Thoughts About Type 2 Diabetes
In Type 2 diabetes, there are a lot of hormone and gut enzyme abnormalities for which there is as yet no practical test. However, even the now abandoned OGTT (Oral Glucose Tolerance Test) gives a clearer picture than a simple fasting glucose, or worse yet, an A1c. Add in a C-peptide and antibody tests, and you get a pretty good picture of where to start. The reason for abandoning the OGTT was that it was a hassle for the people getting tested, and for the doc. But when it comes to early diagnosis of Type 2, isn't that better than waiting for complications to happen before diagnosis? One day of hassle is better than years, or a lifetime of misery!
Personally, I'm in favor of eliminating the "prediabetes" label, and aggressively treating those people who are at risk BEFORE they develop full-fledged Type 2 with complications. Call it "early stage diabetes." Supporting an effective diet plan (which is a distant dream at the moment) and a supervised exercise program would be a start. Preventing complications and keeping people in the workforce (as long as there are jobs!) is surely better than supporting them on disability!
We, as a country, are rich enough to start wars, but not rich enough to take care of our own people?
I agree Natalie. People should not be showing up in doctor's offices with complications and then find out they are diabetic. I have talked to a few people online that came on board looking for what to do. They had normal A1cs and normal fasting and were told that they did not have a problem. They were testing & could see they had a problem. One woman had her PCP flat out tell her she wasn't diabetic based on a fasting BG and A1c. She showed her readings to an endo that she was seeing for another problem and ended up getting proper testing and guess what she is!
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