Diagnosis Diabetes

How were you diagnosed with diabetes?

A chance diagnosis during a routine examination, after an accident or during a very tense phase with family conflicts? Take the time to think about it intensively and you will see interesting connections.

The consequence

What would be the logical consequence in therapy and living environment? More stress reduction? Actively creating more time and space for relaxation and calm? Putting yourself and your environment under less stress?

In diabetes, we generally distinguish between insulin underproduction and insulin resistance.

Insulin underproduction: The pancreas can no longer produce enough insulin or none at all. Causes can be a „permanent load“ on the pancreas, infections or the islet cells dying – there are also causes for this!

An insulin resistance is when the pancreas produces sufficient insulin, but this insulin can no longer transport the sugar into the cells. The question here is whether the cells no longer „recognise“ the insulin correctly or the insulin was not „produced“ 100% correctly and is therefore not „recognised“ correctly by the cells (cell communication).

Other causes for the diagnosis of diabetes

There are many causes:

• Unbalanced diet (too much fat, too much sweets)
• Continuous stress on the insulin-producing cells, as food is constantly supplied (e.g. every hour small items such as biscuits, sweets, candy, etc.) – even one biscuit makes the pancreas work!
• Prolonged family and/or emotional stress, which may have an association with the pancreas
• Too little exercise to „burn“ the carbohydrates supplied: more carbohydrates are consumed daily than are used for energy production (imbalance). The part of energy not consumed is stored as a reserve!
• Misdiagnoses due to ignorance of the basic regulation of the VNS

Two examples:

1. When the pancreas has something to „digest“ every 2 hours and has to produce insulin so that the sugar produced can be channelled into the cells, at some point it is totally exhausted and can no longer produce enough insulin. If you happen to be at the doctor’s now and a routine examination is carried out, it is very quickly determined that there is too much sugar in the blood. Further examinations show that either too little insulin is being produced (exhaustion), or that there is enough insulin but it cannot transport the sugar into the cells. Permanent stress of the pancreas – it cannot permanently produce top performance, at some point it needs rest to recover. No athlete can permanently deliver top performance; rest and recovery phases are just as important, otherwise the body will take a „forced break“.

2. You are well and have no complaints. Suddenly you have an accident, a shocking experience or permanent stress in the office or at home (= permanent escape reaction with corresponding permanent energy supply). Since your body wants to provide this increased energy demand as quickly as possible for „coping with stress“, more sugar is released, which leads to high sugar levels in the blood for a short time. This situation can also last for 2-4 weeks. More sugar means more available energy for physical and mental peak performance (faster problem solving): Everything is set to „escape behaviour = permanent stress“. If you now go to the doctor for a routine check-up, e.g. after an accident, a misinterpretation of the overall situation can very quickly lead to you being a „diabetic“ from this point on! When the stress at work or at home subsides or it no longer causes you „stress“, the shock of the accident is overcome or the „escape behaviour“ is no longer necessary, normality returns in the body and the increased sugar supply and insulin production regulate themselves back to normal.

With these two examples, it is very easy to understand that under certain circumstances an increased production of sugar (glucose) and also insulin can be necessary and is biologically sensible. Without the knowledge of the patient’s professional/family environment or „shock-like“ experiences, misdiagnoses can very often arise.

Have you been asked by your therapist what „exciting“, „stressful“ or „significant“ things happened in your life in the last hours/days/weeks before the „accidental“ diagnosis of diabetes was made?

Conclusion: In an acute stress situation (also possible for 2-4 weeks), a glucose tolerance test does not provide a reliable and meaningful statement if the private, family and/or professional environment is not taken into account.