It’s always interesting talking with people about my situation. The average non-diabetic has heard of diabetes, but what they believe as truth sometimes makes me laugh.
No I Will Not Pass Out…
I remember being at a restaurant one time and telling a waiter that I was a type 1 diabetic so I needed to be careful about what I ate. The waiter asked me something like “you aren’t going to pass out are you if you eat that?”
Another interesting one is when my good friend gets worried about me passing out from diabetes because of my raw vegan diet. He respects what I’m doing, but he gets concerned that I’ll all of a sudden one day fall over and pass out.
I am grateful to have friends that care about me, but these comments and thoughts just blow my mind. These concerns are valid to an extent for a typical medicated diabetic, but the fact that I’m not on insulin greatly reduces certain significant risks associated with the disease.
Setting the Record Straight About My Body and Strategy
To explain a little, diabetes is a disease where the human body has a deficiency to maintain normal blood sugar levels. Simply put, diabetes causes high blood sugars, not low blood sugars.
When people have diabetes and use insulin, there is a risk that their blood sugars go too low. For example, if a diabetic finishes up a strenuous workout and injects themselves with too much insulin, they can experience the effects associated with the “Lows”, or aka hypoglycemia.
There is all sorts of bad stuff associated with hypoglycemia including losing consciousness, seizures, headaches, mood changes, etc. (The Effects of Low Blood Sugars)
Zero Risk of Hypoglycemia (aka Low Blood Sugars)
Now, since I’m not on medication, my risk of experiencing symptoms associated with hypoglycemia are extremely low. I’d actually say non-existent, but I’m not a doctor so I’m not sure that’s totally true.
Managing diabetes the way I do actually completely removes the risks associated with low blood sugars. Since I’m not taking insulin/medication, my blood sugars don’t drop into dangerously low levels. My main area of concern are risks associated with hyperglycemia, or aka high blood sugars.
Hyperglycemia is a real risk, but I manage my disease pretty well with my mostly raw-vegan diet and have had non-diabetic A1c readings for nearly the entire time I’ve been diabetic. My blood sugars aren’t perfect, but I feel they are controlled pretty well.
Focusing on the Highs
So, for all those concerned about me experiencing those horror story low blood sugars, you can keep your mind at ease. My focus is entirely on managing the high blood sugars. All though it’s stressful at times, at least it’s only 1 end of the spectrum instead of the 2 that a typical diabetic has to deal with.
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