can we talk supplements?

hookilau

I keep hearing about different supplements and wondered about other people's first hand experiences. At the animal hospital, we used to use Chromium Glucose Tolerance Factor for cats the the DVM referred to as 'transient' diabetics (eye roll) as a daily supplement. Keep in mind that this was about 10 yrs ago or so. More accurately, I expect these transient diabetics would be best described as glucose impaired as somehow I find the term 'transient' in reference to hyperglycemia unsettling.

We did not have target BG's for pets in our care as no effort was made to keep them in a certain range for a variety of logistical reasons, some known only to the DVM's I worked for at the time (it was a large hospital with 16 DVM's on staff). We did BG curves & adjusted insulin dosages to get within the 180mg/dl range and rarely adjusted insulin unless it was upwards of 250mg/dl. To offer a point of reference, this was about 2-3 years prior to the use of lantus, before that it was plain ol' NPH, Humulin or Ultralente.

I did some research & came up with a whole list of supplements to try to effect changes in my management of T2.
I'm wondering what supplements others take and what their experiences are.

Chromium GTF, Bitter Melon, Biotin, Cinnamon etc.

Thoughts & experiences?

kcaffee1

I use plain ol' baking cinnamon - not sure exactly how much or if it really is effective. I typically just dust my morning cereal with it, and keep a small bowl to dip my evening cheese sticks into.

However, I have seen an emerging trend - when I forget/don't have time to eat/ don't have calories so DON'T eat my cheese and cinnamon at night, my morning numbers tend to creep up about 10 points from what has become "normal" for me. The only other factor for this, is that usually the days I forget my cheese and cinnamon at night is the fact this tends to happen on days I also didn't get a good workout in. So, not sure if it's the CINNAMON or the workout responsible for the creeping numbers.

tejano714

I'm a pharmacist for 38 years. I'm a diabetic for 25 years due to a drug that killed my pancreas. I am on an insulin pump. Read the clinical literature and you will find suppliments don't work. Even the increlins by injection cause 5-7% changes only and they are Rx only.

Mark Braun, MS,RPh

hookilau

Thanks for the input

I tried cinnamon when I was first dx'd but it didn't change anything for me that I could tell. It's possible that my BG was so out of whack that no supplement would've made a difference.

I've heard of folks who add cinnamon to their morning oatmeal but after hearing oatmeal, I'd start picturing a steam hot bowl of mushy-chewy sweet creamy yumminess just oozing aromatic cinnamon *smacking lips* and totally lose my train of thought wishing like hell that I'd appreciated the stupid stuff before my body in conjunction with my meter decided it just wasn't to be.:brokenheart:

As far as whether or not supplements actually work, well, that's a different story I suppose. It's tough not to be superstitious about stuff especially when things don't seem to take a predictable path.

I suppose recognizing patterns are integral to managing this dz so a certain number of superstitions inevitably come along with the territory. To that I say, if you feel it works, and the results you see are something that mean something to YOU, then it's done it's job....and that's a good thing. I suppose it's about coping. :drinker:

I don't mean to be argumentative, but I disagree. I've done quite a bit of reading about different supplements, both formal studies & anecdotal. The consensus is NOT that supplements don't work, just that some things seem to work for some people, but nothing can be said to work across the board for everyone, not even Rx meds.