- Messages
- 624
- Type of diabetes
- Treatment type
- Diet only
My brother had HIV and diabetes, he died with end stage renal failure, totally blind and had just had a leg amputated- his HIV was well under control! BUT ....... had he looked after himself and got tested earlier he would not have had the problems he had upon diagnosis of diabetes. The Dr said he had been diabetic for a long time. The he had very bad care from the district nurses- I had begged them to check his feet- not our job- I went to the Dr and spoke to him, he went to visit my brother, the carer was there cooking my brothers meal- the Dr still did not check my brothers feet! They all suddenly became very worried after my brother died! Even when the carer noticed my brothers feet were bleeding (through socks) the district nurse still refused to look!! The carer had a right row and nurse eventually looked and that was when they got very worried!
As to what I would rather have? I am not going to let diabetes get to me the way it got to my brother- I know better and I certainly do not want HIV
The doctor who wrote the piece was also a psychiatrist so hardly an expert in either HIV or diabetes. More scaremongering !
i think he might be right in a different perspective. when one got diabetes and complication sets in. you are going to have a long painful death. when i first got diabetes, i feel that i am carrying a time bomb which has no timer on it. it will starts its destruction of my body slowly and painfully.
on the other hand hiv is a bomb where we more or less know that we can start preparing on the worst, and stop spreading the disease.
I see where you are coming from, but I disagree. The majority of people with diabetes have the option of controlling their blood glucose levels (particularly type 2s). It requires information, education and dedication, but it is usually possible. Unfortunately conventional western medicine suggests a diet that leads to a progression of the disease, and therefore complications. So it falls to the individual to take responsibility.
Of course, this doesn't apply to everyone. There are some whose blood sugar levels do not respond to diet, and balancing medication is a lifelong challenge, but they are in the minority. And I really feel for them.
This quote worried me;
"Regardless of how well it is controlled, type 2 diabetes is a progressive disease, which results in the need to increase pharmacological therapies over time. A recent study conducted in Australia showed that, after six years, 44 per cent of patients no longer responded to oral medication and required insulin injections. Oral medications eventually fail in most people, meaning that injections are almost inevitable at some point."