This is a news article I saw a few minutes ago- it pertains to Type 2s…
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090419/ap_on_he_me/med_beating_diabetes
as long as your pancreas, sugar, and glucose are involved i would stick with the label. Then again my pancreas doesn’t work for nothing and never will, so what do i know. Halle berry said she cured herself of type 1, which sounds crazy to any diabetic, you don’t just cure yourself all better. Who knows http://www.diabeteshealth.com/read/2008/12/25/5548/halle-berry-says-shes-worked-her-way-up-from-type-1-to-type-2-diabetes-/
Interesting article Blackmajik! Thanks for posting it…
Also, I’m glad that the article specified that they were talking about type 2 diabetes. In the media these two conditions often get confused. They have completely different causes and therefore the cures would likely look quite different as well.
My father and father-in-law both have type 2 diabetes. Thankfully, they are both well controlled with oral medication. When they have several days of good numbers, they sometimes mention that they might not be diabetic anymore.
I tell them two things:
(1) Eat a big piece of cake. People who don’t have diabetes will not have high blood sugar after the cake. Their numbers are good because they are keeping a good diet, not because they don’t have diabetes anymore.
(2) If you can have very good blood sugar control, then it is not so important whether you are “cured” or not. Once you are diagnosed with diabetes, you should watch your diet, your weight and your overall health. That won’t change if someone declares that you are cured.
I guess we all have the desire to say that we don’t live with diabetes anymore. I think the most important thing would be to say that we are healthy. You can be healthy with diabetes. I like to emphasis that its a condition, not a disease.
I guess it would depend on what happened if they quit doing what they did for it to “go away”. If their symptoms return, then the lifestyle changes are a treatment (a very effective one), but not a cure
Domo!- Well I cant speak for Hallie. I believe its possible to be cured whether it be through diet and exercise or stem cells…I think its possible
Kristin- You bring up some great points and things to consider. I do agree that once you are diabetic prone you will always run the risk of re- awakening its effects, so I guess In regarding Domo! I should say I believe its possible to put diabetes in remission.
Scott- yeah I get u on that
Blackmajik Womban:
This article parallels my life exactly! I was dxed gestational at 28, 30, and 32. After my three kids were born, they told me my levels were in range - a1c of no higher than 4.8. However, it was enough to scare me into exercising 2x/day - am and pm, and eating under 100 g of carbs a day. Not until I turned 36 did I begin to have high triglycerides - and now mind you, this was after losing 80 lbs and keeping it off for 3-4 years. Then at 38, I began to have high blood pressure, and finally at 40, I began to have high cholesterol. At 42, my a1c went above 7. Only then was I officially diagnosed with T2. I did gain the weight back gradually from 40 to 42, however, my body was accepting the slow dissent even with the weight off and even with my exercise regiment and low-carb diet.
My genes have gifted me with diabetes. It was lying there lurking in the background before I was pregnant, surfacing to warn me while I was pregnant, and even still, my doctors kept telling me that I could prevent the actual eminent diagnosis I know face, the medical treatment I now manage, and point blank - it bought me 5 years, but still…I had diabetes.
I would have rather managed it with medication ALONGSIDE my lifestyle changes so I didn’t cause the other systems in my body to go haywire.
And all that was STILL with a pretty swell a1c and not spikes going over 200 most times.
I agree with Kristin - let them eat cake. Domo! I agree with you, too - I’m accepting the label because it has to do with my pancreas, sugar, and glucose!
I deprived myself of enjoying treats at times, forcing myself to work out harder and harder and fit that into my schedule, but inevitably, I have diabetes, it was present in my genes, and I will always have it.
Now, I need to control it and manage it - but I will never let my guard down again, and I will never accept a doctor just telling me to lose weight.
That may put me within range, but it won’t change the fact that I have T2 diabetes. It may change my symptoms, but it won’t change the inevitable!
But I agree with Scott and Kristin, too - it’s a condition that we manage - not deny and not define us, but I am in control - and that means I also demand treatment NOT JUST lifestyle adjustments.
Can you tell I’m passionate about that? 
i guess i figure i’ll never have to worry about being cured, not for a very long time. Doesn’t matter how far stem cell research goes, there will always be a billion dollar market for diabetes and cure is just another expense at this point.
Debb has a good point. (Many good points actually.) I think it is more accurate to say “in remission”. Actually, the best definition would be “under control”, for those who manage to get to that point. Also, age, hormones and various stages of incapacity would undoubtedly cause any who consider themselves cured of diabetes to reconsider their treatment, since most likely their BGs would start to be unpredictable again.
“Remission” seems appropriate to me, because I had gestational diabetes with my last pregnancy in 1992. It disappeared after my son was born, with my fasting labs always in the normal range. But…in Sept of 2007 my fasting blood sugar came back at 126 and and my A1c 6.9, a cause for concern. After meeting with a dietician (my best friend now!) and learning how to count my carbs, I got serious about eating right. I am now in the 80-98 fasting range and my A1c is at 6. However, I fully expect those sugars to go up if I start eating more carbs, get an infection or am subjected to stress. I have noticed that ever since I started my lower carb diet, I no longer crave them. What a relief! I’m trying to avoid medication or insulin as long as possible, but I fully expect that one day I may need them. Right now I’m just trying to live with it one day at a time.
I believe that once you have diabetes, you don’t get rid of it. My family also has a strong history of type 2. I agree with debb–“remission” is a good way of describing diabetes under control. I relate this to my sons’ asthma, just because it is under control does not mean it is gone. I know that it they don’t do certain things and take certain medications, it becomes a problem.