets work better than most other diets (not that I know from experience)...they are low-carb! 

So I have a new goal: keep my numbers between 70-100 as much as possible...even at bedtime.  I may  need to decrease my basal insulin (Levemir) but I won't do anything without Carrie's input...unless I start to see a repeated pattern.  Speaking of which, I have noticed multiple nights where I have gone to sleep around 150 or higher and I woke up around 70-80 so I may message her and ask her what she thinks.  See the past 3 nights here:


In other news, I'm loving using sugar cubes to treat lows!  :D  They are so easy to count carb-wise, have nothing but sugar in them, and they work great!