It seemed like a good idea at the time. Diabetics are at an unusually high risk of heart disease, heart attacks and strokes, so treating them intensively to sharply reduce blood pressure, cholesterol levels and sugar levels should be highly beneficial. But a decade of studies in thousands of patients show that is not the case.
Two new reports from a major nationwide trial called ACCORD released Sunday show that lowering either blood pressure or cholesterol levels below current guidelines do not provide additional benefit and, in fact, increase the risk of side effects. A third arm of the study, released two years ago, shows that lowering blood sugar levels excessively actually increases the risk of heart disease.
The results are very disappointing, researchers say, because they suggest that clinicians may have reached the limit for what they can do for diabetic patients without the development of totally new therapeutic approaches.
It’s been just over 2 years since I was diagnosed with Type II. I skipped the oral meds (lots of side effects) and just went with daily basal insulin (they’ve got some nice long-lasting ones now, and its more natural). I took the “lifestyle changes” deadly seriously, lost weight, and got very disciplined about my carb intake and exercise. I was able to go off the insulin after 10 months, with my blood glucose, cholesterol and BP all in normal healthy ranges.
Sure, it’s a pain to skip the sweet tea, and only take a taste of the baked goods someone brings to the office, but being able to manage this without enriching the pharmaceutical industry or dealing with side effects has its rewards.