Last week my doc told me to lay off the simple carbs, which is basically everything I love to eat. I'm very fit and have a good BMI. I'm wondering if autoimmune disease causes diabetic issues? Or if it's just inconvenient genetics.

Hi Erica,
Here is a book I found while trying to find a cure for my joint and tendon problems.
http://www.archive.org/stream/uricacidanepito02haiggoog#page/n62/mode/2up

The author says that diabetes is caused by uric acid, maybe uric acid + microbes.

It's an old book, and not too many people, and especially not too many doctors, utilize his precious information. As a matter of fact, I have seen medical articles on the web totally trashing his information. He has another book, "Uric acid as a factor in the causation of disease". And another one, "Uric acid in the clinic". His information has changed my life, and I wish I would have found them years ago when I started to have migraines. (Yes, he shows that uric acid causes migraines, too!)

I hope that what you learn from the bad news from your doctor will benefit you greatly and afford you even better health in the long run.

Take care,
Betsy

Hi There,

I notice you take Cymbalta that increases your blood sugar level. I am diabetic due to many past drug treatments. The big one is steroid packs. Some people here think they are perfectly safe, but they are not ! I developed cataracts from only having 3 different steroid packs over three years. Most people would be ok with that , BUT if your a Steroid Responder, which I now know I am, it is too much steroid. Being a "steroid Responder" this is what the specialist calls it, you are very likely to develop diabetes . When I first was told I was a "Steroid Responder", I thought that was a good thing, but was correctly corrected. I also get into trouble when I get iritis and have to take steroids, the eye pressure goes dangerously high and have to take drops to lower the eye pressur, and of course my diabetes gets completley out of control. That is my opinion and hopefully you haven't had a lot of steroids.


Janet

Thanks Janet! I didn't know any of that. I'm really happy with the Cymbalta, so even though I love candy and hate food, I'm willing to deal with the irritation of complex carbs. My husband and I were wheelchair shopping for me before the Cymbalta and now. Well... Click Here to see how things have changed. I was able to swim before the Cymbalta, but no walking, biking, or anything else. Thanks again for the info!

Thanks Betsy. I've already started reading the book online. Wouldn't that be awesome if it worked for me? I'm totally willing to try anything and everything... and have. Thanks for the info. I appreciate it!

janet,

thanks for that information. something i will ask my rheumy about next visit, as the 6 day dose pack worked so well for me, i thought that would be my solution to flares if only 1-2 times a year, now i wonder.

not diabetic, but been fighting it off (successfully thus far) since the early 2000's, would like to continue to win the battle.

thus far, have used the steroid dose packs twice, 2.5 years apart, and no affect that i can tell on my blood sugar, but can't be too careful,

so thanks again!

erica,

this is my favorite source of info for blood sugar.

http://bloodsugar101.com/

their advice has worked for me (thus far). though my weight keeps creeping up, i keep finding ways to get my blood sugar to go back down.

afraid you're gonna have to count those carbs!

5-7 grams or less simple sugars at one sitting.

~20 grams or less totals carbs at a sitting.

for me at least that seems to be working at the moment.

i largely eat meat/fish/seafood, veggies (including beans), nuts, fruit in moderation, EVOO, water, teas

diabetes / heart disease runs in our family, both sides. inflammatory arthritis runs in our family, one or both sides. are they connected? i do not know? but they both seems to ramp up around the same time for me when i was in my mid 30s so who knows.

fish oil lowered my blood sugar.

walking after meals helps a ton!

i've started taking chromium for my blood sugar.

started alpha lipoic acid, vit C, and vit E for my inflammatory arthritis and/or liver and/or blood sugar.

its a battle, but one i believe can be won.

lowering my carbs significantly, walking after meals, and taking the supplements all seem to be helping.

now if i could only lose the weight! guess i'm gonna have to give up the chocolate again!

You're welcome, Erica. Did you see that he found out about uric acid because of his migraines? I found his books because of waking up one morning with pain in my joints and tendons, so bad that I could hardly walk for a week. I had been having migraines for years, though, and could have not had to go through all that pain if someone had told me about them being caused by uric acid. Better late than never, though.

Yes, IMO AS can lead to type 2 diabetes. There are studies that are inching closer to the fact that inflammation causes insulin resistance and that means diabetes. I am diabetic also and because of this have been scouring the net for info on both and some articles started to pop up on this very issue. I was diagnosed with diabetes and sleep apnea first and then a few months later after a few rounds of test with AS. I even took this up with my first rheumy and he did not think it so because of coincidence only since diabetes was a common disease. Now 4 years later and studies underway, evidence is starting to support my belief. Here is one article on diabetes and inflammation:

http://forecast.diabetes.org/magazine/your-ada/how-inflammation-affects-insulin-resistance

...

What does "IMO" mean? It totally makes sense that any autoimmune can wreak havoc in other areas of the body. One of my sisters has these weird kidney tumors from lupus. They bleed and then she has to have infusions... I guess if that can happen, anything can. Thanks for the link!