@A DiabetesTeam Member you have a bunch of "blanket statements" there.

First off the "average" Diabetic produces nowhere near 3 times the insulin of a normal person.

Very few who are severely Insulin Resistant may produce that much for a short while before their Beta function "burns out" from over use.

Any Type 2 that has had a C-Peptide test done knows that they are only producing 80 to 90% of what a "normal person" produces and unless the doctor is inept will not be on supplemental insulin until their production is considerably less.

There is no "Cure" - low diet, medication, insulin or Voodoo. Insulin was never meant as a cure, neither are any of the meds - they are there to help keep you alive longer.

The supplements are nothing more than "traditional treatments" and like your comment about insulin, if they worked not only would there be no diabetes epidemic there would also never have been a reason to discover insulin which keeps "every Type 1 on the Planet alive".

Diet, exercise and supplements, without medication WILL allow you to CONTROL down to clinically non-diabetic levels but that does not CURE or change anything - you don't fix anything - you have simply started eating to a limit that your compromised system can still metabolize.

Mentioned Users

A Diabete...

In the past couple decades, at least in the West, we have been experiencing an Obesity Epidemic.

The message has been "eat less fat". It is not because Fat makes you Fat - it doesn't, but it does contain about 2 1/2 times more calories then either protein or carbs. So if we are going to "overeat everything", it's better if we wolf down "less overall calories".

We each have a unique total calorie per day need. Sure, they can tell us that "the average adult" needs 2000 calories a day. But if that is the average then half need more than 2000 and half need less than 2000. It can take a bit of experimenting to figure out exactly how many we need as an individual.

Ok, but what does that have to do with Insulin.

Well Body Fat is produced from "left over CARBS". Carbs convert to blood sugar and Insulin (effectively) turns those carbs into (food) to feed our cells.

When our cells have finished "chowing down" and are full then Insulin converts any "leftovers" into Body Fat which is then stored for later use when needed.

So once someone goes on supplemental insulin it does take care of that "extra blood sugar floating around" which usually far exceeds what we actually need in the first place which gives up more energy (since everyone is getting better fed) - but now those "leftovers" which would have been "high blood sugar" instead get converted to "more body fat".

If you "gain weight" once you start insulin treatment it is not the fault of the insulin but rather it's telling you that you are "eating more carbs then you need to function" - so by cutting back on your carbs you will stop/prevent further weight gain.

And what is the last "side effect" of taking Insulin?

You get control of your blood sugars, prevent complications (or stop them from getting worse), enjoy a better quality of life by preventing those complications and Live Longer.

Now isn't that last "side effect" reason alone to Avoid the Stuff? (said nobody ever)

@A DiabetesTeam Member I can absolutely understand your position. And using that example I could easily feel the same way.

My Father was diagnosed at age 53. He managed with diet/exercise, then added oral meds (12 years after diagnosis). At age 77 he finally went on insulin and passed just under 5 years later.

So it would be easy to draw a bit of a line between starting insulin and end of life.

And if I didn't intimately know "his situation" I could possibly draw that conclusion.

But I know different. He should have been on insulin by the time he was 65 fully 12 years before he finally relented. It was that 12 years of "poor control" doing everything he could to try and avoid it that did him in.

I was actually surprised he lasted as long as he did. In his last 15 years he never walked unassisted. in his last 5 years it was a race between his heart and his kidneys, both of which were failing, to see what finally took him out - his heart won that race.

So yes he died shortly after going on insulin. Not because of the insulin but rather because He, like so many others, avoided it until it was far too late.

When you consider that Type 1's have no other choice and live from usually their pre-teens until they grow "very old" taking exactly the same brands of insulin that tells you it is not the insulin that is the "death sentence" but rather the aversion to taking it until it is way too late that is the greater problem.

Most Type 2's do themselves in trying to avoid it by taking "other drugs" which have outlived their effectiveness because their diabetes has progressed too far. And doctors are more willing to let them shorten their lives by years rather than try and convince them to take a product that they run from at high speed....

(I am not suggesting that it should be a first line treatment - but we should not "play around" out of control switching from one med to another, playing with dosages etc simply to stay away from the stuff. Sure try the Ozempic or the Jardiance "for a while" but after 6 months or so if it's not cutting it, it's time to choose life over fear or hesitance)

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A Diabete...

I myself thank GOD for insulin as I am a Type 1 and if it weren`t for insulin i would be dead today....

Okay my take on this one is this... I was told that once you are on insulin your body just stops making insulin and is solely dependent on you giving yourself shots. I remember an old ex friend telling me that if I got on insulin I should never be able to control my blood sugars with just diet or have a chance to .
What I know now is this:
Insulin has helped my Liver enzymes come back to normal and that is beyond a blessing for me. I have learned that my body is constantly changing and I have to adjust to it.
When I was up in Washington state I had low numbers and had to keep eating snacks every 2 hours. For me my bodies core temp drops when I am anywhere from 70-84 and I have to eat something.
BUT for me I remember being scared to give myself a shot until I was gestational with my youngest and a nurse said "What are you afraid of?" I told her and she said "Well, I'm gonna help you get over that fear today." She taught me how to give myself a shot and had me do it with saline. It was so much easier than I had imagined and the needle was so thin. I never had to go on insulin when I was gestational but when I needed to in March of last year I did not hesitate.
Thank you Graham