Diabetes? Some Beat It, But Are They Cured?
“I didnt have that sense of urgency,” said the Pasadena, Md., woman.
But nine months later, doctors told Wagner her condition had worsened. She, too, now had Type 2 diabetes.
That scared her into action.
Now, two years later, the 55-year-old woman has slimmed down. She exercises regularly and her blood sugar levels are back in the healthy, normal range. Thanks to her success, she was able to avoid diabetes medication.
Diabetics like Wagner who manage to turn things around, getting their blood sugar under control – either escaping the need for drugs or improving enough to quit taking them – are drawing keen interest from the medical community.
This summer an American Diabetes Association task force will focus on this group of patients and whether they can be considered “cured.” Among the points of interest:
-What blood sugar range qualifies as a cure and how long would it have to be maintained?
-How might blood pressure and cholesterol, both linked to diabetes, figure into the equation?
-And what if a “cured” diabetics blood sugar soars again?
“For right now, were not saying theyre cured, but the bottom line is … good glucose control, less infections,” said Sue McLaughlin, president of health care and education for the American Diabetes Association. The organization has no estimate of how many people fall into that category.
Being overweight is the leading risk for Type 2 diabetes. Genetics also plays a role, and blacks, Hispanics and American Indians are at greater risk than whites.
Nearly 57 million Americans are prediabetic. Another 18 million have been diagnosed with diabetes, while the diabetes association estimates almost 6 million more Americans have diabetes and dont know it. About 90 to 95 percent of diabetics have Type 2, the kind linked to obesity.
But the news isnt all bad. Thirty minutes of daily exercise and a 5 to 10 percent loss in body weight can lower the odds of diabetes by nearly 60 percent and is more effective than medicine in delaying its onset, according to a diabetes prevention study.
Still, such lifestyle changes are often difficult.
“It sounds like such a nonmedical recommendation, and yet its the thing people say is the toughest to implement,” said McLaughlin, the diabetes association official.
For Wagner, it meant changing not just her diet, but her lifestyle. A teacher, she now cooks most of her meals at home and avoids the sweets in the school lounge. She also tries not to stay late at work, using the extra time to exercise and make healthy meals.
Alice Stern describes a similar journey back to health since her diabetes diagnosis in 2007. The 50-year-old Boston woman was able to avoid diabetes drugs through diet and exercise, managing to trim 40 pounds off her 5-foot-2 frame.