Diabetes for Dummies

I have reviewed a lot of books in this blog over the past six years, touching on many genres and subjects:  fiction and non-fiction, history and theology, biographies and memoirs, business and investment strategies, nature and humor along with how-to books on the craft of writing and poetry.  Today, I’m breaking into the medical field.  A few months ago, I wouldn’t have given this book a second look, but after having spent the past two months reading everything I could get my hands on about diabetes, I decided that I would review the best overall book I found on the topic.  Interestingly, this book was given to me by a friend (who is also my eye doctor and, like me, has Type 1 diabetes).   Click here to read about me being diagnosed with type 1 diabetes.  Even if you don't think you are interested in reading this book, at least read the first paragraph of my review and learn something new (or at least see how sick my mind can be).  

Alan L. Rubin, MD, Diabetes for Dummies (Hoboken, NJ: Wiley Publishing, 2004), 386 pages sprinkled with sidebars, graphs, drawings and symbols.


Diabetes has been around for a long time and was known to those in the Greek and Roman worlds.  The Latin name for the disease is diabetes mellitus.  Diabetes comes from the Greek word for siphon, referring to the way that liquid gets quickly siphoned through your body when you suffer from high sugar levels (the excess sugar causes the kidneys to quickly expel the water through the urine, as it tries to reduce the sugar levels in your blood).  Mellitus is the Latin word for sweet.  In the ancient world, diabetes was diagnosed by the sweetness of urine. (19)  I’m sure that back then, endocrinologists (the medical doctor trained to treat the pancreas) were not nearly in as of high esteem as they are today.  Can you imagine the spouse of Rome’s leading endocrinologist meeting as he comes home from the office with a kiss on the lips?  I didn’t think so.  

This book gives an overview of both type 1 diabetes (often called juvenile diabetes or insulin dependent diabetes) and type 2 diabetes (insulin resistant diabetes).   The author does a great job of explaining even the most obvious things and then goes into great detail for those (like me) who want to know more.  The book begins with a primer on how the body works and supplies energy to our cells.  The author discusses theories of how both types of diabetes develop as well as treatment for both.  In Type 1, insulin is the only option (the beta cells in the pancreas has stopped creating insulin).  Without insulin, the body is unable to feed itself and will soon begin to eat vital organs for food and overload the kidneys with sugars.  In type 2, the body has become resistant to insulin, so it takes more and more insulin to move the glucose (sugar) to the cells.  This type of diabetes can often be controlled with weight loss, diet and exercise as well as medicines that helps make the insulin more effective.  Only when these strategies are unable to control the symptoms is insulin used.   

Chapter Four deals with short-term complications for diabetics; the fifth chapter deals with long term complications.  Reading these two chapters was eye-opening and horrifying.   Being dependent on insulin means that, at times, you take too much or don’t eat enough and you drop your blood sugars to a dangerously low level (hypoglycemia) which can result in a coma and the inability to care for oneself.   On the other hand, not enough insulin results in high blood sugar (hypoglycemia).  High blood sugars can even lead to ketoacidosis (blood becoming acidic), a dangerous situation as your body is using fat for energy and making even more sugar (which it can’t use due to the lack of insulin).  Another short-term complication is hyperosmolar syndrome (extremely high blood sugars) that is often caused by loss of bodily fluids and can also led to a coma.  If the short-term complications weren’t enough, the long-term ones are even scarier: kidney diseases, problems with the eyes, nerves, heart, arteries, and feet along with issues relating to sexual performance and pregnancy (I skimmed the pages on pregnancy)…

Just when I was thinking about shooting myself and avoiding the potential problems, the author begins discussing the treatment options.  Luckily, there are ways to manage diabetes and he goes into get detail of how to monitor your conditions (I get to prick myself 4 or 5 times a day) as well as drugs that work with diabetes.  With type 1, the main drug is insulin.  He discusses how, if one follows the recommendation of living with diabetes, the dangers he covered in the previous chapters can be avoided and one can live as healthy of a life as one without the disease (or perhaps even a healthier life as you have to watch food and exercise is more important than ever).    He also covers potential new treatments for the disease, debunks many myths about the disease and ends the book with a “mini-recipe book” featuring food from top restaurants around the country.

If you are dealing with diabetes, this book is invaluable.