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Do we worry too much?

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I was diagnosed T1 in 1998 and the age of 36, since then I have had all kinds of advice from well meaning individuals but in the end managed my diabetes based on research and medical advice.

The question I am asking relates to the internet where everyone has an opinion and declares themselves to be an expert nad comes up with the latest FAD cure. Do you absorb all of this or keep you own counsel?
 
I check the source, check any relevant research and expert views, then make up my own mind.
But I am a statistician with a degree in biology (and stats of course) and I am used to reading and analysing research papers, so I trust myself to understand most medical stuff relevant to my own medical conditions.
 
TriciaWs said:
I check the source, check any relevant research and expert views, then make up my own mind.
But I am a statistician with a degree in biology (and stats of course) and I am used to reading and analysing research papers, so I trust myself to understand most medical stuff relevant to my own medical conditions.
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That a good place to be, my understanding of things comes from an engineering background so I tend to see through the hype quite quickly
 
My focus is on maximising my TIR whilst balancing it with minimising the impact on my life.
As a busy and very active engineer, this means focusing on technology rather than dietary fads.
So, my diet is the same "healthy" diet as my partner - I focus on cooking what I want from scratch without limiting carbs when I can and I use an insulin pump and CGM to manage the diabetes.

In the twenty years since my diagnosis, this approach has worked well. I am still much more active than others my age despite having a job which can be pretty stressful at times and requires a fair amount of travel which means I can't always cook from scratch so I either eat out or buy salads to eat in my hotel room when I am alone.
As far as my diabetes is concerned, it is rare to get any advice from "well meaning" friends, family or acquaintances. This may be because I appear in control general and my diabetes is not "in your face".
My TIR is over 80%, my HBA1C is 45 and I have no complications. So I plan to continue the same approach for as long as it remains that way and my life is what I want it to be.
 
Hmm, I like to read scientific and semi-scientific literature, but I send to hell any person who suggests treating me with T1 with a diet instead of insulin. In most cases, I prefer to ask a doctor's opinion about advice from the Internet. Personal experience can be very different and what is good for one diabetic may be bad for another (even if the person is not lying and does not want to sell you something, and this is often found on the Internet).
 
" does want to sell you something" that is everyone one the internet
 
That wasn't about this platform! The internet is like mining gold you have an awful lot of rubbish to sort before you get a single grain
 
One thing common to all the pros and cons advice is that blood sugars must be kept in range as much as possible. Working from that, amidst all the possibilities I've come across, I eventually found the diet that gives me the best, consistent, blood sugar results. As an individual without any qualifications, I listen to the 'experts', read their reports, and then make my own decisions, which every adult is qualified and obliged to do.
 
mark.armstrong said:
That wasn't about this platform! The internet is like mining gold you have an awful lot of rubbish to sort before you get a single grain
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Not to forget every medical and health thing I read on the Google, ends up in some type of cancer. :confused:
 
I read everything, run it through my bullshine filter, and have more than enough intellectual ability to sort the wheat from the chaff. I have a logical, scientific and open mind, and a good analytical background. I am my own experiment, and my belief is "knowledge is power". Even when we read things that are clearly nonsense, it stretches our intellects. Medical/scientific opinion is transitory: yesterday's "scientific fact" becomes today's "we used to think". Textbooks are out of date by the time they reach the classroom. There is also human nature, the desire to make a profit, and other pressures that don't prioritise our wellbeing. We need to be aware of these.

As for talking with people - very helpful if they have actual experience, and it's useful to keep abreast of current developments, but in my world people don't discuss illnesses with random people. I have personally had no help from medics, but I know others here have, so this kind of sharing is very beneficial. I find the site highly informative, very supportive, and I really appreciate the input and information sharing. For my personality, there can never be overthinking - thinking is one of the things I do.
 
mark.armstrong said:
I was diagnosed T1 in 1998 and the age of 36, since then I have had all kinds of advice from well meaning individuals but in the end managed my diabetes based on research and medical advice.

The question I am asking relates to the internet where everyone has an opinion and declares themselves to be an expert nad comes up with the latest FAD cure. Do you absorb all of this or keep you own counsel?
Click to expand...
I think it really depends on what kind of person you are. I have relatives who will fall for anything, and I do mean anything, Facebook pushes on them. But they'll laugh at a diet that's kept my blood sugars in the normal range for 7 years, with the test results to prove it. Mind you, they're experiencing cancer, heart failure and peripheral neuropathy, all of which is not helped by raging blood sugars, in part due to a very high carb, binge-eque diet and lots and lots of steroids. Type 2 across the board like myself, no T1's. At the moment regular books confuse me, but I'm fine plowing through medical texts; those I can still follow, no problem. (How my brain works? Your guess is as good as mine...) I doubt any of them have ever tried to crack a book about T2 or any other condition they've faced, and Google is too difficult, so.... That's what doctors are for, and they'll just take pill a and wonder why they now need pill b and c, as a isn't actually doing much.

Like I said, what kind of person is going over the information? Do they know what it's about, do they understand what it implies or claims, can they check and compare the data... Or is anything real because it's on the internet, so it must be so? You don't need a science degree to have healthy skepticism, though I guess it might help... But I've managed without one, so far. Or, at least, I have a journalistic background, maybe that helps when it comes to checking sources... But just having common sense should be at the basis on this, I suppose.

For me personally, if it sounds plausible because of scientific, or (in case of too little previous research as is the case with my husband's Long Covid, currently) anecdotal evidence, I'll try it, and see what happens. Whether other conditions react, what blood sugars do via regular testing etc.... Which isn't for everyone. Opinions galore on any and all diets, treatments and so forth, so yeah.... I just tested and checked what worked for me, did the same with my husband... I think the same went for a whole bunch of people here, really. We were our own guinea pigs. I guess I absorb what doesn't need filtering out, and keep my own counsel then..?
 
It was researching the internet that led me to low carb diets (and this website) when I realised I had to take control of my type 2 or become very ill and end up with the consequences. Of course there is an awful lot of miss-information out there so you have to find out what their agenda is ie are they trying to sell you something!
Do I worry? - yes, I get frustrated and very disappointed if my BG isn’t as low as I think it should be.
 
The way I look at it is if you look hard enough you will find endless information about endless things,
I tend to look at my diabetes and treatment of it as something that works for me , there are basic rules like if your blood sugar is not within range take insulin , these basic rules I follow , but I will challenge things I am told or read cos they may or may not be correct depending if it works for me , bit like putting a Libre sensor on the back of your upper arm , Now I am assuming of course that Abbot have during their development stage tested this and found that out of all the areas on a human body a “ relatively“ small area is the only place they will guarantee and we know well I do that this ain’t the case .now with regarding other peoples advice especially regarding diabetes I use the individual approach , but will say that a lot of advice I have been given has been successful .I think successful management of diabetes is a combination of all, as medical advice is ever changing and ever developing,
i am lucky/ unlucky enough to have had diabetes long enough to see the development change To unrecognisable proportions to what it was ,but diabetes like the world is ever changing what works today may not work tomorrow , personally I think my control of my diabetes is now down to a combination of medical , experience and probably a fair bit of experiment which I guess is my research ,
 
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