Diabetic Pro players and competeing....

Need to share my own results...........

oneballeddie said:
In addition to the conclusion drawn being incorrect per se, it does not follow from your premises:

People who eat wrong can become fat. (true)
Some diabetics are fat. (true)
Therefore, diabetic obesity is caused by eating wrong. (does not follow)

Non sequitur. Similar to "there occured an increase of births during the full moon. Therefore, full moons cause birth rates to rise."
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I had a stroke in Oct 2008. I was lucky because it was a mini stroke. I was at about 245lbs.

Jan 3rd I was diagnosed diabetic. I knew there was something wrong for about 15 years and the problem just kept getting worse and worse the heavier I got. The blood pressure was up. Cholesterol was up.

I learned how i was supposed to eat and really changed my diet. At first just by cutting down and then making some healthy food choices. But the biggest change i made was just eating smaller amounts and counting my carbs and making sure my small meals didn't go over 50 carbs.

I lost about 50 lbs in about 2 months and actually started winning some pool tournaments again. But I still would have problems where the blood sugar would get out of wack and I couldn't play very well during this period. Thus really hard to win a tournament or gamble a little.

After reading this article by this doctor it really makes sense that at 175lbs is where I started having problems. Now that I was maybe pre diabetic, as they call it, I would feel hungry all the time because the glucose wasn't getting into my cells properly. Basically from that point on I really had trouble controling my weight.

I know when the turning point in my life was when I was first having signs of diabetes. it's kind of once the snowball rolling down the hill starts getting big enough it keeps rolling all by itself.

My doctor was pretty smart. He told me that most people become diabetic and then they start putting on the pounds. He said most people have a misconception that people get huge and then become diabetic.

I'm just guessing but my assumption is that maybe 175lbs was just enough to put me on the edge. Now I kept eating because I could never feel like I had enough energy so I'd eat some more. Thus , keep gaining weight.

Then when your diagnosed and pretty big they say that being fat caused the diabetes when in all reality you just hit this one point with your weight and it might not even have been to heavy but just enough to get it started and we're off to the races.

I know people that are 400 lbs and not diabetic. If that was really the cause everyone that is huge should have it.

Maybe there is a certain weight for everyone where this diabetes thing will start to happen. For some it was 175 and for others it was 250 or inbetween.

And I want to clarify I'm not talking about type 1. I don't know much about type one except i know their pancreas hardly works or doesn't work at all.

Just my thoughts. I'm no doctor just a person looking for answers trying to be able to live a normal life like all diabetics.

good luck everyone..............
 
genomachino said:
Great post here...


...Thanks from me for sure.
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See, there are just way too many factors that go into disease.

For instance, it's rare that people talk about plastics, and their potential role in diabetes.

http://health.usnews.com/health-new...sease-diabetes-linked-to-chemical-in-plastics

Heart Disease, Diabetes Linked to Chemical in Plastics
Research on bisphenol A fuels calls for a ban on the chemical's use in hard plastics and metal cans

"Just one word...plastics," a memorable line from the 1967 movie The Graduate, has taken on a whole new meaning. Then, plastics held all the future's promise. Now, we've come to fear them, in part because of the potential health dangers posed by bisphenol A, a chemical found in hard, clear plastics and most cans containing foods or beverages. The spotlight over the past year has been on rigid plastic baby bottles and plastic-lined cans of infant formula. That's natural, since babies are thought to be most vulnerable to BPA's reproductive health effects; in animal studies, exposure early in life increased long-term risk of uterine fibroids, endometriosis, decreased sperm counts, and breast and prostate cancer.

It turns out, though, that adults may be at risk, too. A landmark study of more than 1,400 people ages 18 to 74, published today in the Journal of the American Medical Association, found that those with the largest amount of BPA in their urine had nearly three times the risk of heart disease and more than twice the risk of diabetes as those who had the lowest levels....

So how many people remember growing up when the microwave first came out, and everyone was reheating all their leftovers in Tupperware?
How many people remember those tv dinners that you had to boil the food in the bag?
How many people drink bottled water of other beverages when they first switched from glass containers back in the day.

For all we know, there are a couple of generations of people who screwed themselves up without knowing it before regulations went into effect, and then other factors push your system over the top. Who knows.

We are only just starting to uncover the role that other factors play in diabetes.

Best of luck to you.
 
iusedtoberich said:
Maybe I'll get flack for this, but diabetes is probably one of the easiest diseases to prevent. All you have to do is control what goes on the end of your fork. Do you think it's a coincidence that both nevel and Putnam are obese and diabetic?...
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That's gotta be one of the most uninformed posts I've ever read here. You are attributing diabetes exclusively with poor eating habits and obesity...

My eight-year-old son is a Type 1 diabetic. Type 1. Meaning that his pancreas produces no insulin. It's not due to him eating fast food for 50 years, or smoking two packs a day. And although we're not a family of health food nuts, very rarely do we eat fried foods and the like.
There's no history of Type 1 in either side of the family.

He has it. There's no reason why.

We've lost friends because they've had the same perception that you have, that my son wouldn't be insulin dependent if we "weren't shoving candy bars and junk food down his throat".

Start here : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diabetes_mellitus_type_1

Then come on back, and I'll tell you more about the times where my son's BG has dropped below 30 and been above 600 (when the meter says 'too high to read'). ..
I'll tell you more about his insulin pump going on the fritz when we were out of the country...
I'll tell you more about the "conversation" with airport security when I refused to let them send his insulin pump through the metal detector, and the results that ensued...
I'll go into detail about the time when the substitute nurse chose to give him insulin with needles... on top of what his pump was delivering, putting his BG WELL over 600 !!!!!

Maybe I'll get flack for this, but ignorance is probably one of the easiest diseases to prevent...
 
Sorry to hear../////////

Mickey Qualls said:
That's gotta be one of the most uninformed posts I've ever read here. You are attributing diabetes exclusively with poor eating habits and obesity...

My eight-year-old son is a Type 1 diabetic. Type 1. Meaning that his pancreas produces no insulin. It's not due to him eating fast food for 50 years, or smoking two packs a day. And although we're not a family of health food nuts, very rarely do we eat fried foods and the like.
There's no history of Type 1 in either side of the family.

He has it. There's no reason why.

We've lost friends because they've had the same perception that you have, that my son wouldn't be insulin dependent if we "weren't shoving candy bars and junk food down his throat".

Start here : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diabetes_mellitus_type_1

Then come on back, and I'll tell you more about the times where my son's BG has dropped below 30 and been above 600 (when the meter says 'too high to read'). ..
I'll tell you more about his insulin pump going on the fritz when we were out of the country...
I'll tell you more about the "conversation" with airport security when I refused to let them send his insulin pump through the metal detector, and the results that ensued...
I'll go into detail about the time when the substitute nurse chose to give him insulin with needles... on top of what his pump was delivering, putting his BG WELL over 600 !!!!!

Maybe I'll get flack for this, but ignorance is probably one of the easiest diseases to prevent...
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Hi there Mickey,

I can't imagine that with your son.

There are so many things that many parents go through that have diabetic children. Not to mention what the children go through.

Hopefully some day they really do figure out a cure for all the unfortuanate children out there.

Wishing you good luck in the future.
 
genomachino said:
Hi there Mickey,

I can't imagine that with your son.

There are so many things that many parents go through that have diabetic children. Not to mention what the children go through.

Hopefully some day they really do figure out a cure for all the unfortuanate children out there.

Wishing you good luck in the future.
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Thank you for the kind words, Genomachino.

I always try to find the 'silver lining' in dark clouds...

I guess one of the few positives (for lack of a better word) is that, because he was diagnosed at age 4, he won't know what life was like "before diabetes". He was young enough that this is all he knows, versus the difficulty of trying to adjust later in life.
And I have nothing short of the utmost respect for those serving in our Armed Forces. But unless things change, my son won't be "fit for military service" due to his condition. As much as we encourage him that he CAN be anything he wants to be when he grows up, on some level I'm glad (again, for lack of a better word) that my only son can't be placed in a combat zone in a foreign country.

Everything happens for a reason...

Thank you for the kind words, Genomachino.
 
Mickey Qualls said:
Thank you for the kind words, Genomachino.

I always try to find the 'silver lining' in dark clouds...

I guess one of the few positives (for lack of a better word) is that, because he was diagnosed at age 4, he won't know what life was like "before diabetes". He was young enough that this is all he knows, versus the difficulty of trying to adjust later in life.
And I have nothing short of the utmost respect for those serving in our Armed Forces. But unless things change, my son won't be "fit for military service" due to his condition. As much as we encourage him that he CAN be anything he wants to be when he grows up, on some level I'm glad (again, for lack of a better word) that my only son can't be placed in a combat zone in a foreign country.

Everything happens for a reason...

Thank you for the kind words, Genomachino.
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I almost lost my first son in law last yr, he's in his late twenties. He's been in PERFECT health his whole life, ran fishing expeditions in Alaska, hunts, and is a true Healthy mountain man, and is in charge of the state fish hatchery in Yampa CO, just outside steamboat springs. He all of a sudden became diabetic, and its not in his family, my daughter, being a nurse thinks it could of occurred from the enviornment during his constant backwoods style, hunting anything four legged, fish, blood, cuts etc. don't know for sure. But being up in the hills litereally, and him being diagnoses improperly about a pain in his hip, he almost died and finally recoverd in Denver after almost three weeks of recovery. Diabetes can cause so many complications with other parts of the body, one has to be super aware of themselves ALL the time.
 
Gene is right, it is a great accomplishment for both guys to play great the whole week. I'm sure they had their ups and downs and I'm sure they have learned ways to deal with it. I've talked with both of them about it. I know that they are both type 2. Shawn talked to me a while back and said he was working hard at getting things under control, losing weight and proper diet. Hopefully for him, he keeps that up and doesn't end up ruining his insulin producing parts of his pancreas and taking shots....it's no fun! I've been friends with Larry a long time and know that he has had ups and downs. He asks me questions here and there about stuff. I believe he is taking shots now but he has worked on getting things under control.

Like Mickey said in an earlier post, all diabetics get lumped into one group while there are many different groups. Like Mickeys son, I was diagnosed with Type 1 at age 10. No one in my family is diabetic so it isn't hereditary. The doctors think that I was born with it and it took a trauma or illness to weaken my immune system and set it off. In the six months before being diagnosed I had pneumonia and five cases of strep throat. While I was in the hospital there were 17 other kids there that had been diagnosed with Type 1. Some were diagnosed after a broken bone, others after an illness, and others after an emotional trauma. It is strange how the body works.

It is a bit of ignorance that puts everyone together and I don't say that in a mean way. If you ask me about other diseases, I would probably be ignorant to the facts about them.

Like others, I tried to hide the fact that I am diabetic for a really long time. I didn't start to talk about it until I realized that I could educate people about the disease and make them more aware. There are a lot of things to overcome while playing. The ups and downs suck and do different things to every person. It is a learning process and you will never perfect everything. It is mostly coping with that and learning how to deal with it. It doesn't make us "super-people" for the fact that we can play well. It just means we have worked hard for that day to control things and we played the best we could. I tell myself often "This really sucks but think of how much worse it could be." Everyone should remember that. We are lucky that pool is something that a lot of people, with a lot of diseases or disabilities, can continue to play.

For those of you that still think that fat people that don't take care of themselves get diabetes, here is a list of professional athletes that are diabetic.

Good luck to everyone dealing with diabetes or any other illnesses, diseases, or disabilities that are trying to become the best!

Sarah
 
Bravo Sarah! I gotta tell you, one of my goals is to break like a girl....you! :)
 
Diabetic Pro players and competing....

I can tell you from first-hand experience that being out of whack with your sugar can cause your head to not function right,and cause erratic behavior,mood swings,etc.

I've got my sugar under control,at least as far as my meter says,with meds and conscious eating habits,but still could go up or down and make me act funny.

I haven't said a word here about Larry yet,but maybe his U.S. Open issues were caused by his sugar being too far off high or low,maybe even further back if this is a common thing. Tommy D.
 
Thanks for the insight........

Tommy-D said:
I can tell you from first-hand experience that being out of whack with your sugar can cause your head to not function right,and cause erratic behavior,mood swings,etc.

I've got my sugar under control,at least as far as my meter says,with meds and conscious eating habits,but still could go up or down and make me act funny.

I haven't said a word here about Larry yet,but maybe his U.S. Open issues were caused by his sugar being too far off high or low,maybe even further back if this is a common thing. Tommy D.
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That's kind of what I meant. I knew a couple of people during my life and i used to think they were real jerks. I know now that after experiencing being diabetic myself that these acts of erratic behavior are a direct result of highs and lows of the blood sugar. We just don't think right and our actions at the time seem so justfied.

It's really hard for someone that is not diabetic to understand. Many diabetics are constantly battling with their thoughts. I myself have really learned to restrain my actions as a result of the brain fog and frustration. But on a stage as big as the US Open it's hard to swallow and keep your cool.

2 years ago I was playing in the US Open and Playing Shawn Putnam. The seats were crowded so there was alot of anxiety. We were supposed to play at 7:00. Johnny Archer and Allison Fisher were being inducted into the hall of fame so they held up the matches or should I say stalled the matches to wait for them.

Anyway we didn't play until 9:45. All this time Shawn and myself were warming up. Around 9:00 I started missing some shots and could feel that I was low but wasn't sure. Didn't bring my meter to check because I i should have had time inbetween matches to eat and get things right. I didn't want to eat any junk at the tournament room and I didn't bring any food with me.

Shawn and myself got in an arguement over the rack. I lost the arguement but thought I was right. Not good when your playing a tough match and your blood sugar is low. My thoughts were all over the place and not good. My emotions were out of control.

I finally started to catch up on the match somehow and was down 10-to 6 and running out. I had the 6 ball in the side with fairly easy shape on the 7. I looked at the 6 ball and just slammed it into the rail not even trying to make it. The crowd kind of gasped because it did look like I was coming back. In my mind at the time I just thought to myself screw this. I don't need this crap.

Were my thoughts logical at the time. No. But it the time they felt so real.

Am I crazy. No I'm diabetic. My thinking was all over the place like most diabetics when their blood sugar is out of wack.

I remember this situation alot and it helps me learn to restrain my thought from action. I understand more than ever that I have a disease that causes this with our mind and our body.

Tommy, I know you understand like most of us do that are diabetic. .

Shawn started missing balls towards the end of our match. I might have won if I would have kept my thought process together. But my erratic action sure took the chance out of that.

Shawn lost his next match. He was kind of done also. The delay and all the warming up. then playing our match and now having to play another match right away because of the time crunch created by the waiting for Johnny and Allison.

The waiting could be not so good for anyone, but the waiting for a diabetic without food was rediculous. It helped finish Shawn and myself both off.

I know that Shawn and Sarah and all the other diabetics understand all this better than anyone.

But we just have to do the best we can.

Thanks Sarah and Tommy for some great insight in your post here.

Geno.............
 
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Dan louie

ironman said:
WOW i didn't know Dan battled this too!
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Danny had to quite playing for a long time. It got to his kidneys and he was ill for a long time. He has since had kidney replacement and is much better and has been playing again for some time.
 
I'm a Type1 Diabetic and for me it's one of the best things that happened to me. I now have a different perspective on life. I eat healthier than I used to, I run every day, I cycle 24k to and from work everyday (fair wether only!) and i'm in the best shape of my life. I play pool to a decent standard and have taken some big names in pool (SVB 10-4, Just had to throw that in there ;)), I nearly stopped Mika winning his 2nd US Open (lost 10-9 :() and a few others.

As someone has already mentioned, every now and then the shakes can hit you, and when your playing pool when this happens you go from Pro level to probably a C- in about 60 secs! When this happens I like to take a break to get sugar in me, and within about 10-15 mins I feel good again. This rarely happens to me, and I attibute it to my active lifestyle, although I do know that others do struggle a lot harder than I do, and do really look after themselves, which must be hard to deal with.

All I can say is don't feel too sorry for yourself, do as best as you can, and live life. It's the hand your dealt, play it!

P.S.

I currently live in Vancouver and planning on climbing the Grouse Grind (http://www.grousemountain.com/grousegrind) 6 times in one day for a diabetes charity next year, so I'm sure i'll be back here at some point with more info about that! ;)

Thanks
Stephen
 
genomachino said:
I don't know if alot of players know this but Larry Nevel and Shawn Putnam are both kind of exceptional players, not only because of the level that they compete at but because they do it with one of the most difficult diseases in the world, Diabetes.

I know myself how difficult it is being diabetic myself. It's tough enough just to play but to try and manage your blood sugar level for a whole tournament is nearly impossible. Stress, not enough sleep, what you eat, to much excersize or not enough can all effect the blood sugar drastically.

Most diabetics can't be in the smoke. It's just one more problem to add to the list that makes it hard to manage the disease.

Larry Nevel and Shawn Putnam are heros to me. And I know that all you AZers that are diabetic must feel the same way. How do they do it?

Most players start out the day with a full tank of energy when their day starts out in a tournament. Diabetics many times start out with only 1/2 tank of energy and it can get worse and there is nothing you can do about it. It's all a guessing game trying to balance the blood sugar. You just have to try and guess good and say Oh well. Here we go............

My hat is really off to these 2 professionals because I personally know what they are dealing with. Larry Nevel played a great tournament and Shawn at this time is still going strong. Amazing to say the least.

There are many AZers on here that are diabetic. Could you share your thoughts on the subject and shed a little light on how difficult you feel it would be competeing at any level being diabetic.

Thanks for your comments ahead of time. Geno...........
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Interesting thoughts, I did not know these two were diabetics. I do believe that diabetics have some challenge to their day, but the reality is that it is one of the most controllable serious diseases their is. It does take effort to learn to control it, and to prepare yourself for any day like that of a tournament, but it can be done. Most insurances pay for at least one diabetic education with a dietitian (which is what my wife is), and that may be a good place to start if one is having trouble controlling their diabetes. I work as a physical therapist, and have seen the results of uncontrolled diabetes many times (blindness, amputation etc). It is well worth getting it under control. You will feel much better and be more healthy. Good luck to anyone battling the disease.
 
for iusetoberich

good luck on hoping that just watching your diet you will never get diabetes if it runs in your family. It doesn't matter how you eat if you are going to get it or not. you can control it but can't stop it from happening. I use to be a top national bodybuilder. sure I eat sweets, so do my brothers who don't have it and are a few years older than me. I was diagnosed in Feb with it. By me playing pool it stays more on low side. so very hard to play great all day long can see everything one day and not see any shots the next day. just had my blood work up done last month almost everything was perfect just a little low on my good cholesterol. my blood sugar level was at 150 not to bad for just getting done eating. only have to take a shot a couple of times a month at most. but when I was diagnosed it was at 555, it took 3 weeks to get it down, for a while I could not read any small print such as this size font right here without reading glasses. so bottom line you not so intelligent on every subject person (iusetoberich) for some people yeah once you have the disease it is important to watch what you eat and control your weight. but also to play the game you have to keep your blood sugar on the higher side to stay focused. Keep eating healthy as you think you are doing. I don't know much about your diet, but again I promise you diet will not stop you from getting the disease if you are predisposition to get it. To talk about some in that fashion you sound very naive to say the least. to any one else fighting this disease good luck and godspeed.
 
genomachino said:
I don't know if alot of players know this but Larry Nevel and Shawn Putnam are both kind of exceptional players, not only because of the level that they compete at but because they do it with one of the most difficult diseases in the world, Diabetes.

I know myself how difficult it is being diabetic myself. It's tough enough just to play but to try and manage your blood sugar level for a whole tournament is nearly impossible. Stress, not enough sleep, what you eat, to much excersize or not enough can all effect the blood sugar drastically.

Most diabetics can't be in the smoke. It's just one more problem to add to the list that makes it hard to manage the disease.

Larry Nevel and Shawn Putnam are heros to me. And I know that all you AZers that are diabetic must feel the same way. How do they do it?



Most players start out the day with a full tank of energy when their day starts out in a tournament. Diabetics many times start out with only 1/2 tank of energy and it can get worse and there is nothing you can do about it. It's all a guessing game trying to balance the blood sugar. You just have to try and guess good and say Oh well. Here we go............

My hat is really off to these 2 professionals because I personally know what they are dealing with. Larry Nevel played a great tournament and Shawn at this time is still going strong. Amazing to say the least.

There are many AZers on here that are diabetic. Could you share your thoughts on the subject and shed a little light on how difficult you feel it would be competeing at any level being diabetic.

Thanks for your comments ahead of time. Geno...........
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Me 2 Gene i also play with that problem and it sucks! i play atleast 2 balls worse then i used to before i got it in 2007. Good Luck to everyone that does play with Diabetes.
 
Ryan McCreesh said:
Me 2 Gene i also play with that problem and it sucks! i play atleast 2 balls worse then i used to before i got it in 2007. Good Luck to everyone that does play with Diabetes.
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WOW that sucks big time Ryan. I am prayin and pullin for ya!
I have only one tidbit of advice and you have probably heard it before, but I hope you can find a way to heed this advice and get back into that fear.
"Manage it, don't let it manage you"!!
Good luck to ya!!
 
Me, too.

I am also a type 2 diabetic, so I can also add to what everyone else is saying in that it's no joke. Last year in our league championship (8-ball), I had the shakes so bad that I couldn't even make a straight in shot (I would consider myself about an A- player under normal conditions). It took me 2 glasses of OJ and about an hour to feel normal again, but by that time I had already lost 2 matches. I'm not kidding when I say that it looked like I never picked up a cue in my life in those 2 matches.

And to the guy who says we ate ourselves into this condition. Get a clue.
 
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