Shelly Duvall passed away 7/11/24 of complications from diabetes. The versatile actress, memorable in 'The Shining,' 'McCabe & Mrs. Miller,' 'Nashville,' 'Popeye' and '3 Women,' produced TV series for kids as well. In November 2016, a disheveled Duvall appeared on an episode of the syndicated talk show Dr. Phil and revealed that she was suffering from mental illness. “I am very sick. I need help,” she said. RIP
Hummm, "complications from diabetes"? Does that mean that she took meds for her diabetes or didn't? Some 15 years ago, we had a neighbor that died from diabetes. After his wife found out that he was a diabetic, she stopped making pies, cakes and cookies. He worked part-time for his son, and after work, he'd stop by a store, buy a package of cookies and eat them in his truck in the parking lot by their apartment. don't know if he was on any meds or not, but we seen an ambulance come for him three times and the fourth time, he didn't make it. He died in the ER.
The meds for diabetes do not allow any diabetic to eat whatever they want without consequences. I have known diabetics who did that & only made it to their 50's. One example - a few years ago, I was invited out to lunch with a group of friends at a restaurant (Claim Jumpers.) I was told a guy who was diabetic would join us & we could chat. When I saw that he ordered ribs, a big bowl of pasta & he ate several large slices of garlic bread, I thought, "That couldn't be him; no diabetic would eat that." I was wrong. Later, a friend told me he passed; he was 51. It ain't easy to eat what we should, instead of what we want.
A friend's wife is like that. She has an insulin pump that's constantly making noise as she jokes about her 3rd helping of pecan pie. She switched insurance companies when she recently retired and got into a fight because she exceeds the maximum amount of insulin the new company will provide in a given month. She got diagnosed 23 years ago. On the other hand, he was recently diagnosed with Type 2 (or his A1C is very high), and he controls things with diet, sticking his finger occasionally but does not inject.
Type 2 in usually caused by diet and can usually be controlled by diet if motivated. A keto/paleo diet will control most type 2 patients. Type 1 is another matter.
True......sometimes. I was diagnosed 13 years ago with a blood sugar over 500 & an A1c of 9. Instead of drugs & insulin, I did lots of research & read a book called "Eat to Live" written by a doctor (Joel Fuhrman.) I followed his suggestions & had labs 3 months later. A1c was 6.0, my doctor said "You are non diabetic & no reason for any medication." I also lost 85 lbs & was able to maintain normal blood sugar for 4 years. But after my weight became normal, my blood sugar started to climb & when my A1c reached 12, I had to start on insulin. I learned later that many Type 2 diabetics are insulin dependent. My sister is also the same. Funny, because every doctor I saw told me, "Lose weight & your diabetes will go away." I still hear that. There is another category of diabetics. My mom's doctor told me she has "mild" diabetes. She would occasionally have slower response to insulin after eating high-carb or processed foods. She would maybe need 3-4 hours to return to normal blood sugar after a dessert.
There are exceptions to every circumstance. That is why I said "usually" and "most". It is possible to develop Type 1 later in life as well, but that is not common. It is possible that your pancreas was damaged.
Maybe. Also interesting about pancreas functioning. I've heard Type 2's make sufficient insulin, but for unknown reasons, it doesn't work the way it should. I had a C-Peptide test that shows how much insulin is being produced. It showed "Normal."
People who are overweight tend to become "insulin resistant" so that even if the beta islets on the pancreas produce enough insulin, it doesn't get used properly. https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/22206-insulin-resistance You can plug "insulin resistance" into a search engine and find out more if you want. Some maintain using Milk thistle extract in addition to dietary restrictions help the issue. Metformin and several other drugs work by decreasing insulin resistance so the insulin produced will work more efficiently.
The connection between being overweight & diabetes/insulin resistance is suspect, but not necessarily valid. I have a large diabetes support group with no overweight members. And personally, my diabetes became much worse after I lost 85 lbs. I think the connection was made because some diabetics happen to be overweight; they were overweight before diabetes. And when doctors don't know what causes a disease, they tend to look for an imperfection in the patient & blame the disease on that. They don't like to say, "We don't know."