Study finds staggering cost of treating diabetics

[TechBear_Seattle]

Study finds staggering cost of treating diabetics

NEW YORK (Reuters) - One out of every eight U.S. federal health care dollars is spent treating people with diabetes, a study found, and advocates are calling for the creation of a government post to oversee coordination of spending on treatment and prevention among federal agencies.

The study, based on federal spending data from 2005, looked at various government health programs to determine how much was spent on diabetics versus non diabetics. It found it cost the U.S. government $79.7 billion more to treat people with the disease, or some 12 percent of the $645 billion in total federal health care spending projected that year.

The National Changing Diabetes Program (NCDP) study was being released at a briefing with the Congressional Diabetes Caucus on Tuesday. The study, conducted by Mathematica Policy Research for NCDP -- a coalition of diabetes thought leaders, including physician organizations and disease advocacy groups -- included all federally-funded programs that have an impact on diabetes prevention and treatment.

The article continues at http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070619/us_nm/diabetes_study_dc

Consider that 90% to 95% of diabetics have Type II, previously called "adult onset" diabetes. Type II (which I was diagnosed with 7 1/2 years ago) is strongly tied to obesity and is very likely avoidable altogether with good eating and excercise habits developed at an early age. Consider also that fewer and fewer children are being encouraged to develop these habits, with the result of fatter kids and Type II diabetes being diagnosed in children as young as 11 and 12.

[leftchick]

1. my son has Type 1 or Juvenile diabetes

He is insulin dependent and I can tell you that Big Pharma is making a bundle from the sale of insulin. That is why there is no federal funding of stem cell research for a cure. It has nothing to do with being pro-life, it is pro-profits.

[Clark2008]

4. That must be so hard.

I had gestational diabetes and was put on a diet program for eight weeks. I also took a pill that caused my pancreas to produce more insulin. During that time, I lost weight, while the baby continued to gain weight and I wasn't overweight pre-pregnancy at all. I lost so much weight that when the doctor cut into me to do my C-Section, I had NO FAT in my stomach. Imagine that - a 37-year-old woman with no abdominal fat. I'm also within 10 pounds of my pre-pregnancy weight after less than two weeks from birth, even though I still have a very round and protruding belly (I'm not complaining, mind you, I'm just pointing out how much of my own body weight I lost having been on this diet for only eight weeks).

I can't imagine having to live with blood testing, diets and pill/insulin taking every day of my life. Your son certainly has my empathy.

FWIW, my daughter's sugar came out normal, thank God (Yahweh, Allah, whomever) because I did follow my diet and took my pills. Gestational diabetes in the mother can cause hypoglocemia in the infant.

[blondeatlast]

8. I'm in my forties and have taken insulin since age 7.

I'm pretty certain I alone have financed one of Glaxo's new facilities.

Not just insulin, but all the related gear--glucose testing supplies, etc. The other day at the doctor's office I had to restrain myself from verbally assaulting a drug rep. I know for one that I could not hold in my obvious contempt.

Have you heard of "No Free Lunch?" They are working particularly with recent med school grads to eliminate the influence of Big P.

http://www.nofreelunch.org/

Link to patient site: http://www.nofreelunch.org/patients.htm

[leftchick]

16. this is what pisses me off the most

my son was just diagnosed in January at age 11, so i am still learning every day. When I realized that his insulin has to be thrown out 30 days after opening it and to see how much I throw away monthly it is a fucking crime! I even checked with the pharmacist and his doctor to verify it loses its potency. I said for real? I am throwing away almost four hundred dollars of insulin that he hasn't used up!!! His novolog only comes in a large vile and the same with his lantus. They do not dispense anything smaller that I have been able to find googling. I also have to throw out the pens he uses when we travel and they are hardly even used! It is maddening. If you can help me there I would appreciate it.

Thank you so much for the link. And stay healthy! I have a new respect for all things Diabetes now. :hug:

[blondeatlast]

25. Is your son a candiate for the pump? I would think an 11 year old

would be a good candidate for one.

If he's responsible about testing a pump would be a great choice, I would think. I recommend you look into it; if his doc isn't willing to discuss it call the pump companies and they will send you to a doc that will.

I've never had to throw away a bottle after 30 days--this is the very first I've heard of that. Let me check with my pharmacist sister and get back to you in a PM.

The prospects for your son are so good now. I took my first injection when you still had to test urine by dropping a tab into it. The technology has come so very far and even if it is too late for me, I hope your son can benefit from stem-cell research and/or silet cell research.

Here's a great site from David Mendosa, worth checking out: http://www.mendosa.com/index.html

:hug:

[leftchick]

30. for some reason

he really is not interested in getting the pump at this point. I suspect he is too self conscious at this stage in his life. He really needs to get over that but as he enters pre-teen hood I suspect it may get worse.

Thank you again for your links. keep them coming! I would love to hear what your sister has to say about the insulin shelf life issue. I want the truth!

:)

[Zookeeper]

38. Be glad that your son wants to wait a bit for the pump....

my 15 year old daughter has had type 1 for 10 years and recently lost her pump (!). Fortunately, she spent so many years using syringes and pens that it wasn't difficult to get back into the habit. If she had always used a pump, it would have been a challenge to suddenly have to learn the Humalog/Lantus routine.

Pumps are great, but it's ok not to use one, too. My daughter actually wants to wait a while to replace hers. (Maybe she wants to look more streamlined for summer.)

:hi:

[blondeatlast]

46. True that. It works well for me, but one has to find what works for them and it's all good.

Mine stopped working and I went on injections a while until the new one came and I actually still consider that once in a while.

Damn, ZK, now you're making me reconsider ...

(Not really, but I need to stop pump-preaching, I know :rofl:). Sorry!

[Zookeeper]

50. I just think it's good to be familiar with all of the options....

In general, the pump has been great for my daughter, giving her the option to snack without another injection. However, a break from any routine can be a relief. I think she was getting tired of having to change her set, and she has been having trouble, lately, with the tube not connecting or staying connected and she has awakened in the morning to discover that she hadn't been getting any insulin.

I think she will go back to it, eventually.

:hi:

On edit: What would be your reason for switching back to injections, Blonde?

[blondeatlast]

52. Those few days I was on them I had a little better control, but

now that I'm pre-menopausal, I'm having to re-evaluate everything every few days anyway so for now the pump is probably better.

I liked the freedom of not having the tube, though--sometimes I feel I'm carrying my pancreas around in my pocket--and I'm only half-joing!

[blondeatlast]

37. I just did some reading and it does appear that 28 days is the

standard shelf life if unrefrigerated or opened. My sister confirms this (she works in a hospital pharmacy, so there is no wiggle room on that standard for them).

Another great resource that I still refer to now is Children with Diabetwes. They have some great boards and with a son approaching adolescence I can imagine a little peer support will be a great help:

http://www.childrenwithdiabetes.com/index_cwd.htm

[leftchick]

55. thank you again

there is no reason for them not making a vile smaller than they do now for people in my son's situation. Fraud and Waste!

[Horse with no Name]

60. Obviously I am not telling you what to do

But in the hospital, we throw away insulin one month after opening if left at room temperature.
Refrigerated, we throw it away every three months.
You can call a hospital pharmacist at a large facility (doesn't have to be where you live) and ask what their HOSPITAL policy is on storing insulin.
My guess?
We check our refrigerator temperatures daily in the hospital so the insulin is kept at a constant temperature.
Perhaps in the real world they don't trust patients to consistently keep the insulin at the correct temperature--thus the 30 day warnings.

On edit:
In each unit of our hospital, we have one of those small dorm refrigerators with a $2 thermometer in it. It might be cheaper to do that AND keep temperature logs if your Doctor was willing to go along with that. Good luck.

[leftchick]

64. thanks for the advice

The Dr. and the Nurse at the hospital said to me once the insulin is opened, refrigerated or not it needs to be discarded after 28 days. The next Dr. told me we could go to 30 days and then see a lack of strength if we stretched it. My question is Why TF do they make huge viles of the stuff where a good 75% is thrown out after 30 days? It infuriates me.

[Viva_La_Revolution]

9. not just the insulin,

the testing supplies costs are outrageous!

[blondeatlast]

11. See my post above regarding "No Free Lunch," it's a great org

and needs support to publicize the Big P rep and gift problem.

[TechBear_Seattle]

14. Amen to that!

I test once or twice a day. A box of 100 test strips would cost me retail about $90. And some insurance plans class test strips as "medical equipment" that must be paid out-of-pocket and reimbursed with the proper forms filled out in triplicate (been there, that's how I know.)

I shudder to think of how an uninsured T-1, who must test several times a day, copes with the costs.

[leftchick]

17. I agree

every time I pick up my son's "stuff" I think about the uninsured. It makes me want to cry. :(

[blondeatlast]

66. Many don't. Because the equipment is so expensive, many don't "comply"

with medical advice and teeter on a very dangerous cliff indeed. That's why I LOATHE the term "non-compliant" when it comes to diabetes.

When I had no coverage, I would gauge my BG entirely on how I felt.

Thirsty? I would drink some water and exercise, considering that my BG was too high.

Shaky? I'd eat, assuming my BG was too low. Testing was out of the question; the only time I got tested is when I paased out and the paramedics were called. Then, I'd have to refuse to be taken to the ER.

I considered myself in good control when I could function an entire day without either or both extremes. I would guess that my BGs would run between 120-300. no way to keep it any more in-range than that.

It is no way to live, yet millions do because the alternative is illness and/or death.

[IDemo]

19. I test 6 times a day or more (Type 1, 45 years)

The insurance covers most, but not all of that. I would compare test strips to printer cartridges; they all but give away the meter (or printer), then zing you for the consumables.

[Rosemary2205]

27. NO KIDDING!!

My husband had damage to his pancrease in a car accident and is now diabetic. He is totally stable though with dietary monitoring and a small amount of generic Glyburide - which only costs about $8 a month retail. But the testing supplies. Good God. That's insane.

[Lisa]

53. the companies could sell those testing strips for pennies ...

One of the progressive politicians in my jurisdiction (British Columbia, Canada) was diagnosed with Type II a while ago, and has been demanding an investigation into how much money is being made from diabetic supplies. His party (currently in opposition) has been creeping up in the polls, so this could happen if they win the next election. I would love to see him as Minister of Health!

[SCantiGOP]

24. I have a 10 year old daughter

who was diagnosed type 1 four years ago. Every 3 months we get a supply of the strips that are used in her blood glucose monitoring meter. They cost over $600, but fortunately my insurance pays all but $15. People on limited incomes with no insurance have to endanger their health because they can't afford what they need. I agree with you about big pharma's lack of interest in a cure.

[leftchick]

31. it sucks

I had no idea the stips were so expensive as ours are covered too. I wonder how other countries are faring in prices. I do know Pharma is making a bundle here in the US. :grr:

:hug: to you and your daughter.

[Clark2008]

2. "Fat" has surpassed "smoking" as the number one health risk, I believe.

If not, it's close.

So - will we see a slew of "anti-fat" laws crop up? Afterall, we've allowed the anti-smoking zealots to intrude on even PRIVATE homes and on PRIVATELY-owned businesses (I think restaurant/bar owners should be able to make their own choices as to whether they want smoking or non-smoking establishments. Employees would know the risks when they applied for the job).

And, I'm not trying to start a flame war or be flippant. My mother has Type II diabetes and I had gestational diabetes. Believe me, I understand the health risks. I'm just wondering aloud about the similarities in the arguments that if we ban smoking everywhere, we reduce health care costs in much the same vein as if we "banned" obesity.

[TechBear_Seattle]

5. Smoking poses a clearly defined and proven health risk to people around the smoker

Being fat does not. Big difference.

And pray tell, what legislation has been passed to regulate smoking in a private home?

[Clark2008]

6. Yes, but overweight people can be a burden on our tax system

in order to pay for their healthcare costs. I realize that sitting next to an overweight person won't make you overweight. However, given that many poor people are overweight because of the types of food they have to purchase (cheap food has more empty calories) and given that these same people can't necessarily afford healthcare or are on public assistance, it certainly effects our tax doles.

And, I've seen postings here wherein apartment buildings have banned smoking in and around their builidngs. The apartment may be owned by someone else, but, by paying your rent, you effectively have paid for a certain amount of privacy, in my opinion. I'm sorry I don't have a link handy. I've just seen it posted here during some of the smoking flame wars.

[TreasonousBastard]

18. Condos and apartments have been involved in lawsuits...

where someone complained about smokers in the building.

And, it is apparently not discriminatory to refuse to rent to smokers (and pet owners).

Oh, and those "clearly defined" risks to others are not quite as clearly defined as some may think.

[dysfunctional press]

3. thank-you, high fructose corn syrup.

nt

[Clark2008]

7. Amen!

I never noticed how prevalent that crap was until I was put on a diet for gestational diabetes. No wonder I lost so much weight. I couldn't eat anything because so much of our food has that shit in it!!

[KansDem]

13. Oh, to Hell with this report! Now. where's my 2-liter bottle of Coke?

Seriously, have you tried to buy a loaf of bread from a supermarket that didn't contain HFCS? I have to go to Wild Oats or Whole Foods to find bread that doesn't. It's everywhere! For example, this morning I ate at a restaurant on my way in to work. I "took an inventory" of what menu items contained this stuff based on what I saw on other tables:

pancakes, toast, french toast, biscuits, muffins (batter)
imitation maple syrup
ketchup (for hash browns)
imitation jams and jellies
steak sauce
creamer
soft drinks (some customers had cokes and pepsis with breakfast)
cold cereal
hot chocolate or chocolate milk

You just can't get away from this stuff!

[SoCalDem]

20. You can make your own bread cheaper:)

Sadly, you cannot get away from it when you eat out..
Very few resaturants make "scratch" food these days..They have their "raw materials' shipped in already prepped from Sysco or Kraft or some other Frankenfood distributor.And how many of these prepped foods contain "base products' from China?

It "says" fresh on the menu, but it's probably ver much like what you could buy at Costco, and cook for yourself..

You can only eliminate HFCS from your diet, if you cook from scratch..at home.. and even then it's difficult to escape it entirely..

[cascadiance]

57. I think Mexican "cane sugar" Coca Cola is now regularly stocked in Costco here in San Diego!

For a while it looked like it was experimentally being put up there through Cinco De Mayo or something like that. But recent trips show big supplies of it where all of the rest of the regularly stocked soft drinks are being kept now! Yay! We do have a choice here in Costco!

Though I have to admit though I'm a little torn on whether I want to support Coca Cola too much after seeing some globalization docs that describe some nasty things they were doing down in Mexico earlier which has hurt Mexican workers there!

[KansDem]

65. Hello, San Diego! (SDSU grad here)

Thanks for the info on Costco. My family and I finally found an authentic Mexican restaurant here. They serve a Veracruz-style of food (emphasis on corn tortillas and back beans). The restaurant also has a small Mexican market of foods imported from Mexico. One such item is "Mexican Coca-Cola" that contains real sugar! My 9-year-old son loves the stuff and I don't mind him getting it whenever we eat there (which is often). I still watch his intake of it as I don't want him consuming too much sugar, but at least it's not HFCS.

Otherwise we buy Steaz-brand colas and other evaporated cane juice-type soft drinks from the local Wild Oats...

Go Aztecs!!! :hi:

[cascadiance]

67. Graduated not too far from where you are now... (Iowa!)

Hope that you aren't too much of a rival against the Hawkeyes!

But I'm guessing you have to be a good Chuck Long fan too? Hopefully he'll get the Aztecs turned around soon!

I'd been avoiding Coke for the first time over the last year or so until I found the "REAL thing" at Costco... Was doing the Boylans and other similar cane sugar drinks earlier from Trade Joe's, etc.

I've also heard of some horror stories of health problems from diet soft drinks too. I think the best thing is to go back to the natural sugar drinks but drink them in moderation, and have a lot of other non-sugared natural drinks.

[TechBear_Seattle]

10. And food advertising and video games and ... and ... and....

You can not blame the epidemic of obesity and the resulting epidemic of T-2 diabetes on just HFCS. In the last 30 years, there has been a vast shift in the American lifestyle. The advertising of junk and fast food, the marketing of high calorie, low nutrition foods to children, the use of tropical oils and other unhealthy additives, the very high cost of fresh foods compared to processed crap, the way television and video games have replaced physical activity, the elimination of physical education in schools, the de-emphasis of recess in schools, and the high crime in many neighborhoods which prompts parents to encourage indoor activity where kids can be supervised and kept reasonably safe, just to name a few off the top of my head.

Foods without HFCS would only be a tiny start towards changing this trend.

[mondo joe]

29. Bur corn subsidies influence those factors as well - they make HFCS cheaper so

junk food costs less than healthy food, and junk food producers have more money to spend on advertising.

There are other factors as well -- but if we could just stop the corn subsidies it would help.

[Donnachaidh]

12. well, why don't we ban high fructose corn syrup?

That shit is in EVERYTHING.

Want to know why so many people are obese? Try looking at every single pre-packaged food item in supermarkets. It's STUNNING.

This crap turns people into sugar junkies. I'm sure if someone did a REAL study, they'd find this stuff has a big part in the increase in diabetes in this country.

Take THAT item out of the marketplace, and out of food, and people will lose weight.

[SoCalDem]

21. Because outfits like ADM need to get rid of the stuff, and it's to their advantage

to include it in all processed foods so they can make money..

[NashVegas]

23. Farm Bill Subsidies

Make it too profitable. Write your congresspeople.

[shanti]

28. actually sugar

isn't as bad as hfcs. i don't remember so many obese people before hfcs went full steam ahead and were put in everything. this was around the time of the "new coke", which was a change in formula from sugar to hfcs.

[Donnachaidh]

36. I remember that too

Parents would freak about adding so much sugar to koolaid.

I really think there should be a ban on this stuff. ADM can convert it's corn production over to fuels.

[shanti]

40. they won't ban it

it's much cheaper than sugar, and put$ too much $$$ in the ceo's pockets! :grr:

[cascadiance]

59. Corn subsidies also help multi-nationals with globalization.

What typically happens in many countries down south where they had a big local farming community that grew corn or sugar products is that when the U.S. companies in effect DUMP corn products that are subsidized at prices below cost it does the following things. It isn't so much about making money directly from these product exports but other things as well:

1) It puts the local farmers in those countries out of business as they can't compete making corn or sugar products with these below-cost imports. They then have to sell their farms.

2) Who buys their farms for cheap? How about multi-national companies, or the rich elites that are being bribed by the IMF and/or World Bank to do things favorably for U.S. imports (aka no tariffs, etc.)

3) Now with these folks not owning farms, what do they do for a living? They go to work for the multi-nationals' "Maquilas" (the outsourcing companies they build down there to use CHEAP labor instead of our domestic labor).

4) When these multi-nationals find another country where they can get even cheaper labor than Mexico or some of these other South American countries, they pack up and close these Maquilas and move elsewhere. The Mexicans, with no farmland and no jobs, THEN come up here as illegal immigrants and contribute to our growing immigration problem!

All GREAT for the rich scum who run these companies and our governments! Sucks for everyone else!

Look how even these multi-nationals are using the WTO to stop making "healthy" Mexican coke with cane sugar by claiming that Mexico was conducting "unfair trade practices" in charging 20% tariffs on imported soft drinks that use sweeteners other than cane sugar (which their own soft drinks are made with when bottled domestically). WTO "conveniently" overlooked the fact that WE are subsidizing the corn exports to them and NOT ignoring the tariffs they charge to combat this unfair trade practice that these multinationals started themselves! See how we've been screwed by NAFTA and the WTO? This is a clear example of it!

http://www.geocities.com/jonclark500/stories/coke.html

[shanti]

26. exactly!

n/t

[Cronus Protagonist]

63. POISON! (not exaggerating)

I stopped drinking sodas and lost about 50 pounds! I now avoid all products with HFCS as much as possible, but when even Corn Flakes have it, it's not an easy task.

[TreasonousBastard]

15. Without seeing more, I don't know if...

they included spending on some of the more gruesome effects of diabetes-- kidney failure, heart disease, amputations, blindness...


At any rate, aside from an emeritus Harvard medical school dean a while back, I haven't seen much about our oversugared diet causing much of the Type II that seems to be epidemic.

[Missy Vixen]

22. Hoo-wee, here we go

It just hasn't been a week unless there's some kind of attack on those who Don't Weigh The Correct Amount, has it?

>Type II (which I was diagnosed with 7 1/2 years ago) is strongly tied to obesity and is very likely avoidable altogether with good eating and excercise habits developed at an early age.<

You might be interested to learn that every last guy at the software company my husband was previously employed by had Type II. Skinny, fat, didn't matter, they all had it. There may be some link between STRESS and Type II, but we won't learn that. After all, it's much easier to blame it on obesity.

Julie

[TechBear_Seattle]

34. I didn't just pull that sentence out of my rear

Type II diabetes is strongly tied to obesity, this is proven scientific fact. Not all T-2 diabetics are obese; not all obese people have T-2 diabetes. However, there is definitely a relationship between the two, with strong evidence that the causal chain is obesity leading to diabetes rather than diabetes leading to obesity or a third condition causing both.

It is not an attack, it is established medical fact. And speaking as someone who has been overweight for most of his childhood and obese for all his adult life, I am hardly in a position to attack Those Who Don't Weight The Correct (sic) Amount.

[Rosa Luxemburg]

32. nevertheless this country should be able to afford to treat all it's citizens

[donsu]

33. but, but, the pharma barons make more money treating then curing

they do not want cures. bad for business

[doodadem]

35. Both of my sisters were Type 1

Before they passed away, their medical care over 40 years was easily in the millions of dollars--3 kidney transplants between them, numerous amputations, eye care/blindness, strokes, you name it. That's not even counting getting into the tons of medications.

Any politician against stem cell research should instantaneously be stricken with this disease--or have to watch a close family member die from it.

[mohinoaklawnillinois]

39. Re: the last line of your post doodadem:

My congressman, Daniel W. Lipinski (D) from IL-03 is a Type I diabetic and is against stem cell research because of the "sanctity of life".

I kid you not, talk about voting against your own self-interest, this asshat takes the cake....

[KamaAina]

61. Ken Doll Mitt Romney's wife has MS

and yet, predictably, the Ken Doll is against stem cell research.

But then, you'd expect that from a repuke. Is Lipinski a total DINO across the board, or just an anti-choicer?

[mohinoaklawnillinois]

62. He's a total DINO and an asshat to boot. n/t

[Locrian]

41. Interesting article re diabetes in men

Interesting article re diabetes in men:
http://www.usdoctor.com/NewPage/idiabetes.html



Testosterone replacement to diabetic men reduces the need for insulin, eliminates the need for expensive oral agents and improves glycemic control by reducing the risk of hypogylcemic crashes that may be life-threatening.

In 1922, Banting and Best discovered insulin and changed the world of medicine. Not only did they discover a natural therapy to prevent death from diabetes, they gave away their patent to humanity. Today, 85 years later, we have proven that injectable testosterone is, in fact, more important than insulin because it is applicable to 5 times more diabetic men and another yet undiagnosed 10 fold.

In 1996, I discovered that my fasting insulin dropped from 10 miu/ml (borderline) to less than 2 while on injectable testosterone therapy. An adult diabetic male, J.N., 48 years old with confirmed abnormal glucose tolerance was able to lose 85 pounds in 10 months and regainhis youthful physical, exercise and sexual vigor while on testosterone replacement. When retested at two years, his glucose tolerance was entirely normal.

[BlooInBloo]

42. It should help that some diabetic girls are foregoing their insulin as a diet method...

... Maybe that'll help the overall expense.

http://www.theledger.com/article/20070617/APN/706170542

[IDemo]

44. Terrible statement on our culture that this is happening

Young girls willing to gamble their eyesight and kidney function for a few pounds of weight loss. This reminds me of a study that was done several years back which asked "would you take a drug that would guarantee you an Olympics gold medal even if you knew it would kill you?". The answers were mostly "yes".

Health and even life itself have become valueless against recognition and acceptance.

[BlooInBloo]

45. Yup. What great parenting, too.

[pitohui]

58. what does parenting have to do w. it?

i was once a teen age girl, it matters not how much parents blather that they love you the way you are, your parents are not going to be your lovers and your friends, their love is no longer what you are seeking as you grow to an age where you are going to have to make your way in the world with your peers

girls understand very well what value they have in this society, if they are ill and fat, no matter what their parents say

i did know a woman who went from (literally) beauty queen to fat ugly blob on insulin, i saw how society changed and how doors closed in her face

girls aren't stupid, parents can say what they like but reality speaks more loudly unfortunately

some things just aren't the parents fault, most parents don't choose to give their kids an expensive disease

[PRETZEL]

43. My stepson's a type I, diagnosed last year at age 12.

fortunately his insurance does cover his novalog and lantus.

What we did was call the companies that make the meter and pen he's using. They are more than happy to send them out because the equipment themselves aren't that expensive, it's the insulin and test strips that are the big cost.

Also, does the hospital where he was first treated have a diabetes center. I know we get all his strips from them and they bill the insurance company. We don't have to pay anything for that.

What will kill you if it ever happens is to have one of the bottles of insulin break. One time I dropped a bottle of his humilin (which he was using at the time) and insurance wouldn't replace it. Fortunately it was only 90 bucks.

[kineneb]

47. Hubby's monthy expenses- over $23,000

Covered by Medicare and Medicaid.

Type II diabetes:
-kidney failure, leading to dialysis 3 days per week, 3.5 hours per session
-laser surgery for retinopathy
-cateract surgery in both eyes
-multiple surgeries for dialysis fistulas
-placement of stent near heart

Because of weight loss, he is finally off insulin. At least he still has all his limbs. He is only 60.

[kwassa]

48. someone in the family with Type II

has gone through all kinds of medical problems, including kidney failure, is now on dialysis, and has been for several years. He had a festering wound in his foot that kept him hospitalized for months, and here, two years later, he has just had an infected toe amputated.

He and his wife are both very overweight, but will they change their eating and exercise habits? Of course not. He lost 70 lbs while ill, and has gained it all back.

Ask me how much sympathy that I have.

And, boy, does he use public services. A car comes and picks him up and takes him to dialysis. He is away from his federal employer three days a week for most of the day while getting dialysis treatment, and still draws his paycheck. How much work does he actually do? Won't go there.

Self-inflicted wounds.

[TechBear_Seattle]

51. It is a challenge

Since I was diagnosed, I've been working hard to change my habits. I have gotten out of most of my bad eating habits, I walk a mile and a half to and from work five days a week and work out at the gym. I have dropped a lot of weight but have been stuck between 220 and 230 for several years. My blood sugar numbers are good but definitely could be better.

I am fighting against a childhood where food was used as a reward and denial of food was used as a punishment, against the exquisitely fine-tuned mind-control of Madison Avenue with the incessant ads to go out and consume unhealthy foods, against a culture where sociability centers on sharing large quantity of food and depression that comes when I walk into a grocery store and try to find inexpensive food that fits into a diabetic diet.

My grandfather lived with both Type 1 (brought on by age-related failure in his pancreas) and Type 2 (caused by a life of overindulgence and exacerbated by drugs he was taking to fight pneumatic fibrosis) for many years before he died. I am watching my mother go through T-2. I want desperately to avoid the problems they faced and even I find it very, very difficult to endure. Someone who does not have a family history, someone who is so far advanced that there would be little, if any, improvement... denial becomes much easier.

Don't be too hard on your family members. Your energy would be much better directed at helping others to avoid these problems in the first place, or at least help them identify diabetes while there is time to prevent damage.

In my case, it was being part of a vaccine research program. The protocol included occasional "dip stick" urine tests, which showed a large amount of sugar being passed; that is one of the early symptoms of diabetes. Two simple blood tests -- a fasting glucose test and a measure of glucose in my red blood cells -- showed that I was just past the threshold of "pre-diabetes" at the age of 32. I was diagnosed early enough that there was very little damage caused by chronic high blood sugar, and most of that damage is probably reversable.

You could help others like me. Put your energy towards education, testing, physical education in the schools, community activities like fun runs, community walks or bicycling or hikes, athletic competitions specifically targeting non-athletic children, teens and adults, promoting affordable, healthy foods in grocery stores and restaurants.... There are so many positive ways to make a change that will be better in the long term than grousing about family members who are either in denial or believe that it is too late to find a solution.

[kwassa]

54. Kudos to you for attempting to change.

Since I was diagnosed, I've been working hard to change my habits. I have gotten out of most of my bad eating habits, I walk a mile and a half to and from work five days a week and work out at the gym. I have dropped a lot of weight but have been stuck between 220 and 230 for several years. My blood sugar numbers are good but definitely could be better.

I think this is terrific. You are working really hard to make a positive change in your life, and you have my greatest admiration.

There are so many positive ways to make a change that will be better in the long term than grousing about family members who are either in denial or believe that it is too late to find a solution.

well, my grousing only happens here, not in real life. Part of the problem is negative reinforcement; being an invalid gets him attention, which he loves, though he is a big angry that it isn't working well anymore. He is a smart, college-educated man, and so is his wife. They are full of self-delusion, however. I call it the mutually agreed-upon lie.

[Habibi]

68. I understand where your grousing is coming from

My MIL just went through triple-bypass surgery in January and went on a strict diet (provided by rehab and Meals on Wheels) to keep her BG under control, but it didn't help--for some reason, her BG just wheeled up crazily for several months. Suddenly she's on a "new pill" that has brought it back under control again and guess what? She's ditched MOW and is back snacking on chocolate and other goodies. She may very well end up right back where she was 6 months ago. Naturally, we want to lecture her.

However, you know what? She's 77 years old, and an adult, and gets to choose her poison. There's not much pleasure left to her anymore, apart from eating, so we're loath to give her a hard time about it.

[kwassa]

49. Diabetes and the trash food industry

http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2006/01/11/diabetes_and_the_trash_food_industry/

Diabetes and the trash food industry

By Derrick Z. Jackson, Globe Columnist | January 11, 2006

The number of Americans with type-2 diabetes, the kind that can be controlled by exercise and eating right, has exploded from 5.8 million in 1980 to 18.2 million today, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

An American child born in 2000 has a 1 in 3 chance of contracting diabetes in his lifetime. An African American has a 2 in 5 chance. At current rates, every other Latina born in 2000 will get the disease. Fast food, soda and sugar snack companies are well represented in the Fortune 500, but the costs on the other end are staggering.

The CDC estimates that diabetes costs the United States $92 billion in medical costs and $40 billion in indirect costs, such as restricted or lost worker productivity. While diabetics now make up 6.3 percent of the population, the American Diabetes Association estimates that the disease accounts for 19 percent of health spending in the United States.

So far, none of that has captured the imagination of Americans outside of doctors, public health officials, and those school districts that have kicked out the soda machines. That is, except for pharmacies, super stores and the medical supplies industry which are gearing up for the miserable fallout.

[pitohui]

56. the diet for pre-diabetes (an atkins type diet) is incredibly expensive

i cooked a low fat,mostly vegetarian so-called healthy diet for my husband for 20 years and it nearly killed him before he was discovered to have metabolic syndrome

the right diet to control his readings (and his weight) is just not politically correct, it has to be meat, fish, poultry, and dairy based, the amount of grain including neutral grains like rice that he can eat without having immediate problems is minute, about 1/4 cup of cooked brown rice a day or 1/2 piece of fruit a day

in other words, any little thing i can do to make our diet affordable is taken away, the beans and rice we used to eat he can't eat, the fruit i used to grow, he can't eat, root vegetables like potatoes, again, he can eat only 1/2 a potato a day

before you criticize someone for not sticking to this kind of diet, try it for awhile, sometimes to try to save some little bit of money and have SOMETHING left over, he eats nothing except a boiled egg which is cheap and doesn't harm his readings...but how long can a person live and just eat boiled eggs without going mad?

you seem to overlook the fact that "eating right" for pre-diabetes is not the same as "eating right" for weight loss or cardiovascular disease, the low-fat high carb diet may be heart healthy or not, i dunno, but it's devastating to my husband's readings and as far as we can tell it is devastating to most people with metabolic syndrome

once the person already has diabetes, often it's a lost cause to control weight because they have to eat or not eat to keep from going into shock even if the extra calories might cause them to gain, a person who loses a lot of weight with diabetes is often at high risk of death, to put it bluntly