Diabetics feet! Who needs feet anyway...

[cutting42]

Dear Phil

I wanted you to know that your original post and subsequent story have been instrumental in me changing my lifestyle significantly. I have spent much of my life overweight and late last year I was warned of impending Type 2 diabetes. This probably would not have made much of an impact on me had I not been educated by your open and honest posts. The news terrified me into making changes to my diet and starting to seriously do some exercise on a regular basis.

That was Oct 2015 and one year on I have lost around 4 stone in weight, reduced my blood pressure, reduced cholesterol and more importantly reduced my blood sugar from 7.2 down to 5.5

I am posting this to offer my thanks to you for your bravery and sharing such a difficult story with us and to say thank you from me as it has had a real impact on my life.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

Well. So much for the angioplasty - it turned out to be an angioplasty and a "femoral - popiteal artery bypass graft with vein" and seventeen days in hospital instead of one. The consultants had a change of mind and didn't tell me.

And home with an infected 4"open wound in the groin, vaguely reminiscent of the ugliest vulva I've ever seen. I'll spare you the photos of that one. The ulcers are looking better, though.

 

[mikefab]

Well. So much for the angioplasty - it turned out to be an angioplasty and a "femoral - popiteal artery bypass graft with vein" and seventeen days in hospital instead of one. The consultants had a change of mind and didn't tell me.

Best wishes for your recovery Phil.

Mike

 

[Phil Pascoe]

Thanks, Mike. Hopefully it'll have postponed losing the second leg for a few years.

 

[Bm101]

My best wishes as always Phil. I know it's trite, but it's well meant.
Regards as always
Chris

 

[Benchwayze]

Oh Brother! This has definitely made me decide to stay with my low carb diet. MUST lose this weight. Best wishes Phil.

 

[Lons]

Please, all you diabetics - they are not joking when they tell you to be careful with your feet!

Sorry to read about you problems Phil, very sobering. Be careful!

A friend called yesterday to tell us that her "occasional" partner died last week ago. He was in his 70s, diabetic and had damaged his foot when he fell off some step ladders. Lived alone, didn't tell anyone or go to the docs and got a blood clot which they say was the cause of his death though post mortem results not back yet.

 

[finneyb]

New American Diabetes Ass Exercise Guidelines for people with diabetes and pre- diabetes; if I'm frank pre-diabetes covers everyone if they set the bar low enough and they appear to be doing just that. Basically 3 mins in every 30 mins - which has a nice ring to it http://tinyurl.com/h9zglxm

I'm sure Diabetes UK have their guidelines, but the 3 in 30 was easy to remember.

Brian

 

[Benchwayze]

New American Diabetes Ass Exercise Guidelines for people with diabetes and pre- diabetes; if I'm frank pre-diabetes covers everyone if they set the bar low enough and they appear to be doing just that.

Brian

When I was diagnosed, the diabetes nurse told me that my readings had not changed in three years, and that 12 months before I had not been considered as a diabetic.

Just makes me wonder if the drug companies are working with the NHS to get ever more people onto the drugs they prescribe. I sometimes believe they want us to be sick!

 

[finneyb]

New American Diabetes Ass Exercise Guidelines for people with diabetes and pre- diabetes; if I'm frank pre-diabetes covers everyone if they set the bar low enough and they appear to be doing just that.

Brian

When I was diagnosed, the diabetes nurse told me that my readings had not changed in three years, and that 12 months before I had not been considered as a diabetic.

Just makes me wonder if the drug companies are working with the NHS to get ever more people onto the drugs they prescribe. I sometimes believe they want us to be sick!

My view entirely; and not just diabetes. Statins is another case they recently dropped the threshold. Blood pressure has also been considered for a reduction in criteria but I don't know where we are with that one.
I'm very cynical about the whole area of allegedly preventative medicine - google Dr Margaret McCartney - a Glasgow GP .

Brian

 

[Benchwayze]

Brian,

Exactly! I could elaborate, but I am tired of being called an silly person by nutritionists. I'll just say that what I am doing is resulting in steady weight loss. It's slow, but it is working; and I don't have to knock myself out indulging in physical jerks.

Cheers

John

 

[Phil Pascoe]

Brian - diabetes costs the NHS £25,000 a minute. Excercise and dietary control are obviously to be recommended but most of the drugs are cheap in comparison with all the other attendant problems, so it would be odd in a way if they didn't set the bar low. I (like many 100,000s of others) was undoubtedly diabetic for at least a year or two and possibly more without my knowing. My sister works in the NZ health service, and she told me research is beginning to show that anti hypertensive drugs in combination with statins cause type two - I've not read it here yet, though.
I think I shall be back in hospital tomorrow with a 4" wound in the groin that won't heal - and I've yet to have another toe off. Death by a thousand cuts.

 

[lurker]

John,

Have a look here : http://www.badscience.net/about-dr-ben-goldacre/


Regarding Nutritionalists
Read about this well know con artist, scroll to the end
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gillian_McKeith

On the other hand Dieticians are fully qualified and its a criminal offence to pretend to be one

 

[finneyb]

Brian,

Exactly! I could elaborate, but I am tired of being called an silly person by nutritionists. I'll just say that what I am doing is resulting in steady weight loss. It's slow, but it is working; and I don't have to knock myself out indulging in physical jerks.

Cheers

John

John

I don't believe exercise reduces weight - don't get me wrong exercise is good and vital to health and the ADA guidelines looks to be achievable. But to reduce weight the amount of calories needed to be burned is too large for the stamina to we have to exercise to the amount required. Reducing calories intake is the way to reduce weight and maintaining that reduction.

I tend to take advice and challenge it - if it passes the challenge I'll take it on board.

Brian

 

[finneyb]

.... My sister works in the NZ health service, and she told me research is beginning to show that anti hypertensive drugs in combination with statins cause type two - I've not read it here yet, though.

Phil,

Good luck for the hospital.
It doesn't surprise me that anti- hypertensive drugs & statins can cause type 2. All drugs have side effects- there is no free meal here.

There was a theory that statins could help cause some dementias by reducing the fat content in the brain. I can see the logic but whether its true I don't know; of course there are so many variables ie the individual, the dose, the fat content of the brain etc.

Wrt the cost of diabetes - £10 billion pa was the last figure I heard, which probably equates to your £25,000 per min. If you lower the threshold of diagnosis the cost will rise; is that rise justified ? By lowering the threshold we also reduce the quality of life for the individual - by over medicalisation.

I don't believe anyone knows what the threshold should be, and it may even vary with the individual, so to lower it with its associated costs, both financial and personal, doesn't met the criteria of evidence based practice - its just movement rather than progress.

Brian

 

[Phil Pascoe]

I suspect the reasoning behind the lowering of threshold is simply that it is easy to treat with relatively cheap drugs before the limb amputations, blindness, unemployment etc. cost an awful lot more. I don't know that there are many downsides to the drugs (certainly the four I'm on) other than that one in particular (metformin) gives people stomach trouble.

 

[Benchwayze]

I suspect the reasoning behind the lowering of threshold is simply that it is easy to treat with relatively cheap drugs before the limb amputations, blindness, unemployment etc. cost an awful lot more. I don't know that there are many downsides to the drugs (certainly the four I'm on) other than that one in particular (metformin) gives people stomach trouble.

Metformin eh? I have been taking it for about 12 months now. I wonder if that's why I have frequent bouts of the runs! (I can't spell diarrhea) The other day I almost had a very embarrassing interlude in the middle of Sutton Coldfield! :shock:

:ho2

 

[DennisCA]

I too take that, in the form of another drug called Janumet, a combination of Januvia and Metformin rapid. It occasionally plays heck with my stomach, but not as bad as when I started. Better than the alternative though.

 

[Benchwayze]

John,

Have a look here : http://www.badscience.net/about-dr-ben-goldacre/


Regarding Nutritionalists
Read about this well know con artist, scroll to the end
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gillian_McKeith

On the other hand Dieticians are fully qualified and its a criminal offence to pretend to be one

Absolutely Lurker... Fully qualified according to the bunkum they were fed when they trained.Known as 'Conventional wisdom'! 8)

McKeith suffered from some arcane condition affecting her spine. (I can't recall the name.) I wonder if a lack of minerals, which could be found in meat, contributed to her condition? I too believe she was a charlatan, so I really couldn't be bothered to find out about that! I would never wish anyone any harm, but she was from another planet when it came to what was right and proper to eat!) )

 

[lurker]

The other day I almost had a very embarrassing interlude in the middle of Sutton Coldfield! :shock:

:ho2

Its a real bind when a bloke can't f*a*r*t at any time he choses