Want to stay young? One of the most horrifying things about diabetes is how quickly it ages people. Want to be the old grandma or grandpa by your mid 50’s? Poorly controlled diabetes and rampant neuropathy is just the ticket.
It can be confusing at times.
When in my practice I’d always review new patients’ information before meeting them. I’d look at their age, and their health history, medications, and form an idea about what questions I needed to ask during the consultation. Then I’d go out to meet them in the reception area.
Sometimes I’d approach the wrong person because the 55-year-old new patient actually looked like she was 75. She couldn’t walk well, stooped over, face scrunched up in pain. I saw it time and time again.
Real Misery
Sure, the pain is rough, but the real misery of diabetic neuropathy is how it steals your youth, mobility, and beauty before it’s time.
And it’s why I work to help turn that clock back for my patients. So they can keep working for another decade at the job they love. They can travel and cruise, and walk, and explore. I work with them so they can be the young, vital grandpa, the one who gets down on the floor and plays.
It’s all about stopping the damage.
The rapid ageing and nerve destruction happen because of things appropriately called AGE’s. These Advanced Glycation End-products build up in your tissues, causing inflammation and damage. This can lead to all the classic diabetes diseases – neuropathy, retinopathy, and even kidney disease.
Stay Young.
Stopping this damage often requires changes in diet that lower blood sugar. Type 2 diabetics can rapidly change the outcome of their disease by making some simple changes. Type 1 diabetics need to monitor their blood glucose closely and adjust insulin carefully.
The first step for most type 2 diabetics is becoming aware of the three big lies about carbohydrates and making some changes.
Because if you do nothing but cover the pain with drugs, and allow things to decline, you’re going to get old. Very old. Before your time. Nobody wants that.
Dr. Cam
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