Updates, changes and new ideas about ways to control diabetes: Part 3

Author’s note: This is the third of a three-part series about diabetes. Part 1 offered a basic overview of the disease and its different types. Part 2 discussed ways to control it with pills, diet and exercise. 

By Garnett Stewart

Home monitoring is very crucial. Every diabetic needs a glucometer, test strips, and lancets. A new setup costs $50-60. Since my unit is not in Ecuador, I buy strips from Amazon for my older unit. I’ll buy another unit with local supplies soon.

My experience with lancets is that teaching said to use alcohol and a new one each time. Washing my hands with soap and warm water, I clean and promote finger blood flow with rapid friction for three minutes. I use my lancets 3-5 times, deepening them with age. I save a lot this way. I find alcohol pointless. It liquifies microorganisms and increases their bodily entry.  The medical world missed out. To sterilize, immerse in alcohol for 20 minutes.

Everyone should wash their hands with warm water and soap for three minutes, but few do.  Friction and warm water increase finger blood flow. Dry well and check sugar immediately. Save cash and repeat sticks!

Instead of the center pad, use finger sides. Change fingers. Extra blood can be held in a cotton ball or tissue for a few moments.

• Prepare the monitor and lancet before handwashing.
• Set the lancet to depth 3-4.
• Explore a new location and strategy if your depth is deeper.
• Get a complete drip and touch the test strip without raising the finger. Let gravity assist.
• Glucometers use flat round batteries. Keep a spare battery after 2 years. Date the new battery to remember to replace it in 2 years.

Results: Do you journal food and medicine? I calendar my results. Documenting values helps me manage type 2 diabetes. Keep yourself accountable to you!

Fasting glucoses should be 120 or less
If 150+/- Check medicine times and modify as needed. Check your hydration. Your urine pale yellow? Has your skin stayed moist? Do you wrinkle more today?

My fasting sugar corrected after I switched my thyroid prescription to sleep. It was 150-160 in the mornings. Yet HgA1c was fantastic!

Hydrate ½ liter to 1 liter of water or fragrant tea without sugar for 200+.  Have a good breakfast and walk. Exercise 30–45 minutes After the stroll, check glucose 2 hours after eating. Postprandial glucose should be under 200. If not, you are losing control. See a doctor.

Visit the doctor tomorrow, drink, exercise, and resume your diet if over 200 but under 500. See your doctor the next day if fluids and exercise don’t lower blood sugar. This is frequently caused by two things: a medical regimen lapse or an infection. High glucose levels often result from UTIs. If medical evaluations show no infections, dental infections are often discovered. Get two annual cleanings. Hyperglycemia causes gum disease; thus, preventive is crucial. Diabetics’ mouths are important for control, but eyes are the window to our bodies.

Visit a doctor today if over 500. Urgent but not an emergency. In an emergency, such a virus with low fever, you may need to visit the ER.

In my profession, the highest glucose was 1906 (not the year), and everyone thought it was a homicide that could not be verified.

Most type 1 diabetics utilize insulin pumps, especially brittle, hard-to-control ones. Rarely do type 2s need pumps. Many type 2 individuals need long-acting daily insulin because they are hard to regulate or don’t care. Easy to use yet pricey.

Diabetes reversible? Many Facebook advertisements, Pinterest posts, and other sources claim to reverse this chronic sickness.  Authors offer diets and books in enormous markets. Remember that diabetes is a big business and people sell programs and other measures for profit while you explore these possibilities. Be careful.

Exercise, hydration, and the low-carb diet pyramid can help you manage your disease. All Ecuadorian endocrinologists say their patients cannot take medications for seven years. All convert to insulin.

I demonstrate why this is not necessary. Oral medications have helped me lose weight and control my diet for 22 years. I rejected ADA recipe. It was unnecessary to take an ACE inhibitor because I had good kidneys and no cholesterol issue. My American internist argued with me! In 40% of users, cholesterol medicines like Lipitor cause diabetes. Fancy this: An ADA-recommended drug makes diabetics more diabetic.

Maintaining liver health is crucial. I recommend liver cleanses every three months until clean and twice a year afterward. Liver cells produce a strong hormone. You get 24-hour glycemic management. Insulin for daily ups and downs. Was this explained by a doctor? Never!

Mayo Clinic offers this information.

These are diagnostic together with liver and lipid tests. Fast 12 hours. For optimum liver and cholesterol tests, avoid black coffee. Water is okay before the lab draw.

• Hg A1C test indicates your 2- to 3-month average blood sugar. It measures blood sugar linked to hemoglobin in red blood cells. Cash lab fees average $30.
• Random blood sugar test. Random blood samples may be validated by other assays. Diabetes is indicated by your random blood sugar level of 200 mg/dL (11.1 mmol/L).
• Fasting blood sugar test. Normal is 100-125 mg/dL.

Trends: Good or Bad?
Try reading medical papers for non-physicians.  Both are free and informative:

• WebMD
• Johns Hopkins
• There are many more, but social media is not reliable.

However, I read about OTC Thyro-T2 and other L Thyronine sources. It seemed too good to be true, yet I took it daily. I’m losing adipose fat. My skinny jeans are 4 inches loose at the waist. These jeans are under 2 months old. Is this a fat tissue medication for me? The loss is significant. The $40-a-dose long-acting insulin is recommended by the medical weight loss industry. It suits the rich and renowned. I can’t afford to try.

Supplements for Diabetics
Certain supplements are widely used and seem beneficial. Drug studies must be sponsored, and Vitamin C Ester C drug trials were easier to fund in the 1980s. Philanthropists gave us tax-free “play” medication money back then. We could support and pay subjects for a research project without losing jobs if the main reason failed. This no longer applies.

Big pharma pays for investigations, and their investigators have an agenda.  Drugs fund U.S. medical education. Essentials like vitamins and minerals are rarely studied.

We now move to natural food and supplement sellers. They often know more than doctors, yet I dubbed them salespeople! Without sales, businesses fail. Be careful—most salespeople are personable and charismatic.

Due to the aforesaid factors and lack of investigation, I will recommend several good items for your review. I’ll mention the valuable ones and others worth a closer look.

Berberine 4700 mg, a blend of Ceylon cinnamon, turmeric, and berberine, stimulates insulin production in all diabetics. This is OTC metformin. My Berberine contains a few more components, but these are the main ones. I have never seen it called anything else in Ecuador. Berberine is so significant that many pharmacies carry it. Amazon costs $25-30/month.

Diabetics have had heart attacks and arrhythmias. Did you know a stroke is a brain-based heart attack? During my time as a cardiac NP, I investigated heart attacks and strokes. Clops are clots! Traveling, they damage lungs, kidneys, abdominal organs, hearts, and brains. Not to forget legs and arms! Clotting saves lives but can cause difficulties. Would a dehydrated individual have more problems? I’m sure you can answer. Does 1.5-mile elevation dehydrate you? It does! Consider an aspirin daily.

Many enzymatic biochemical reactions require CoQ10, which also strengthens the cardiac muscle. Strengthening the heart muscle may help diabetics prevent cardiac problems. I take more for liver health than most.

If you have liver issues like increased enzymes and medication sensitivity, try milk thistle. It needs a drug holiday.  Take a month off every 4-6 months. Resume. Spanish it is called silymarin.

I reversed my 23-year-old fatty liver illness with CoQ10 and milk thistle. Here’ it is KUFER QR. I used mega doses. After mending my liver, I use both to be healthy. Not to boast, but I feel better than I did when younger. At approaching 70, I feel better than at 50 or maybe 40.

Drinking green tea seems healthy. To absorb and save money, drink it instead of taking a tablet. Click here.

I recommend a multivitamin and mineral supplement with chromium and increased Vitamin E levels. Daily, I use a geriatric and diabetic woman’s multiple. It has several microelements. Check the list. See the label. It’s impressive. Why do these drugs contain 250%–300% RDA? To compensate for low absorption, they utilize greater doses. It’s safe. Better liquid vitamins—have you tried them? No way to disguise that flavor! Same for mineral absorption. It’s significantly lower, so greater percentages.

D3 was the only constant deficit in Covid fatalities, therefore I take extra every day. Many investigations found low D3 in all fatalities and long-term covid. Covid will never disappear, so stock up! MILK absorbs D3 best. Taking vitamins and drinking at least 4 ounces of milk at breakfast is ideal.

Most diabetics have excessive fats. When fasting 12 hours, cholesterol and triglycerides are measured. Enzymes and cell membranes require cholesterol, which we make.  I recommend Omega 3-6-9 pills to protect good fats from harmful fats! Well-documented research show it reduces cholesterol by 10-25%. Those that eat a lot of salmon may only need Omega 3.  It works for non-diabetics also.

A crucial note! Supplements should be taken with food and drink because they supplement diets. Without food, absorption drops dramatically and causes a tummy discomfort.

Part 4 will review comments and questions. I await your feedback.  Ecuador.advice@gmail.com
___________________

Garnett Stewart is a permanent resident of Ecuador. She is a retired Adult Medicine Nurse Practitioner with a specialty in Cardiology and Cardiovascular Surgery and is the author of several published articles. She holds Bachelors and Masters degrees in nursing. Her undergraduate university studies focused on biochemistry and biophysics. She can be contacted at Ecuador.advice@gmail.com