Because diabetes is a chronic disease that requires long-term treatment, complications can arise if blood sugar is not properly controlled. Many people may consciously or unconsciously fall into some misconceptions about their treatment: many patients are still ignorant of their disease many years after they have had diabetes. Many people do not know how to check and properly manage their disease. In addition, it is still common to see deceptive propaganda of fake medicine in the society, which often leads patients’ treatment to the wrong path.
Myth 1: No diabetes if you don’t have diabetes symptoms
When she entered the age of 40, Ms. Zhang’s original obese body suddenly lost weight, although she did not know why she was thin, but for her, what the heck, after all, it is a great thing to be thin. She proudly showed off her “weight loss” results to her friends. But unfortunately, for the next two months she kept feeling numbness and pain in her lower limbs, and always felt tired and weak. The most annoying thing was that her vulva was often itchy, which was treated at the gynecological clinic and was recurrent at times. After ruling out diseases such as vulvar leukoplakia, the doctor suggested she check her blood sugar and the cause surfaced – it turned out to be diabetes.
Warm tip: people over 40 years old, especially obese people, should have their blood sugar checked at least once a year; people in the family with diabetes, especially those who are obese and suddenly lose weight for no reason, have repeated urinary tract or other infections, or have symptoms such as pain and numbness at the end of the limbs, and those who have cataracts, vision loss, arteriosclerosis and other symptoms earlier, should pay special attention to whether they have diabetes and should go to the hospital for regular checkups.
Misconception 2: Stopping medication after blood sugar stabilization
Ten years ago, Lao Tang was prone to dry mouth and hunger, and frequently went to the toilet, in line with the “three more and one less” of diabetes (three more refers to eating more, drinking more, urinating more, and one less refers to weight loss), so he went to the hospital for examination and was confirmed to have diabetes. After carrying out a series of treatments, his blood sugar was stable and he did not feel any discomfort. Old Tang was worried about the side effects of the medication, so he reduced the dosage without authorization, and then simply stopped the medication and did not follow up. Recently, due to the emergence of swollen lower limbs, he went to the hospital for examination only to find that there were already complications.
Warm tips: diabetes must adhere to the medication, regular follow-up, and monitor blood sugar.
Myth 3: There are curable drugs
”At this age, you’re still as naive as a child, believing in the words of charlatans.” Mrs. Min muttered under her breath while taking care of her husband, who was lying on the hospital bed. One day, he saw an advertisement in a magazine saying that a course of a certain medicine could cure diabetes. One day, he saw an advertisement in a magazine saying that a course of such-and-such medicine could cure diabetes. But one day, his former worker Ming came over to see him and chatted about this medicine, saying that after he took it, his blood sugar really dropped. For a patient who has to carry the burden of diabetes for a long time, it is better to have hope than no hope at all. So, Mr. Min stopped using the original medicine and bought this drug. But before a course of treatment was finished, he found that his blood sugar had risen rather than fallen.
Warm tip: diabetes is a chronic disease, there is no cure for it. Do not blindly believe in the words of charlatans, it is recommended that you must go to a specialist to see.
Myth 4: Local obesity does not lead to diabetes
Although Mrs. Chen is more than 60 years old this year, but still pay attention to maintenance, recently felt itchy skin, she was worried about whether the newly purchased skin care products caused “skin allergies”, so she went to the cosmetics company to ask for compensation for her losses. A manager of the cosmetic company told her to go to the hospital first for an examination, and if it was really caused by the product, she would be compensated. The hospital examination found that the culprit of her itchy skin turned out to be diabetes. Mrs. Chen’s eyes widened in surprise when she heard the result and said, “Impossible! I’m not fat, just a big belly, my weight is still in the normal category, how can I suffer from diabetes?”
Warm tip: Normal weight of the elderly if the body fat distribution parts of the abnormal (such as fat mainly in the abdominal wall or cavity accumulation too much, that is, abdominal obesity), will also greatly increase the risk of diabetes.
Myth 5: Excessive weight loss to cure diabetes
After Ms. Ji learned about the dangers of obesity from the newspaper, she decided to lose weight in order to better control her diabetes. So she didn’t let herself eat enough at every meal, only drank soup and ate fruit, and slept when she was hungry. After not long, she couldn’t support herself one day and fainted in the street.
Warm tip: weight control is the hard truth of treating diabetes, but according to their own situation to design a reasonable weight loss goals, and should be gradual, do not be too hasty, but also to establish the concept of healthy weight.
Myth 6: Diabetes to control drinking water
Diabetic patients often have thirst, drinking more than the performance of patients often have a wrong view that after suffering from diabetes should control drinking water.
Warm tip: this approach is very wrong. Drinking a lot of water is the performance of water shortage in the body, is a protective response of the human body, after suffering from diabetes control drinking water not only can not treat diabetes, but will make diabetes more serious, can cause ketoacidosis or hypertonic coma, is very dangerous.
Myth 7: Eating only diabetic food is good for controlling blood sugar
After Li Bo was found to have diabetes, he always asked his children to buy him “diabetic food”, thinking that if he eats “diabetic food”, he can control his blood sugar.
The purpose of diabetic diet therapy is to control the total number of calories and a balanced diet, not to eat the so-called “diabetic food”. In fact, the nutritional composition of diabetic food is no different from that of ordinary food. It is dangerous for patients who do not pay attention to the principles of diabetic diet therapy and think that their blood sugar will be fine as long as they eat “diabetic food”.
Misconception 8: Insulin is like opium, resolutely do not play
Type 2 diabetes, Ms. Shen to the hospital this day to review, according to her condition, the doctor recommended that she play insulin, she immediately shook her head: “insulin is like opium, I firmly do not play!”
Warm tip: For type I diabetic patients, since oral medication is not effective for them, they have no choice but to receive insulin therapy in order to survive. For type 2 diabetic patients who need to be treated with insulin, it is important to trust science and accept insulin therapy. However, many type 2 diabetic patients have a deep-rooted but very wrong concept: insulin is an opiate, and once you take it, you can never leave it. The main reason for this deep-rooted belief is that we used to give two types of diabetes very misleading names – “insulin-dependent diabetes” and “non-insulin-dependent diabetes “. Because of this, these two inappropriate names have gradually fallen into disuse in the medical community. In addition, the misinformation and propaganda of many lay doctors are also important reasons for this misconception.
Diabetes is a chronic disease that is extremely dangerous. Among diabetic patients, the phenomenon of easy treatment and difficult adherence is very common. Yang Yongfang, a diabetes prevention and control expert from Yunnan CDC, pointed out that many patients have misconceptions about diabetes awareness and treatment due to their inability to adhere to scientific treatment, thus causing lesions in the heart, brain, kidneys and other organs.
There are six major misconceptions about disease awareness.
Misconception one, diabetes can be cured. Now some medical advertisements occasionally see “secret formula for the cure of diabetes” and “Chinese medicine to cure diabetes” and other propaganda. In fact, diabetes is a chronic progressive disease of the whole body, except for a few secondary diabetes, primary diabetes is a lifelong disease, which cannot be cured. However, it is a disease that can be controlled. As long as the blood sugar is controlled within the normal range, patients can also enjoy a long life.
Myth 2: When blood sugar is under control, treatment can be stopped. Diabetes is a chronic disease with a long treatment cycle. Some patients may reduce the dosage or even stop the medication when the blood glucose check is normal, which will not only cause the blood glucose to rise again, but also the instability of blood glucose will bring serious effects to all organs of the body. If the condition is stable for a long time, the dosage and frequency of medication can be adjusted gradually under the guidance of professional doctors.
Misconception 3, as long as you take the medication as prescribed by the doctor, you can treat diabetes. Diabetes is related to long-term excessive diet, obesity, reduced activity, tobacco and alcohol addiction, and other factors. In addition to medication, diabetic patients who make scientific adjustments in their lives will have better blood sugar control.
Myth 4, blood glucose monitoring is unnecessary when you feel good. Accurate and comprehensive blood glucose records are the key basis for doctors to observe the treatment effect and adjust the medication. However, some patients do not pay attention to blood glucose monitoring and only remember to check blood glucose once when they feel unwell. Doctors lack the necessary basis to observe the treatment effect and adjust the medication, resulting in poor treatment results.
Myth 5, long-term use of insulin will produce dependence. Some clinical patients are afraid to take insulin. In fact, insulin therapy can effectively control blood sugar, protect pancreatic islet function, prevent or delay the occurrence of complications, and have little side effects. Some patients have more serious destruction of pancreatic islet function, without insulin injections can no longer control blood sugar, in addition, some patients have complications, not suitable for oral drug therapy, this time the use of insulin therapy is inevitable.
Myth six, diabetic patients can not eat fruit. Fruits are rich in vitamins, minerals and fiber, which are beneficial to diabetics. Diabetic patients can eat fruit, but not indiscriminately, but in moderation, except when the condition is critical. In addition, it is best to eat fruit on an empty stomach, avoid eating fruit immediately after meals, and to choose less sugar fruit, such as watermelon, strawberries, grapefruit, etc.