Over the weekend I read a newspaper article indicating that some MDs are
rethinking symptomatic treatment of illness when more comprehensive
treatment is unavailable. Symptoms are thought to be part of the body’s
defense efforts, and thus shouldn’t be suppressed. The example given
was fever, which is said to be an attempt to disable invading organisms.
Has anyone heard of, or does anyone care to formulate, a theory in which
high blood sugar during illness might be part of the body’s defenses?
I ask as I struggle through a cold, with the usual attendant (for me)
elevated blood sugars.
In article <3iam28$…@mercury.wright.edu>,
Evan Osborne <eosbo…@discover.wright.edu> wrote:
>Has anyone heard of, or does anyone care to formulate, a theory in which
>high blood sugar during illness might be part of the body’s defenses?
>I ask as I struggle through a cold, with the usual attendant (for me)
>elevated blood sugars.
I don’t believe that the high blood sugars are part of the defense.
Your real defenses are using up the insulin available to do their thing,
leaving less to push blood glucose into the cells, leading to high
bg values. I’m not sick very often, but when I am I test more frequently
and usually require considerably more insulin.(I assume that you are
taking shots-don’t know about pills, but presume that you might need more-
ask your doctor.)
In article <D4CzH4….@freenet.carleton.ca>,
Jonathan Wouk <av…@FreeNet.Carleton.CA> wrote:
>In a previous posting, Evan Osborne (eosbo…@discover.wright.edu) writes:
>………………….
>> Has anyone heard of, or does anyone care to formulate, a theory in which
>> high blood sugar during illness might be part of the body’s defenses?
>> I ask as I struggle through a cold, with the usual attendant (for me)
>> elevated blood sugars.
> Again Ifindmyself thinking "whydon’t people say what their levels
>are when they say "high."
Good point. When I have a cold, my readings 3 hours after dinner often
run in the 180-240 mg/dl range (as opposed to my expectation when I don’t
have an infection of about 80-100). When I first became diabetic (at
16, I’m now 30), I was told to expect this. I wonder whether it is part
of the body’s attempt to fight back, so that trying to drive blood sugar
back down to, say, 80 through more insulin prolongs the illness. It
doesn’t seem terribly plausible, but it would be explained by the
evolutionary theory of symptoms I alluded to earlier.
In a previous posting, Evan Osborne (eosbo…@discover.wright.edu) writes:
………………….
> Has anyone heard of, or does anyone care to formulate, a theory in which
> high blood sugar during illness might be part of the body’s defenses?
> I ask as I struggle through a cold, with the usual attendant (for me)
> elevated blood sugars.
Again Ifindmyself thinking "whydon’t people say what their levels
are when they say "high."
I have officially ben Type II since April 87 though the diagnosis
didn;t take ’till Jluy 90.
For the past year I have been running about 10.5 mornings on
arising with A1C around 6.5
With medication (glyburide)at high enough levels to keep morning readins much
below that I become unbearably depressed. (Endrocrin. says that is not in
theliterature but everyone is entitled to idiosyncratic reactions to
medication).
I am just under minimal "appropriate" weight, considered fit for
my age. I have pressed endrocrin. as to the throw-away line in every
diabetes book I’ve read to effect there are people who run high all their
lives and never become symoptomatic. At first he refused to discuss
it–not a useful approach, he said. Some months ago he told me that the
people in this category _are_ my body type and also non-smokers and the
correct sort of blood cholesterol (again these two are me).
Nevertheless, he argues for lower blood sugars.
Fact is I feel very much better with morning readings above than
below 9. When morning readings get much above 12 I do become symptomatic
(thirsty, peeing as though paid by the litre, nodding-off).
So what is a proper BG level for me. I think that when I try to
get below my proper level (9-12?) my body fights back and I start to get
big swings in BG (7-17) which is unpleasant.
YOUR QUESTION, AS I SEE IT, is whether high BG is ever functional?
I’ve tried tat one on the endrocin. NONONONONONONO. If that is so, if
I would have a greater life expectancy with morning readings in the 6′s
(which I can do with enough oral hypoglycemics) I am not interested in it.
Life is really not worth living in the frame of mind I am in with morning
readings like that.
I WOULD LIKE TO HEAR FROM ANYONE who has experienced depression as
a concommmitant of taking oral hypoglycemics.
In article <3iam28$…@mercury.wright.edu>, eosbo…@discover.wright.edu (Evan Osborne) says:
>Has anyone heard of, or does anyone care to formulate, a theory in which
>high blood sugar during illness might be part of the body’s defenses?
>I ask as I struggle through a cold, with the usual attendant (for me)
>elevated blood sugars.
Elevated, as in what? For me elevated is anywhere from 500 to over 800.
From what I understand, elevated for me is a lot higher than most
diabetics. In my case, I don’t think the bg’s could be doing anything
for my body’s defenses, unless you count killing a virus (or whatever) by
offing me right along with it.
Sarah
lil…@unm.edu (John R. Lilley) wrote:
>I don’t believe that the high blood sugars are part of
>the defense. Your real defenses are using up the
>insulin available to do their thing, leaving less to
>push blood glucose into the cells, leading to high bg
>values.
High blood sugars are an extremely common defense in ill people
without diabetes. What would the insulin be used-up to do?
Since it is primarily used-up in order to transfer glucose into
the cells, this seems rather odd to me.
Our emergency room physicians often use the elevation of
glucose in a person without diabetes in part to determine just
how sick they really are.
A bg of 180 in a non-DM person means they are pretty sick.
Laurie
In a previous article, lil…@unm.edu (John R. Lilley) says:
- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -
>In article <3iam28$…@mercury.wright.edu>,
>Evan Osborne <eosbo…@discover.wright.edu> wrote:
>>Has anyone heard of, or does anyone care to formulate, a theory in which
>>high blood sugar during illness might be part of the body’s defenses?
>>I ask as I struggle through a cold, with the usual attendant (for me)
>>elevated blood sugars.
>I don’t believe that the high blood sugars are part of the defense.
>Your real defenses are using up the insulin available to do their thing,
>leaving less to push blood glucose into the cells, leading to high
>bg values. I’m not sick very often, but when I am I test more frequently
>and usually require considerably more insulin.(I assume that you are
>taking shots-don’t know about pills, but presume that you might need more-
>ask your doctor.)
>Keep in mind the fact that mobilization to the immune system involves
adrenaline, a powerful insulin antagonist. Whether you inject, pump or
jet your insulin your basal requirements will skyrocket, regardless of how
little you eat when ill. Drink lots and lots of water.
Julie Taron