Tag Archives: glucometer

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G6PD deficiency and diabetes

Today I follow an online trail to this article on diabetes from Nature Medicine here.

It is talking about a genetic variant that is found in people with African-American heritage called G6PDdef. This genetic pattern makes the HgbA1C test inaccurate. It will look low and “in control” even when blood sugars are high. Since the blood sugars are NOT in control, complications from diabetes can happen: damage to vision, to kidneys, to nerves in the hands and feet.

I have been reading articles about current and changing guidelines about diabetes. The current guidelines say that checking blood sugars at home doesn’t make a difference. I REALLY disagree with this and at the same time, I don’t think that physicians are approaching blood sugars in a practical manner.

I saw a man recently who is diagnosed with “insulin resistance”. His HgbA1C is in between 5.6 and 6.0. Normal is 4.5 to 5.6. Over 6.5 is diabetes. He has prediabetes. He has not checked blood sugars at all, but he is on metformin.

There is evidence that metformin is helpful, and still, I think it is putting the cart before the horse. I ask my people to go buy an over the counter glucometer. Ask for the one that has cheap strips, 6 for a dollar instead of a dollar apiece. Then we go over the normal and abnormal blood sugar ranges and I ask them to start checking blood sugars. If I give them a medicine right away, they don’t learn how to control their blood sugar with diet. ALL of my patients can figure out how to bring their blood sugars down with diet. If we can’t get to a good range, then we will add metformin. I do explain that the guidelines say use a medicine right away, but I ask, “Would you like to see if you can control your blood sugars with diet?” The answer is overwhelmingly “YES!” I have never had someone say no. If we do not give them the chance and explain the goals, why would they even try?

Also, I read the dietician handouts for diabetes yesterday and I am not satisfied. I do not think they explain carbohydrates well. Foods have fats, proteins, and carbohydrates, and anything that isn’t fat or protein has carbohydrates. I think of carbohydrates as a line, from ones with high fiber that do not send the blood sugar up fast, to ones that shoot it way high. At the low end is kale and lettuce and chard and celery. Then the green and yellow and red vegetables that are not sweet. Then beets and sweet peas. Next come the fruits, from blueberries up to much sweeter ones. Fruits overlap with grains: bread and pasta and potatoes and rice. The whole grains have more fiber and are slower to digest. Candy then sweet drinks (sodas are evil) and sugar.

Sugar has 15 grams of carbohydrate in a tablespoon. Kale has 7 grams of carbohydrate in a cup. That’s a pretty huge difference. A small apple has about 15 grams of carbohydrate and a large one 30 grams. Read labels for grains. There is a lot of carbohydrate in a small amount. The issue with fruit juice is that most of the fiber is gone, so the sugars are broken down and absorbed much faster. A 12 oz coke has 32 grams of carbohydrate and a Starbucks mocha has 62! I quit drinking the latter when I looked it up.

Most people with diabetes are supposed to stay at 30 grams of carbohydrate per meal, or 45 if it is a big person or if someone is doing heavy labor. Snacks are 15 grams.

Avocados are weird. They have about 17 grams of carbohydrate in a whole one, but they also have a lot of fat. They do have a lot of fiber, which surprises me.

Diet control takes a combination of paying attention to what is on the plate and serving amounts. Three servings of pasta is not going to work, unless you are out fighting forest fires or are on the swim team. Fire fighters are allotted 6000 calories a day, but most of us do not get that much exercise.

At the same time that articles are telling me that home blood sugars are not useful with a glucometer, everyone is pushing the continuous glucose monitors. I think we like technology. And other articles say that diabetes can be reversed with major lifestyle changes.

Articles: about not using home glucose checks, here. Starting metformin, here. Starting with one of the newer medicines, here.

I think people feel a lot more successful if they get a glucometer and can bring their blood sugar down by messing about with diet. I tell them to check after what they think is a “good” meal and after a “bad” one. How much difference is there? Contrast that with being handed a pill to control it, while someone talks about diet and says all the same stuff that we’ve heard for years. Nearly all of my people want to avoid more pills and are willing to try a glucometer to see if they can avoid a pill. People who have been on diabetes medicine for a while are less willing to try, but sometimes they do too. And sometimes they are surprised that some meals do not do good things for their blood sugar.

This is all type II diabetes. For type I, we have to have insulin. If type II has been out of control for a long time, sometimes those people have to have insulin too. Right now insurances will usually cover continuous glucose monitors for people with diabetes who are on insulin, both type I and II. I do hope that they really make a huge difference for those people!

The spectrum from the low carbohydrate vegetable, the green and yellow and orange ones, up to the really high simple sugar ones is also called the glycemic index. There are lists of low to high glycemic index foods. Perhaps some people with diabetes find that helpful, but I think it’s simpler to say, ok, the stuff that doesn’t taste sweet will send the blood sugar up less. Also, since we are all genetically different and then our gut bacteria and microbiome are all different, it is individualized care to say how does this person at this time respond to this food? We change over time!

There are other examples of the HgbA1C not working to track diabetes. A resident and I looked over a person with diabetes and spherocytosis. The HgbA1C was nearly normal but the blood sugars were in the 300 range. Spherocytosis is a genetic blood cell abnormality, and the red blood cells don’t live as long. People with a past bone marrow transplant also have red cells that live for a shorter time. The G6PD deficiency is thought to help people survive malaria, so persists in the population, like sickle cell anemia. Isn’t genetics fascinating?

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Make America sick again: diabetes

The trend in diabetes treatment is clear: keep Americans sick.

The guidelines say that as soon as we diagnose type II diabetes, we should start a medicine. Usually metformin.

A recent study says that teaching patients to use a glucometer and to check home blood sugars is useless. The key word here is teach, because when I get a diabetic transferring into my clinic, the vast majority have not been taught much of anything.

What is the goal for your blood sugar? They don’t know.

What is normal fasting? What is normal after you eat? What is the difference between checking in the morning and when should you check it after a meal? What is a carbohydrate? What is basic carbohydrate counting?

I think that the real problem is that the US medical system assumes that patients are stupid and doesn’t even attempt to teach them. And patients just give up.

New patient recently, diabetes diagnosed four years ago, on metformin for two years, and has no idea what the normal ranges of fasting and postprandial (after eating) are. Has never had a glucometer.

When I have a new type II diabetic, I call them. I schedule a visit.

At the visit I draw a diagram. Normal fasting glucose is 70-100. Borderline 110 to 125. Two measurements fasting over 125 means diabetes.

After eating: normal is 70-140. Borderline 140-200. Over 200 means diabetes.

Some researchers are calling Alzheimer’s “Type IV diabetes”. The evidence is saying that a glucose over 155 causes damage: to eyes, brain, kidneys, small vessels and peripheral nerves.

Ok, so: what is the goal? To have blood sugars mostly under 155. That isn’t rocket science. People understand that.

Next I talk about carbohydrates. Carbohydrates are any food that isn’t fat or protein. Carbohydrates range from simple sugars: glucose and fructose, to long chain complicated sugars. Whole fruits and vegetables have longer chain carbohydrates, are absorbed slowly, the body breaks them down slowly and the blood sugar rises more slowly. Eat green, yellow, orange vegetables. A big apple is 30 grams of carbohydrate, a small one is 15, more or less. A tablespoon of sugar is 15 grams too. A coke has 30 grams and a Starbuck’s 12 ounce mocha has 62. DO NOT DRINK SWEETENED DRINKS THEY ARE EVIL AND TOOLS OF THE DEVIL. The evidence is saying that the fake sugars cause diabetes too.

Meals: half the small plate should be green, yellow or orange vegetables. A deck of card size “white” food: grains, potatoes, pasta, whole wheat bread, a roll, whatever. A deck of card size protein. Beans and rice, yes, but not too much rice.

For most diabetics, they get 3 meals and 3 snacks a day. A meal can have up to 30 grams of carbohydrate and the snacks, 15 grams.

Next I tell them to get a glucometer. Check with their pharmacy first. The expensive part is the testing strips, so find the cheapest brand. We have a pharmacy that will give the person a glucometer and the strips for it are around 4 for a dollar. Many machines have strips that cost over a dollar each.

I set the patient up with the diabetic educator. The insurance will usually cover classes with the educator and the nutritionist but only in the first year after diagnosis. So don’t put it off.

For type II diabetes, the insurance will usually only cover once a day glucose testing. So alternate. Test 3 days fasting. Test 1-2 hours after a meal on the other days. Test after a meal that you think is “good”. Also after a meal that you think is “bad”. I have had long term diabetics come in and say gleefully “I found a dessert that I can eat!” The numbers are not always what people expect. And there are sneaky sources of carbohydrate. Coffeemate and the coffee flavorings, oooo, those are REALLY BAD.

For most of my patients, the motivated ones, they have played with the glucometer for at least a week by the time they see the diabetic educator. I have had a person whose glucose was at 350 in the glucose testing. The diabetic educator called and scolded me for not starting metformin yet. The diabetic educator called me again a week later. “The patient brought their blood sugars down!” she said. “She’s under 200 after eating now! Maybe she doesn’t need the metformin, not yet!” Ah, that is my thought. If we don’t give people information and a tool to track themselves, then why would they bother? They eat the dessert and figure that the medicine will fix it or they can always get more medicine.

Type I diabetes has to have insulin. If a type II diabetic is out of control, high sugars, for long enough, they too will need insulin. The cells in the pancreas that make insulin are killed by prolonged high blood sugars.

I went to a lunch conference, paid for by a pharmaceutical company, at the AAFP conference in September. The drug company said start people on metformin at diagnosis and if they are not in control in 3 months, start a second medicine, the drug company’s new and improved and better and beastly expensive medicine!!!

Yeah, I don’t think so. All of my patients are smart and they all can figure it out. Some get discouraged and some are already on insulin, but they are still all smart.

Fight back against the moronization of US citizens. Keep America healthy, wealthy and wise.