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Diabetes and everyday illnesses

  • Thread starter Thread starter Anonymous
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Anonymous

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Since being diagnosed 3 / 4 years ago I have suffered a massive increase in colds, flu and gastroenteritis type illnesses. Has anyone else noticed this increase. Am 52 years old and hardly had a day off work in 20 years.
 
I can't claim to know much about Diabetes ,only diagnosed last June but I have noticed that everyday illnesses knock me for six,
took me ages to shake off man flu
even a common cold knocked me for six :oops:
 
In the medical literature it seems to be quite well known that people with diabetes are more prone to infections than people without. What isn't at all clear is why. It is tempting to conclude that susceptibility to infection is yet another side effect of the diabetes (and that might be the case) but there is no evidence to support that. It might be that some other factors, such as some aspect of diet or even a radical change in diet is the underlying cause.

Twenty years ago I did a PhD on nutritional pathology. I never worked on diabetes, and a lot of my knowledge in this area is hideously out of date. However, I do know that the immune system (and thus our susceptibility to disease) is regulated by a complex mesh of interacting hormones and other substances in ways that are quite poorly understood, and that various aspects of nutrition have profound effects on this. I am afraid that this doesn't help much, because the whole area is murky and quite poorly understood - however it doesn't surprise me in the least that diabetics get more everyday illnesses than normal people. I was diagnosed with T2 less than two weeks ago, so I guess that this is something else to be prepared for! :(
 
Funny that,since changing life style and eating more healthly I would say I've had less colds! The rest of the aches and pains I put down to good old getting older.After all just because you're a diabetic don't mean you can't get the same aches and pains as everybody else as they age.
 
I can highly recommend garlic for keeping away colds and flu(and people) :mrgreen:
Just be wary of interactions if taking the higher strength garlic supplements.
 
The first few years after being diagnosed with type 1 (in childhood), I got every bug going. Now my BG's better controlled I rarely get viruses. I've noticed when I do get a cold it seems to hit me harder and last longer than other people, but its impossible to prove thats due to diabetes. (Maybe others are just masking symptoms with meds I've been told not to take?)

Sue
 
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