Doctors will tell you Less Is More…But is it?

Medical authorities recommend less aggressive treatment for type 2 diabetes.

It goes like this.  Individuals that have normal blood sugar management over time live the longest and healthiest life. And it followed that type 2 diabetics that effectively lower their blood sugar the best have the healthiest life and least complications. But when blood sugar is lowered to normal levels with “polypharmacy”—the use of multiple medications at once—the result is more death and hospitalizations, known complications of the reactive hypoglycemia in these heavily treated individuals. It is not solely my opinion that drugging high blood sugar into submission fails for many individuals.

A recent NYT article brought this to light again and the irony of lowering treatment expectations to better treat type 2 diabetes. And the article backs up the undertreatment as though it is the right thing to do, without talking about the elephant in the room—that medications can cause illness, it’s called iatrogenic illness. Maybe there is just a better way to treat the condition entirely, I ask rhetorically.

Let me pretend that we as doctors aspire to be like great coaches. If an athlete is looking to have to perform better, I could simply have them train more right.? But coaches and athletes know that overtraining—like taking too many diabetic drugs—can be harmful. I’d therefore coach to hone a smarter fitness routine, sleep and recover more effectively and eat in a way that provides optimal conditioning post workout. The medical recommendation that guides doctors to undertreat patients is like a coach telling the athlete to lower expectations, thus meeting performance goals only by making the goals less ambitious.

First, I’d be fired as a coach if I applied the low-expectation medical model. Diabetes requires, like an athlete, attention to sleep, food. exercise habits and stress management. The medical model for type 2 diabetes treats everyone as though they are non-compliant and pathetic—in the true meaning of the word. It may be more than type 2 diabetes that requires a multi-faceted approach to restoring health and wellness.

Medical authorities recommend less aggressive treatment for type 2 diabetes.

It goes like this.  Individuals that have normal blood sugar management over time live the longest and healthiest life. And it followed that type 2 diabetics that effectively lower their blood sugar the best have the healthiest life and least complications. But when blood sugar is lowered to normal levels with “polypharmacy”—the use of multiple medications at once—the result is more death and hospitalizations, known complications of the reactive hypoglycemia in these heavily treated individuals. It is not solely my opinion that drugging high blood sugar into submission fails for many individuals.

A recent NYT article brought this to light again and the irony of lowering treatment expectations to better treat type 2 diabetes. And the article backs up the undertreatment as though it is the right thing to do, without talking about the elephant in the room—that medications can cause illness, it’s called iatrogenic illness. Maybe there is just a better way to treat the condition entirely, I ask rhetorically.

Let me pretend that we as doctors aspire to be like great coaches. If an athlete is looking to have to perform better, I could simply have them train more right.? But coaches and athletes know that overtraining—like taking too many diabetic drugs—can be harmful. I’d therefore coach to hone a smarter fitness routine, sleep and recover more effectively and eat in a way that provides optimal conditioning post workout. The medical recommendation that guides doctors to undertreat patients is like a coach telling the athlete to lower expectations, thus meeting performance goals only by making the goals less ambitious.

I’d be fired as a coach if I applied the low-expectation medical model. Diabetes requires, like an athlete, attention to sleep, food. exercise habits and stress management. The medical model for type 2 diabetes treats everyone as though they are non-compliant and pathetic—in the true meaning of the word. It may be more than type 2 diabetes that requires a multi-faceted approach to restoring health and wellness. In my life and in my practice and work, I’m ready to give more, not less, for long-term health and disease reversal. – RM