The statistics can be discouraging. Not only is diabetes growing exponentially (I won't bother to quote all the searchable results for predictions of just how many people in the US are expected to contract the disease in coming years), but it is bringing a whole host of health complications that are keeping endocrinologists, heart doctors, retina doctors, dietitians and a whole host of professionals in business. More accurately: diabetes patients are overwhelming a medical system that has too few people available to help and still lacks a lot of answers to the problem. 
       The good news is that there are growing resources, studies, and technology advances that are helping in the war against diabetes (see other Hacks for details). The bad news that there are also a lot of well-meaning "experts" I've encountered that tend to rain on my diabetes parade. Here are some of the raindrops that keep falling on my head from the experts and coaches who are supposed to be helping me:

• "Now that you're on insulin, you're probably going to gain more weight that you don't want to, even with a healthy diet."  (See Hack X for counterpoint)
• "You may not need rapid insulin now, but those antibodies are going to keep attacking your pancreas, and eventually it's going to shut down." (See Hack X for counterpoint)
• "Eventually, everyone with Type 1 diabetes / LADA has to go on short-acting insulin because the pancreas just stopes making insulin altogether. So with your Type 1 diagnosis, I think short-acting insulin is probably in your near future." (See Hack X for counterpoint)
• "You mentioned only drinking coffee for the first half of the day. I want to highlight that skipping meals can lead to higher blood sugars as well. It's important to keep a steady flow of carbs in our system throughout the day because when our organs, muscles and brain lack the energy they require to keep working from food intake, the liver will release stored sugar to supply our body with the energy it needs... this will lead to a rise in blood sugars. So by eating an adequate amount of carbs throughout the day, we may see lower blood sugars because our body won't have to release that stored sugar.  (See Hack X for counterpoint). 
• "You really should consider an insulin pump."
• "Why are you taking Metformin? You shouldn't be taking it if you have Type 1 diabetes!"
• "Controlling our carb intake to be super low, is no fun and takes the joy out of eating. You should be able to eat and enjoy a piece of cornbread and not worry about a major spike in your blood sugar levels." (See Hack X for counterpoint)

      These advisors are correct - to a point, and have facts to back them up. But another statistical fact is that because diabetes can be difficult to manage, many people also suffer from depression and anxiety over the condition. So, in my view, these fatalistic or absolutist "coaching tips" I've been bombarded with aren't really helpful, especially given that there is evidence to the contrary, and most experts also agree that every body is different and responds differently to different therapies - diabetes related or not. 
       I am happy to say that, in contrast to all these voices I've heard in recent months telling me that rapid-acting insulin (i.e., more units per day) is inevitable in my (near) future and that I should start taking it now, one voice - a Mayo Clinic nurse who's had Type 1 diabetes for 30 years - told me that there was no rush, and that in my case they may not be correct with my body and my current situation. This gave me hope - not false hope - and motivation not to rush into adding more drugs and more tech to my body when, in fact, I am currently able to get by on just 8 units of basel (long-acting) insulin a day while maintaining glucose levels between 70-180 more than 95% of the time. 

About a year ago, I started seeing a functional medicine specialist (who is also a certified M.D.), to seek out answers for managing my T1Diabetes and corresponding lower libido, through other means besides man-made prescription drugs. After batteries of blood and other tests, we landed on a regimen that included a long list of OTC supplements to act as "insulin sensitizers" that can reduce one's volume of daily insulin injections.
      Currently, I take 6-7 units of Tujeo, or long-acting insulin, and only OCCASIONALLY take 1-3 units of Lispro, or rapid-acting insulin, every 2-3 days as needed when I choose to enjoy an occasional higher-carb meal or treat like pizza, pasta or dessert. And I believe those numbers are lower than average, at least partly because of these supplements. 
      Before taking a bunch of supplements, anyone with diabetes should let their doctor know to avoid interaction issues, but here are some things that I take that can be considered: 
     1) Chromium picolinate
     2) Citrus Bergamot
     3) Lipoic Acid
     4) Magnesium
     5) Folic Acid (not for insulin, but for retinal eye health/prevention)
     6) Berberine
     7) Zinc
Note that when I told my endocrinologist that I was taking these, except for the folic acid, he warned that because supplements are not regulated by the FDA, one never knows what's really inside these capsules, but that doesn't mean they're useless. Some research, or buying through a functional medicine specialist, can help shore up this issue. The other caution my endocrinologist gave me was that few to none of these supplements have been proven in studies to be efficacious. My response is: everyone responds differently to different diets, medications, foods, etc. Consider trying these and see if they help. 

Granted, there's only so much information that can be stuffed into your head when you're first getting diagnosed, treated and trained on how to manage your diet, exercise, and medications as a Type 1 diabetic. But it would have been nice to have known that, when you are first diagnosed with Diabetes - Type 1 or Type 2 - that there is something called a “honeymoon” period where it takes time for your body and insulin dosages to learn how to partner together in regulating blood glucose levels. 
     First of all, it’s a major misnomer. “Honeymoon phase” is a term typically applied to a period of time where everything is magical and easy, like the trip that a newly married couple traditionally takes right after a wedding ceremony. This may be applied to a new job, a new relationship, a new car, or anything that feels new and special. And people will commonly say “their honeymoon phase is over” when reality sets in on something new and the hard work begins. 
     But the honeymoon phase of beginning insulin shots is anything but a honeymoon-style experience. I’m not even talking about the realities of poking your finger several times a day (at least until you get access to continuous glucose monitors, which require you only to poke your upper arm once a week or two in order to attach the sensor to your body), or stabbing your abdomen once or more a day with the insulin injector. 
        I’m talking about the fact that, when many people start taking insulin for the first time, they may experience wild differences from day to day in their blood sugar levels, regardless of the number of units one takes. For the “new” diabetic, this can be frustrating, troubling, and even stressful. In other words, it’s ANYTHING but a honeymoon. And this matters because if one takes too little insulin, then their blood sugar levels in their blood stays too high, which is bad for the eyes, circulation in general, and can feel uncomfortable. For me, I watched my glucose rise over 400, which is the limit of many measuring systems, for many hours before coming back down. This was partly because I wasn’t given rapid insulin initially to help me manage diet-related swings. Nonetheless, it was disconcerting. 
       The opposite situation can be much more threatening: Take too much insulin at a time and glucose levels can swing below 60, or 50 or 40 or more and send someone into a diabetic coma. So while taking too little insulin at a time is a problem for longer term management of diabetes, taking too much is much more dangerous.
       Which is why it took me more than a month for my body to start reacting more consistently to daily doses of long-acting insulin, and for my blood sugar to stay in a more moderate 70-170 zone, as I experimented and learned how to slowly bring my averages down without creating a really low swing. 
       So could we please come up with a more accurate term for that very awkward period of learning to adjust to insulin intakes - perhaps the “dating phase” which many times can be very awkward as people learn to slowly share and read each others’ signals about when they’re happy or mad, or interested or not? That’s my vote. 

Okay, first of all, there are dozens of places a person can go to on the web to understand the technical difference between T1D and T2D, and explain it much more thoroughly than I can. I'm writing this blog because, after contracting diabetes, I read about it several times, and it was explained to me several times by various articles, books, doctors, endocrinologists, nurses, etc. But even with an above-average IQ, it took awhile for it to sink in. 
       So, the purpose of this article is to try and cut through all the technical stuff and focus on what I think matters on the topic for those who are curious about the topic but don't want to get lost in the mire.
       On the surface, T1D and T2D share these commonalities:

• Both relate to the body's inability to break down sugar (glucose) in the body and convert it to energy (or fat), and so both are often treated with insulin injections.
  
• Both types can cause people to have high glucose levels in their bloodstream (which can lead to eye, heart, and other issues in the long-term, if left untreated) and low-glucose levels (which can quickly lead to loss of consciousness, coma and even death if not treated immediately).
  
• Both can also cause unexpected weight loss, thirst, cramping, and lack of appetite when untreated for a period of time (as was the case with me. See Hack 4), when glucose levels stay elevated. Typically, T2 diabetics are overweight and inactive, but this isn't always the case. There's such a thing as "skinny diabetics." 
  
• Both types can be mitigated by careful dietary choices and exercise. And this is very important to realize, especially for Type 1 diabetics. Even though T1D requires insulin for life (unlike T2D, where they can lose their insulin dependence), T1 diabetics can reduce the amount of daily "units" they require of both long-acting and fast-acting insulin to keep their glucose in a safe range, if they chose to be careful about the quantity of carbohydrates they eat at their meals (see other Hacks on diets and supplements for glucose management), and rigorous exercise, which can instantly lower glucose levels.  

But here are some important differences that are good to know about: 

• T1D occurs when the body's pancreas can't produce any / enough insulin to convert sugar in the bloodstream into energy in the body. People with T2D typically have a functioning pancreas, but their body has developed "resistance" to the insulin it produces, and so more insulin (from injections) is often needed to help that process.
• T1D is not curable (yet at least). People with T2D, however, can usually make their diabetes "go away" if they lose weight and exercise, which can reduce or at least temporarily eliminate their body's resistance to the insulin it produces. And I've read that many of the symptoms that they experience, like eye/retina issues and foot/neuropathy issues, can also go away or be significantly improved. 
  

The challenge in diagnosing T1D vs. T2D is that, according to my endocrinologist I consulted at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester (see Hack on this, too), the only way to be conclusive about which type one has, is to do an antibodies test (a c-peptide test can help as well, which determines at what level the pancreas is functioning), AND that test is very expensive (nearly $2000). But for me, this was very important to confirm, because although my endocrinologist was pretty sure I had T1D based on my symptoms and his examination, without this test, frankly, most other doctors I consulted with would assume that, because I contracted the disease in my 50s, I should have T2D, and so they would hammer away at the diet and exercise part and I would believe, incorrectly, that I could someday stop using insulin in the hopes the disease would go away.