Brittle Diabetes

These days, Doug Burns is a modern Sampson. The reigning Mr. Universe, he’s two hundred pounds of sheer muscle and the picture of good health. Of the skinny little boy with type 1 who used to work out in the woods alone, all that remains are a wry sense of humor and an attractively self-deprecating manner. They’re unexpected in a man who’s triumphed in the uber-masculine world of bodybuilding, but there’s a lot that’s unexpected about Doug Burns.

21 comments - Sep 22, 2008 -

I was diagnosed with type I insulin-dependent diabetes 54 years ago at the age of 22 months. A dear family friend suggested my parents take me to our family doctor and have me checked for diabetes after I showed some of the more common symptoms. I was unusually cranky and always hungry, but had a stomach that was hard to the touch as though food was not digesting properly. I was also always thirsty, drinking a lot and urinating frequently. Our doctor tested my blood sugar, and the result was high enough to indicate diabetes. He put me on 60 units of insulin per day and told my parents to take me to the hospital 30 miles from the little Western Kansas town where we lived to get a shot of insulin once a day.

15 comments - May 8, 2008 -

When Dee Brehm was diagnosed in 1949 with type 1 diabetes, her prospects were not bright: a permanent chronic condition, a reduced life span, potentially devastating complications and perhaps no children. She married Bill Brehm in 1952, and they began a partnership knowing that together they would have to manage her disease. Dee subsequently defied the dim outlook for her life: She has two children and six grandchildren, and she has surpassed the half-century mark with this disease having been spared the ordeal of complications.

19 comments - Apr 2, 2008 -

Acute psychological stress may play a role in glycemic control according to a study in the August 1996 journal Psychoneuroendocrinology.

0 comments - Jul 1, 1997 -

Brittle diabetes is the term used to describe wildly fluctuating blood glucose levels that are difficult to control. In a report published in the Adv Endocrinol Metab, June 1995, it is revealed that brittle diabetes always has a specific underlying cause. Unfortunately, the cause is usually difficult to pinpoint without extensive tests.

0 comments - Jan 1, 1996 - Not Yet Rated

Q: I have a question: what is brittle diabetes?

0 comments - Jun 1, 1994 -

Q: I am a brittle diabetic and live in fear every day as my blood sugar goes from high to very low within a few hours, and I never know it's low until it is too late. I understand there's a new oral drug for this, and I hope you can share some information with me. Also, I'd like to know what's new in terms of a cure-I hear rumors, but never see the new techniques or good news in doctor's offices. Please share any news of new treatment.

4 comments - Jan 1, 1994 -