I was one of those people who knew my lifestyle was unhealthy, and turning it around was always just one week away. The diagnosis of type II felt like a loss of agency. Like it was no longer my choice to cut back on, or to cut out sugar.
Once the initial shock of diagnosis and grief over all the foods I’d lost settled down, the truth was clear. I had made the choice. The choice to open every single one of those sodas, the choice to go with convenience over health. The choice to kick the can down the road, and I still had the choice to diet, or die slowly.
Not gonna lie and say my diet is perfect now but, according to my NP, my labs paint the picture of someone successfully managing diabetes. I know I still have some work to do though.
Rhynoplaz@lemmy.world 2 days ago
If a diabetic has low blood sugar, then they literally DO need sugar, and fast!
AVincentInSpace@pawb.social 11 hours ago
Which is true, and a good argument in favor of diabetics having easy access to sugary things – not having them when they’re needed can literally be life-threatening. It is not, however, am argument for everyone having easy access to them – corporations bet on people getting addicted to them, and sugary drinks in particular give a sharp increase in risk for developing diabetes.
Rhynoplaz@lemmy.world 6 hours ago
There’s no question that sugar is bad for you. I just wanted to point out that the person I was replying to was VERY wrong about what diabetes is and how it works.
wonderingwanderer@sopuli.xyz 1 day ago
That’s hypoglycemia, not diabetes which is hyperglycemia
Rhynoplaz@lemmy.world 1 day ago
My wife has diabetes and I can tell that you think you know what you’re talking about, but you’re very wrong.
rumba@lemmy.zip 1 day ago
They’re making some shitty assumptions that someone will read and pass off as fact. Some asshole manager somewhere will read that bullshit and tell a diabetic they can wait to eat because it’s no big deal because wanderingwanderer needs to feel like they said their peace about shit they don’t live with.
rumba@lemmy.zip 1 day ago
You message is is medically wrong, It misunderstands both diabetes and hypoglycemia, and it gives unsafe advice.
A diabetic with low blood sugar absolutely does need fast‑acting sugar.
That’s not optional, not “only if they messed up,” and not something complex carbs can fix quickly enough.
Hypoglycemia is an acute medical emergency, especially for insulin‑dependent diabetics.
Complex carbs (starches) take 20–60 minutes to digest.
A hypoglycemic diabetic can lose consciousness in under 5 minutes.
This is false.
Hypoglycemia is extremely common in diabetics, especially those using insulin or sulfonylureas. It is not a separate condition. It is a direct consequence of diabetes treatment.
Insulin overdose
Delayed meals
Exercise
Alcohol
Illness
Normal day‑to‑day variation in insulin sensitivity
All can cause hypoglycemia in diabetics.
So saying “that’s hypoglycemia, not diabetes” shows a misunderstanding of how diabetes works.
You should consider educating yourself about diabetic hypoglycemia or insulin_overdose. before you start handing out medical advice.
wonderingwanderer@sopuli.xyz 1 day ago
I wasn’t handing out medical advice. Notice nothing I said was directed towards hypoglycemics? If someone has the medical condition then chances are they talk about it with their doctors already and know what they need to
The one thing I stand corrected on is that diabetics can have hypoglycemia as a complication of their medication. That makes sense. I wasn’t thinking about that because I assumed it’s usually a more carefully administered dose. But it’s reasonable that sometimes shit happens. But diabetes is still hyperglycemia, and as you stated, diabetic hypoglycemia is a response to medication.
That being said, you’re acting like you’re contradicting me by saying fast-acting sugars are necessary in an emergency. But the thing is, I clearly stated that emergencies are the moments when simple sugars are needed rather than complex carbs.
People who suffer from standalone hypoglycemia can prevent acute crises by eating enough complex carbs throughout the day. As long as they do that, they don’t require simple fast-acting sugars. Those are only needed when blood sugar drops dangerously low, as I already stated.
I don’t know enough about diabetes to say whether insulin-induced hypoglycemia functions the same way. I imagine it could drop off more precipitously. I don’t know how easy or difficult it is to administer the right dose of insulin at the right time, or to manage blood sugar levels by consuming complex carbs through the day rather than relying on simple sugars during emergencies. I don’t have a horse in that race.
The point is though, simple sugars are only necessary during emergencies. And for standalone hypoglycemia at least, consuming complex carbs throughout the day is much healthier and safer than waiting till there’s an emergency and then hitting the soda like it’s an epi-pen.