Type 2 Diabetes and Diet Pills

[Hammer]

Something that crossed my mind and I thought maybe someone here might have some info on, or can maybe direct me to the info.

The idea of exercising is to burn calories so that the sugar in your blood gets used up. The more exercise you do, the more of the sugar gets used up, so your sugar levels drop. This is a simple explanation of what happens, I know, but I'm using it to try to illustrate a point.

Okay, if you were to take diet pills (amphetamines), these pills increase you metabolic rate causing your heart to beat faster...the same thing that exercise does. While exercising will increase your metabolic rate at a higher rate, the fact that the amphetamines increase the rate some, has to help burn the sugar in your system to a degree, that's one of the reasons people on amphetamines lose weight.(plus their appetite is suppressed). So, wouldn't taking amphetamines lower your BG levels?

I know doctors are hesitant to prescribe amphetamines because the drug companies lobbied Congress to make it harder for doctors to prescribe them. The drug companies lobbied Congress, falsely saying that amphetamines are addictive (they are not) and the side affects are detrimental to one's health.(they are not).

See, it benefited the drug companies to lobby against amphetamines because a one month's supply costs about $20. Taking them off the market means that people will get heavy, and once they're overweight, the drug companies now get to sell you diabetes drugs and supplies, high blood pressure drugs, and high cholesterol drugs. Now instead of selling you $20/mo to keep you from becoming overweight and developing a bunch of health problems, they get to sell you hundreds of dollars worth of drugs to keep you alive.

Anyway, would taking amphetamines help control one's diabetes?

[princesslinda]

When I exercise, I am in control of the intensity of my workout. If I experience pain, shortness of breath, rapid heart rate or any unpleasant symptom, I can slow down or stop my workout, and these symptoms will hopefully resolve.

If I ingest medication such as amphetamines, I have no control over any potential side effects. With amphetamines, if I develop tachycardia (increased heart rate), palpatations (irregular heart rate) or increased blood pressure (all of which can occur) I can't really do anything about it except wait for the medication to get out of my system.

Also, I'm running the risk of potential interaction with other medications.

Stress often causes blood sugar to elevate...and amphetamines are causing stress to your system..so you might end up with the opposite results. I personally don't see that taxing your system this way would be very beneficial blood-sugar wise, esp. when regular exercise would do the same thing.

I have taken various diet pills in the past, experienced first hand the jitteriness and flushed feeling, the increased energy, the racing heart...yes, I lost a little weight, but soon found it again when I stopped the meds. I've lost far more weight with just exercise and carb counting than I ever did with pills and have good blood sugar control...and I don't have that exhausting rebound effect that you get when you stop them either....just my 2 cents worth!

[morrisma]

Hammer,
I am willing to believe a lot about drug companies but your conspiracy theory is just a bit more than I can deal with. Sorry.
Mike

[Hammer]

I have done it both ways, using amphetamines and exercise. The exercise was the most fulfilling of the two, and it gave me a better physique. I took the diet pills when I was younger and in college and didn't have time to exercise, and they helped me lose a lot of weight and keep it off also.

I never had a problem with amphetamines...the rapid heart rate, etc. didn't bother me, and I was happy to be slender. Working out to keep weight off is the better way to go, but it requires a lot of time. I'd spend at least 2½ hours a day at the gym, which I enjoyed, but not everyone has the time to do that.

Now with no gym to go to, the only option I have left is to go for a walk, which I do. It's not as fulfilling as a gym workout, but then my body isn't able to do much besides walk, and even then, not very far.

[Dewey]

I'm with Linda in that amphetamines can cause serious drug interactions or cause some to experience severe problems as a result of use.

I think the natural way (as in walking, exercising, working out, etc.) is the best way to go. In doing things naturally (minus the pills), we're not chemically altering our bodies, or causing our hearts to work way harder than they should. Sure, a good exercise will get the heart going, etc., but as Linda also pointed out, one can control the level at which they work out & how hard they work their heart.

[Kim_in_TN]

I'll have to also agree that the diet pill idea would be too risky! Personally my goal is to decrease the amount of drugs I put into my body, not add to them. I'd really be concerned with your heart and BP if you started them. Please reconsider!

[notme]

So you are batting a thousand right now Hammer, as I agree with all of the above posts. Exercise will not only burn sugar, but will help build muscle and will help increase your metabolism naturally. Taking drugs will not increase muscle mass or increase your metabolism.

Too risky. It is a no vote for me also.

[Hammer]

Hammer,
I am willing to believe a lot about drug companies but your conspiracy theory is just a bit more than I can deal with. Sorry.
Mike

Hi there morrisma! Yes, I know it's a bit much to believe, but when the drug companies lobbied Congress to make it hard to obtain amphetamines, I was angry because of the so called "studies" they used as an argument. They said that amphetamines were addictive and caused health problems, which is false.. I was on amphetamines for over ten years, and when my doctor told me that he could no longer prescribe them for me because of new legislation, I said okay and stopped taking them. I wasn't addicted to them....I had no health issues with them....I didn't suffer any withdrawal pains, I just stopped and that was it.

I lost a lot of weight in that 10 year period, and the amphetamines were helping me keep the weight off. I was slim and trim and I looked and felt good.

The doctor's argued that it wasn't healthy to stay on a drug for life, something you'd need to do with amphetamines if you wanted to keep the weight off. Of course they failed to mention that you need to stay on heart medicine, blood pressure medicine, diabetes medicine for life, but that's okay, it costs more and they make a lot of profit off of them, so it's okay to stay on them for life.

If I had been able to stay on amphetamines, I wouldn't be overweight now....I wouldn't have high blood pressure or diabetes now. So I ask myself, was I in worse shape when I was taking amphetamines than I am now? No, I'm worse off, so why prevent overweight people form obtaining amphetamines? The only obvious reason is to make money. My doctor even agrees with this.

[Hammer]

Oh, I'm not going to take diet pills. If I gave anyone that impression, I'm sorry. I was just curious as to whether or not taking a diet pill would help lower one's BG levels, since diet pills increase one's metabolism. It seemed like the two were linked...diet pills increase metabolism....increased metabolism lowers BG levels....logically then, diet pills should lower BG levels.

It would be really amusing if it was found that amphetamines did lower BG levels, and that taking them was beneficial to diabetes patients, because that would mean the drug companies would have to do a hasty retreat in their "studies" and conclude that amphetamines were beneficial and should be more accessible to the public. Of course if that happened, they'd charge 10 times more than they do now for amphetamines, so I guess we'd get the shaft anyway.

Oh, I should have mentioned in my conspiracy theory about drug companies....if you don't think that drug companies are ripping you off, then why does it cost $1 for one BG test strip? They can't cost more than 5¢ to make. Like my doctor said...sure the drug companies overcharge for the test strips. Why do you think they give away the BG test meters? (I got my FreeStyle Flash Meter Kit from the doctor for free....one of the thousands of dollars worth of free stuff the drug companies give him to dole out to his patients. The drug companies aren't out to make drugs, they're out to make money, and if you don't believe it, just ask their stockholders.)