Avandia is Going Down!

Avandia hit the market, a triumph in blood sugar control.  It helped with insulin resistance and it helped make the pancreas to produce more insulin.  I took it and it worked better than anything else.  I had my first hypoglycemic incident taking Avandia.  My blood sugar hit a severe and dangerous low.  It scared me enough to make me as vigilant about my lows as I am about my highs. 

There was a piece of news that made me stop taking Avandia.  Data had been released that 30% of patients treated with Avandia had heart attacks.  I told Dr. Melvin, no more Avandia for me.  He and I decided to go straight to insulin.

Now, the news comes out that Avandia will be removed from the market.  It's a victory for T2D patients.

The history of oral medications is filled with stories of damaging, even deadly, side effects.  

It Says "'Sugar Free"

Some sugar substitutes will raise blood sugar!  Read the label on your sweetener packet.  Not the part that sells the product.  All you will read is what you want to hear.  Packaging is design to get people to believe they are buying what they want.  Read the part of the label that lists nutritive information and ingredients.  That will tell you what you need to know. 

Here's how to use the information:

1.  No calories, no carbohydrates, no rise in blood sugar.  Simple.

2.  Ingredients lists a word ending in  ...itol, like sorbitol or erythritol.  These are sugar alcohols, not the booze-type alcohol, but a sweet tasting compound having a molecular structure that chemists named, "alcohol."  Sugar alcohols have a carbohydrate count.  They raise blood sugar more slowly than sucrose (table sugar), fructose (the sugar in fruit), or carbohydrates from starch.  To calculate the actual carb impact on your blood sugar, The American Diabetes Association recommends dividing the carb contribution of the sugar alcohol in half, then subtracting that from the total carb count.  That way you can track your carbs and know what to expect to happen to your blood sugar.

3.  Lactose, sugar in dairy products, is the sugar in "Sugar-Free" or "No Sugar Added" ice cream.  As tempting as it is to believe you can eat all you want, sadly, it is not so.  Read the label, you will see.  Sorry for the bad news.