PCOS-DIET Messages for September, 2002: Insulin Resistance and SEVERE PROBLEMS

Insulin Resistance and SEVERE PROBLEMS

From: LightYear (anonymous@obgyn.net)
Fri, 27 Sep 2002 20:03:41 -0500 (CDT)

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I wish to talk about insulin resistance. What is insulin resistance, you might ask? Is it diabetes? No, it's not diabetes but most diabetics have insulin resistance.

You might say that diabetes is a symptom of insulin resistance. Newer research has found that many of us suffer from high levels of insulin in our blood. You might be asking yourself what does this mean.

Insulin is a hormone that is sent out by the pancreas to signal cells within the body to start soaking up sugar. The pancreas detects when we have too much sugar in the blood and responds accordingly.

When we become insulin resistant we begin to lose the ability to soak up sugar in response to a normal amount of insulin in the blood.

When we start to lose the ability to soak up sugar the pancreas must increase it's output of insulin to help lower blood sugar. This leads to higher levels of insulin in the blood.

When insulin levels in the blood drop, the liver believes that the pancreas has lowered production of insulin therefore there must be a need for more sugar and the liver begins to dump sugar into the blood.

When the liver also becomes insulin resistant along with the rest of the cells in the body, it can no longer accurately measure how much insulin is in the blood and begins to dump sugar even though the insulin levels in the blood are quite high.

This makes the problem worse.

I believe many people go through life never knowing they are insulin resistant because they never show signs of diabetes. This has started to become a new major concern in the medical community.

There are MANY of you out there (perhaps most, maybe almost all, who knows) who are running around with apparently normal sugar levels but very high insulin levels.

When many doctors test for sugar, they do so with a fasting blood test. Many of you only show high sugar levels for a few hours after eating. After 8 or 12 hours your blood sugars return to normal.

A good glycosilated hemaglobin A1C test can help show what the average sugar level was for the past few months. It's a simple blood test. But again, we aren't talking about abnormal blood sugar here, are we? We are talking about abnormally high levels of insulin in the blood.

Weight gain, inability to lose weight, depression and anxiety, heart disease, psuedo cushings syndrome and other related endochrimatic disorders, dry skin, high cholesteral and triglycerides, high blood pressure, irritability, circulation problems, opthalmic and migraine headaches, "foggy brain" syndrome, memory problems, severe lack of energy, buffalo hump, dark skin areas, skin tags, itchiness, discolored toe nails and teeth, perhaps stenosis is also included, and many many other symptoms may be caused by high levels on insulin in the blood. I'm not saying they are and certainly a few can be excluded but there is a lot of evidence that may support this.

To get tested involves something that many doctors won't have much of a clue about unfortunately, but many are becoming aware.

Get your doctor to give you a blood test. Ask him for a non-fasting C-Peptide and a static glucose test. I can recommend other tests and a procedure for testing but this is the simplest approach I have mentioned here.

Go out, eat a good breakfast with a good deal of carbohydrates. Don't go nuts, just eat a good solid breakfast. Drink coffee too if you like, this tends to stimulate the pancreas.

Then, no sooner than one hour and hopefully not after two hours later, go get your blood drawn for these two tests. Note the time you started breakfast, when you finished breakfast, when you got your blood drawn, and roughly what you had and the amounts you had for breakfast.

When the results come back, do not be surprised if you C-Peptide suggests you have high insulin levels in your blood. Three, four, maybe five times normal or more.

Even a doctor who hasn't been formally trained in this relatively new area of medicine will see something is wrong if you have an abnormally high C-Peptide level. If you do, go see a good endocrinologist if possible.

The good news there is something you can do about it.

A low carb diet helps a lot. Eating proteins before eating carbs helps. It's slows the absorption rate of carbs and slows the conversion of carbohydrates into sugars. Eat carbs low on the "Glycemic Index."

I've heard the book "The Glucose Revolution" is excellent. Get the latest version (After 1999 I think).

Don't eat before you exercise. Eating before exercise raises blood insulin levels. Cells will not convert and release sugar back into the blood stream in the presence of high insulin levels. No sir, they won't do it. Maybe some of you can exercise constantly and can't lose a pound. Don't eat before you work out.

A good exercise program is important. Wait a while after eating before exercising if you can. At least two hours or more. Again, eat afterwards and eat sensibly. Our bodies are not designed to consume the vast amounts and the kinds of carbohydrates we have become accustomed to.

Taking medication such as Metformin (Glucophage) can help a lot. This medication helps keep the liver from dumping sugar into the blood. It's relatively safe.

You need to be aware of running your blood sugars too low also. A glucometer might be a good investment. It can detect when blood sugars are too low or two high. You don't need to be a diabetic to get one of these nor to you need to be one to need one.

When you take medication like this I would ALWAY stress a glucometer is a good investment.

Also, taking drugs like actos and avandia can help the cells to soak up sugar. These drugs must be taken with care.

Stay away from drugs like gyburide if you can. This class of drugs are known as pancreas pushers and can not only increase your blood insulin levels but also wear out the pancreas faster.

Just to recap: The object here is to keep insulin levels LOW. If it's not possible to keep levels normal then just reduce the levels. That appears to help a lot and can be done by following theses, and other steps.

Take your health into your owns hands. Doctors are GREAT but they really are consultants for your health. Always make decisions wtih your doctor, don't let him make them all for you. That includes medication. Understand what he is recommending for you before you agree.

I'm not saying don't do what the doctor says. I'm saying make sure you understand what is involved before you agree to anything.

I'm 43 years old. I am at a normal weight. I'm becoming healthier now that I'm controlling my insulin levels. My need for medication is reduced. My blood sugar levels are reduced (last A1C was 5.8, not bad concidering it was a 12.1 in the beginning).

Doctors told me (one after another) that I wasn't diabetic. They only looked at my fasting blood sugar levels. In fact, after eating my blood sugar levels were dangerously high. I had to DEMAND an A1C test and they only gave it to me to get me to shut up. I did not rub the results in their face.

Yeah, do the research. Understand yourself and consult with the doctors.

I could talk about this for a long time and I hope I didn't lose anyone here. I've learned so much about this stuff recently. I've had lengthy conversations with endocrinologists. This is a nasty thing and I'm sure you will hear much more about it in the near future.

I hope I didn't look stupid here. If I did you can email me and tell me so. I hope some of this made sense. Thank you for putting up with me and my spelling/grammar errors.

I do not monitor this list. To contact me you can email lightyear@zipnet.com

I am not religious. I leave the glory for God.

--
----=== Barry

Next message: Victoria: "Metformin and losing weight"
Previous message: janie_t: "Good protein/carb counter book(s)?"

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