My aunt is diabetic and was on insulin shots.

One day she decided she no longer wanted to take the shots and she told her doctor.

Under his supervision, she began a diet modification program and began to exercise. She ate healthier foods and lost weight. As a result, almost a year later, she was able to stop the shots and go to tablets.

Has anyone else tried anything like this?

Wow, this is great for your aunt! I suspect the answer will be that there are various degrees of the disease and while diet or weight loss alone may help a mild case, or borderline, that folks with an advanced case wouldn't be advised to give up the medications. If I'm wrong on that, I hope someone will correct me, but I'm thinking that if lifestyle change and weight loss alone would take care of it, *no one* would need the meds (or doctors for that matter).

Destiny, please don't misunderstand me here. I am not a doctor and I am not giving advice. I related a case I am aware of, with a very specific reason for doing so.

I am not advising anyone to give up medication. Nor did I say my aunt was able to give up her medication. Also, her diabetes was not mild nor was it borderline. She had been taking insulin shots for most of her adult life.

My husband was recently diagnosed as pre-diabetic and his doctor stipulated diet change and exercise. My husband is not convinced it will help. I would like to hear success stories from people other than the one person I know.

I would like anyone who has been able to make these types of changes in their life to respond to my question.

While inusin seems indicative of " bad" evels of diabetes, its also dependent on what the curent copnditions are if a removal can be done.
When a diabetic had pancraetic exhaustion pancreatic failure insluin is used bacuse there is none.
S ome doctirs see that getting used ot insulina nd giving beta cells a chance to recover is another option. Agressive treatment with insulin is certainly not the norm, but it is a very proactive choice. Halle Berry as a type 2 was on insulin but then removed to oral medications for example.

I congratulate her and her doctor for taking an active approach to her situation.

IN many cases people start out with orals and then progress to pancreatiic exhaustion. Thats what we often see.
While orals do provide some new hope inbattleingdiabetes, there is still afailure rate wiht it, So an option to discuss and ocnsider woudld be with the new delivery systems of inhaled, patch and nasal spray, her options if she should need insulin in the future are now many.

J.

Frankly lifestyle changes are almost always the first approach. I would be very suprised to find other people saying, heck, I'll keep the bad food and no exercise and just jab and inject myself daily instead. Yes it can happen but generally the this isn't the most attractive option. You look down the line at the risks to circulation, locomotion, vision and life--and get on with doing everything you can to avoid it, with medical and surgical intervents as the last to turn too.

I think you missed the point just abit. MAny poeple dont want to inject at all. Many are scared of a needle. Those who are on insulin are more apt to be more active, betterin tune and psychologically able to take care of themselves.
Where you go the idea of being off diet, and control and just jab is very misguided.

In all teh eyars I ahve been diabetic i have seen mroe poeple do harmful thinsg to themselves when they are on oral medictions versus thsoe who are on insulin.
Sure we on ocassion have a small piece extra of something, but thats rare, ebcause we chance hypoglycemia on that extra injection.
We fear theinfected bruises, we fear the formation of hardened tissue at injection istes.
Poeplw ho are on pral meds seem to think they are OK, i am just on oral and we can do it justa bit differently. The attitudes vary greatly.

We who are on insulin are more apt ot test frequently and are more apt to stayin better control when ill.

Thank you all for the different ideas and the good information as well.

I do know other diabetics, who were/are not willing to change their habits.

One is Miss N_____, a senior lady I used to attend religious services with several times a week. She was diagnosed approx. 10 years ago, in her early 70s. She pointedly refused to exercise, give up her favorite foods, and would not stop smoking. Before we lost touch, I know she had one leg amputated at the knee. I just happened to come across her number a few weeks ago and called her to see how she was doing.

I was surprised to hear that she was in the hospital. She said she'd been there over a month (her daughter transferred her home number so she could get her calls at the hospital). She talked to me but didn't really remember who I was. She was happy to hear from me though and I was happy to know she was still alive after not seeing or hearing about her in many years. I was sad though, when she told me her other leg had been amputated during that hospital stay.

The other person is my father. He is not on shots and I know he doesn't want to progress to that level. But he has not changed his habits either. It makes me very sad when my stepmother tells me that he's been sneaking bacon etc. at work (he's a chef) or that she caught him smoking. She also told me he doesn't want to get his eyes checked any more and he won't go to the podiatrist to see about his feet.

I do talk to him about making lifestyle changes and he always seems enthuastic but it seems he doesn't follow through. I don't want to harp or fuss at him because I don't think that would help anything at all.

I have to say I am very worried about him and I don't know what to do about any of this. My husband knows all of this but it's like he has the "it can't happen to me" syndrome...

being that I conme from a very long line of diabetics we have had our share of both views. My uncle was teh exceptionin tehfamily. Wheer everyone was willing to make teh changes ot live longer and happier, my uncle refused. from teh last comminucation I had with my fathers younger brother, the middle one was slowly being carved away.
While my father died from diabetes complications it was the doctors fault for not switching to insuln when he saw that the orals were not working for over a year.
My living uncle had a wife that refused ot change her cooking habits so he went on insulin., three to four shots a day prior to meals. I am on one shot a day with R boosters and watch my diet real carefully.

NO matter how much teh family tried to convince him to keep halthy and take his meds, he always lived on the edge and did as he pleased. U gues sthat hole in his head affected him more than we knew.

The point is there will be peope who are religious as ot taking care of themselves and doing what is beeded to stay around, and there are those that are in a continual state of denial. It never reallyhist homne until they begin to be chiupped away and are forced to see what remains oftheir body.

I personally feel as if they should have an oral medication for all. if you ask me. Don't no one want to always stick themselves with needles. Thats crazy.

I agree with this... with all the other advances in technology, you'd think there would be an easier way to do this.