Rusty locks?

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Dave_Z1a

Dave_Z1a

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Type 2
Can anyone educate me? Recently done NHS Desmond course for type 2 Diabetics. For the insulin resistant, thats type 2's I guess, it was said to think of insulin resistance like your cells have rusty locks and the keys; insulin; don't work very well and hence can't open the cell door to let the glucose, i.e. energy in.
Which cells would those be? The red ones or the white ones, guess the red ones.
Some of these have glucose stuck to the outside thus the HbAc1 value.
Now over the course of 12 to 14 weeks apparently the red cells come to the end of their lives and die off being replaced by new ones.
Why is it the new baby ones have rusty locks as well? You would think they were born in perfect condition? Or are they, and they get corrupted by the older ones?
If new ones are being borne and they are in good condition why can't that switch the insulin resistance off? Is it once the resistance switch is switched on it can never be switched off?
 
Nothing to do with blood cells. The cells referred to are the cells that make up the muscles etc in your body, that need energy to perform their various functions. The 'rusty locks' is just a metaphor for something that doesn’t work properly, the explanation I was originally given was that the key (insulin) was the wrong shape for the lock (cell wall). Both are a very simplified explanation.
 
It’s a the body’s cells in general not blood cells. The cells need insulin as the key’ to let the glucose in so the cells can use it for energy. If this process doesn’t work, glucose builds up in the blood and thus increases your blood sugar and HbA1C.
 
Oh, thanks, got that completely wrong then! Thats a bit worrying, so you can loose strength and stamina amongst other things no doubt. :(
 
Hi @Dave_Z1a I've also done the DESMOND course. My understanding is that red blood cells have haemoglobin in them and carry oxygen and glucose round your body. The HbA1c is glycated haemoglobin and I think on the course, was represented by a tennis ball with lots of little orange "glucose" molecules sticking out of it. The more sugary your blood is, the higher the HbA1c, and the more glucose is attached to the haemoglobin.
Dave_Z1a said:
If new ones are being borne and they are in good condition why can't that switch the insulin resistance off? Is it once the resistance switch is switched on it can never be switched off?
Click to expand...
DESMOND teach you that Type 2 is forever, but there's research, paid for by Diabetes UK which showed that Type 2 diabetes was reversable if there was sufficient weight loss, within six years of diagnosis in some of the trial participants. The key amount of weight loss is 15kg, or 10% of your body weight. So the insulin resistance could be switched off for some of the people in the research trial, they got remission as long as they kept the weight off.
The research showed that T2s had more fat in their livers and pancreas than non-diabetic people (they did MRI scans on the people to work out the percentage of fat in the liver/pancreas), and this caused the liver to excrete more glucose than it should, and the pancreas stopped functioning as well as it should.
Losing weight of 15kg was enough to get the liver to slow down it's glucose production, and this gave the pancreas a chance to try and heal itself.
Dave_Z1a said:
so you can loose strength and stamina amongst other things no doubt
Click to expand...
Tiredness is one of the symptoms of diabetes, but if you do exercise, your muscles burn the glucose to help you move, so you can reduce your blood glucose levels, and hopefully maintain your strength and stamina. So taking a walk after a meal will help reduce BG levels.
Best wishes, Sarah
 
It just seems like a story for the little folk to me.
If you want to fix ordinary uncomplicated type 2 diabetes stop putting the wrong fuel into the body.
Just like petrol in a diesel engine, or vice versa, we need to stop trying to use carbohydrate as a main energy source. Eating protein and fat instead can help enormously.
There are sometimes more complex problems, of course but for the lucky ones, it is all it takes.
 
The "rusty locks" as
Drummer said:
It just seems like a story for the little folk to me.
If you want to fix ordinary uncomplicated type 2 diabetes stop putting the wrong fuel into the body.
Just like petrol in a diesel engine, or vice versa, we need to stop trying to use carbohydrate as a main energy source. Eating protein and fat instead can help enormously.
There are sometimes more complex problems, of course but for the lucky ones, it is all it takes.
Click to expand...

I don't believe in little folk.
I do believe in diabetes, and rusty locks are a good analogy.
While one way is certainly to carry on as before, and just avoid carbs so you avoid producing insulin, once you understand the analogy, it's possible to reset your body, remove the rust, polish it all up, and get it back to its shining glory.
(Or, alternatively, a bit like your analogy, consider it an old rusty car, push it into the garage out of the rain, and walk everywhere?)
 
Dave_Z1a said:
Can anyone educate me? Recently done NHS Desmond course for type 2 Diabetics. For the insulin resistant, thats type 2's I guess, it was said to think of insulin resistance like your cells have rusty locks and the keys; insulin; don't work very well and hence can't open the cell door to let the glucose, i.e. energy in.
Which cells would those be? The red ones or the white ones, guess the red ones.
Some of these have glucose stuck to the outside thus the HbAc1 value.
Now over the course of 12 to 14 weeks apparently the red cells come to the end of their lives and die off being replaced by new ones.
Why is it the new baby ones have rusty locks as well? You would think they were born in perfect condition? Or are they, and they get corrupted by the older ones?
If new ones are being borne and they are in good condition why can't that switch the insulin resistance off? Is it once the resistance switch is switched on it can never be switched off?
Click to expand...

I got the rust out by losing weight, and exercising.
It worked well for me, I have a normal insulin response now.
 
Yes - but the main lock is on the liver, one of its several jobs is to rempve excessive glucose from the blood, and to release it later when BG goes low.
Unlocking other cells is not normally a problem in type 2, but may be in type 1 when a lack of insulin means that the well oiled locks have no key. The cells will attempt to use fat. Insulin is needed for this too. The result would be DKA.
 
Just so, but it's usually called metfartin
 
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