Symptoms of type 2 diabetes might go away, but not the disease

The the signs of type 2 diabetes might have to go away, but not the condition. If you have type 1 diabetes, then regardless of how much weight you lose you will always require insulin, however, you may need less.

Once you have diabetes, unless or until a cure is discovered, most physicians consider that you always have diabetes. What may change is when you manage it. Many people with type 2 diabetes may lower their medication requirement and control their blood glucose well enough to really discontinue medication by losing about 5-10 percent of the bodyweight and engaging in regular moderate activity for example walking, swimming, or bicycling.

The reason being weight reduction and use decrease insulin resistance, helping your body use the insulin it produces more effectively. Still, you aren't considered "cured" of diabetes, because if you regain the weight and become sedentary again, your symptoms of diabetes will return.

If you have type 1 diabetes, you make no or virtually no insulin, and the only treatment would be to replace the insulin you no longer make. If you are overweight, you may also be insulin-resistant. If you lose a few pounds, you might lose some of your insulin resistance. And if you're regularly physically active your insulin sensitivity may increase. Both may cause your insulin requirement to reduce, but neither will change the fact that you will always require some amount of insulin to handle your diabetes.

The benefits of taking less or no medication

Even though you don't "lose" your diabetes, there are several benefits to needing merely a lower dose of your medication or none at all.

1. Reduce and sometimes eliminate unwanted effects. Many medications have side effects. Clinical evidence links some to cardiac arrest, congestive heart failure, or decreased liver and kidney function. Many haven't been used or tested long enough for it to be clear what long-term side effects they may have.

2. Convenience and time saving. Reducing or eliminating medication provides you with greater freedom in eating and more time for you to do things apart from deal with your diabetes.

3. Cost benefit. Medications are costly, and also the ability to reduce or eliminate your medication can help you save a lot of money.

4. Reduce stress and gain greater peace of mind. You no longer need to bother about filling prescriptions and performing a few of the many diabetes management tasks.

The benefit of using less insulin

If you have type 1 diabetes, even though you should never be in a position to eliminate your insulin, lowering your dose provides some of the benefits above and perhaps greater control. If you have type 2 diabetes and use insulin, you reap the same reward. Dr. Richard Bernstein says that maintaining an extremely lowcarbohydrate diet and being physically active means requiring less insulin.

Using less insulin, Dr. Bernstein explains, yields greater predictability and control. It's what he calls what the law states of Small Numbers - the less insulin you take, the less variability there is in how much of it actually gets absorbed and used, as well as in how quickly it starts working.

Bernstein cites research conducted at the University of Minnesota, which demonstrated that whenever you inject twenty units of insulin, you'll get a whopping 39 percent variation in the amount that enters your blood stream from one day to another. When you inject lower doses, particularly under five units, the uncertainty of absorption approaches zero. Dr. Gerald Bernstein confirms that at higher doses, less than 20-40 percent from the insulin injected gets utilized.

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