[VermontChick]

do our bodies increase in sensitivity as we lose weight? this is what i need to hear. i want to know that if i lose all the weight i need to (i am over 150 pounds overweight, i weigh 297), that my diabetes will be easier to manage.

any personal stories of this happening to anyone?

thanks,

melissa

[kittycat40]

I know several people including my brother and stepfather who were taken off meds after weight loss.

[VermontChick]

thanks kittykat! i am newly diagnosed, i've been on metformin for about three weeks now, and i feel great - but the fact is my blood glucose is still a lot higher than i would like it to be. did it take your brother and dad a long time to get it under control?

congrats on running nearly 300 miles!!

[Ruthxxx]

Yes - definitely. Be patient.

[beerab]

From all I have heard it helps. Though I was on metformin for two years and it didn't do anything for me- but my friend got on it and lost weight quickly. What a cruel world

[kaplods]

Our doctor told my husband that weight loss was not a guaranteed "cure," but that even if it did nothing more than prevent him from having to increase his medications, that in itself would be remarkable (as the natural course of diabetes is to get worse, so even slowing the progression of the disease is something to celebrate).

[meowee]

Nothing cures diabetes . . . but weight loss definitely makes it easier to control. Lots of people are able to get off meds completely but, bear in mind, that it is a progressive and incurable disease and you can never just go back to your old eating habits.

[VermontChick]

ok, the 'it gets progressively worse' part is not very uplifting...i thought that with diet and lifestyle changes you could live a normal healthy life

[meowee]

Yes you can live a normal and healthy life . . . but you will always be "a person with diabetes" and as such you will always be more susceptible to certain other health conditions (from simple things like yeast infections to very un-simple things like kidney disease and heart conditions), than someone who does not have diabetes . . . so "normal" is a relative term. It definitely does not mean that you can ever ignore the way you eat or the way you behave.

Also, unfortunately, once getting off meds does not mean that you will never need them again. After losing my first 60 or 65 pounds I managed to cut my meds way down and actually got off insulin for a year. Here I am a year and a half later and another 10 to 15 pounds lighter and I'm back on insulin. But, as far as my day to day activities and quality of life are concerned, I consider myself very "normal" for someone of my age (66) and weight (see ticker).

The condition usually diagnosed as "pre-diabetes" also a part of "syndrome X" can be completely reversed. True diabetes cannot. Living with Diabetes is a long-term thing; but it certainly doesn't mean anything is restricted other than eating junk food all the time or living a sleep-deprived and totally unbalanced lifestyle.

If "normal" for you means eating and drinking everything you want whenever you want it and being able to party all night -- no you will likely never be able to live a "normal" life again; but I don't think that describes you, does it?

We all feel pretty down during the early times after our diagnosis, Chickie. I tried the 'wishing the disease would go away' route for years and it doesn't work and believe me I was about ten years into my life as a "PWD" (person with diabetes) before anyone ever told me that it was a progressive or lifelong disease. That news was not easy to hear for me either. However, I wish I had heard it earlier. You really do need to know what you are facing here.

Sorry for the 'tough-love' routine, sweetie . . . It's just because I do care about you. I know you can do this.

[VermontChick]

oh, i know i will never be able to eat junk food again. by living a normal life, i mean living a life where i am active, vital, and can do everything everyone else does. and then die happily in my bed at age 100. i feel like becoming diabetic was the only way to make myself lose weight. when i am at a healthy weight i believe, even if i am diabetic, i will be a thousand times healthier than an obese person who isn't diabetic. dont you think?

[Grace73]

i have heard that too..
If you lose weight.. you can stop a lot of differnt meds!!
check with your doctor!

and we all know you can do it!