Type 2: Can the pancreas start working again with no intervention?

[daddysgirl]

Hi there,

I am posting on this thread as I am really concerned about my father. He is a 74 year old, type 2 diabetic. He was diagnosed roughly 15 years ago and has been injecting himself four times a day for at least 5 years. I spoke to him yesterday and he said that he has not needed to take any insulin for a week to 10 days?! He can't understand why as he tests himself several times a day and his blood sugars have not reached double digits. He has not changed his lifestyle. He does have a host of other conditions (COPD, heart problem, cholesterol, obesity etc) and is taking a carrier bag of medication for them. Has anyone ever heard of this happening before?

I may add that he is quite irritable and not the easiest of people to speak too. So I thought I would see if anyone had any ideas about why his requirement for insulin has stopped over night when his lifestyle has remained unchanged.

Many thanks

 

[zand]

Firstly, most of us here would like to see our BGs never going above 7.8. Above this level damage can occur .

Secondly I would guess that your father has a liver that is working well and is simply taking the excess sugar out of his system. This is all well and good in the short term, but eventually it won't be able to keep doing this. So rather than his insulin requirements changing I think that the liver is simply taking up the slack.....for now.

Thirdly, he may be able to reduce his insulin requirements by reducing the level of carbs in his diet if that's what he would like to do now.

Good luck with talking to him

Edit: I should have said that a low carb diet can reduce cholesterol and help with weight loss too. Weight loss can help alleviate heart and breathing problems also.