Think Like a Pancreas: A Practical Guide to Managing Diabetes with Insulin--Completely Revised and Updated

After being diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes, I soon realised I had to play a very active role in managing my blood sugar level . If my blood sugar level were to drop too low, even temporarily, I might behave erratically or pass out. If my blood sugar level were to be persistently high, I could face serious health problems such as blindness, heart attack or kidney failure. In order to succeed in controlling my blood sugar level I had to balance my insulin doses against factors such as food and exercise, and to do that I needed appropriate knowledge.For a time, trying to get the required depth of knowledge was frustrating. There was not enough information in the free leaflets, the tabloid-style websites or the general-purpose books on diabetes aimed primarily at Type 2 diabetics. Then thankfully I found this book.The author of this book has medical training and has had Type 1 diabetes for many years, and so he knows what he is talking about from both the professional viewpoint and the patient viewpoint. He has attempted to write a very readable book about a very serious subject, and generally he has succeeded. There are just a few places where the text seems a bit too flippant, and in contrast Chapter 7 is quite mathematical, but that chapter can be skipped and returned to at a later date.This book is American, but in most places it gives the normal British units for blood sugar concentration in brackets after the normal American units. There are just a few places where this American book may not be fully appropriate for British readers, such as references to foods or sweets that are not generally available in Britain, and analogies to baseball.I believe that this book has given me all the knowledge I need to manage my Type 1 Diabetes, and I am no longer looking for other sources of information.

Great publication. So much makes sense to me and gives me a clearer understanding all round of how/why I "notice" different episodes when they occur. It may be that I'm still a bit out-dated (after 2 years of diagnosis) in that I still use Humulin M3, and am having a bit of a dilemma with some of the chapters as they seem to relate to immediate bolus injections (or is it basal?). My naivety in diabetic language is a bit raw though I'm learning slowly, and thanks to this book I'm thinking I should perhaps be confident enough by now to change insulin to give me my life back. (I so relate to the comments about not being able to sleep when want, and having to get up in night to check levels - pain or what?!). The humour contained alongside the seriousness of the subject makes for a much enjoyable and educational read - THANK YOU.

This book explains in clear English how to manage Type 1 Diabetes. The basic physiology of diabetics is used to explain the methods used to treat it. It explains some of the hows and whys and some of the potential pitfalls of insulin therapy. A must read for anyone newly diagnosed.

Reading this book is Alfie saver for any person with Diabetes whether you're Type 1, Type 2 or somewhere in between. The information and medical knowledge is somewhat overwhelming, so I'd suggest taking it one step at a time. But this is so well written, has some great comic parts to lighten the mood, and really conveys the authors own difficulties with having Type 1 diabetes.I've just finished my first read, but am about to start again and put the things I've learnt into action. For anyone aiming for tight control and a better hba1c, this book is for you!

Extremely informative book for insuline dependent diabetics. It is written by someone who has come accross your particular insluine connundrum of the moment and speaks informatively and practically about how to solve it . The book really helps develope an understanding of what is going on, what to do, and develop and realistic goals that remove some of the frustration from the management of this tricky illness. Don't expect the book to be understandable by everyone, or to be extremely short-and-simple. Diabetes is often a complicated illness to manage well, so even though this book it is written extremely well and explains things really well, the it is still dealing with a complicated subject, so inevitablly it is a slightly compicated book. The author also has a warm sense of humour, which while perhaps not to everyone's taste, does not detract from the benefits of this hugely informative and practical book.

Having dealt with the information overload that comes with a Type 1 diagnosis I initially thought I didn't want any more reading but this book was recommended to me by almost every diabetic I met. Obviously this is from an American viewpoint and some of the details are less relevant to us Brits but the information is, in general, excellent. I asked every nurse/doctor I saw when I was diagnosed if they were diabetic and none of them were so no-one was able to speak from experience. Gary Scheiner does speak from experience and gives a lot of practical advice on how to deal with diabetes...for life. Diabetes is different for everyone but I think the information in this book can help each of us deal with our diabetes to the best of our ability.Only takes about 90 minutes to read through initially - then you need to read each chapter and learn how to apply the knowledge provided to your own circumstances. In the six months since diagnosis this is the book I have reached for before any other information when I have had a question or wanted to look up a detail or two. Well worth the money.

This book should be required reading for all diabetics, particularly those who are insulin dependent. I have been diabetic for 24 years and feel that if I had had this information from the start I may well have been able to avoid some of the complications I am experiencing now. Although the author is American, it is not in any way difficult to follow for the European reader and the explanations of how insulin works are easy to understand. The various techniques for calculating insulin doses and getting the basal rate correct are perfectly simple and more importantly work. Since reading this book, my control has improved a lot; my last HBA1C was 6.2 whereas previously I had been struggling to get below 8.0. Education for diabetics in the UK is a bit hit and miss I think and focuses more on telling you what to do rather than on explaining why. I have often been in a situation where I have felt that I know as much if not more about diabetes than the medical professionals who are supposed to be guiding me which is an uncomfortable position to be in, particularly if you are struggling a bit. With this book I have felt a lot more confident about my illness and a lot more in control. I would recommend it to diabetics and caregivers and the medical profession alike.

I have had type 1 diabetes about 27 years, and there is always something new to learn. This book covers just about everything, and explains how a pancreas works or not, how to count carbs, how to find your ratio and so much more. It also covers injections, insulin pumps, as well as type 2 meds.I found this book invaluable. My only slight niggle would be it is . American, so there are sections that do not relate to the UK market.

Having just read Ginger Vieira's wonderful Your Diabetes Science Experiment, I was at first perturbed at beginning what I thought to be a too technical book by Gary Steiner. I am delighted to have been proven wrong with this non-patronising, hugely empowering guide which compliments Ginger's book exceptionally well. This book has become one of my bibles on managing my Type 1 diabetes. I have recommended it to my Endo who willingly listens to my thoughts and hail it here for any interested in intelligent and entertaining writing on this subject.

Leider ist das Buch nur auf Englisch verfügbar. Im Deutschen habe ich jedoch noch kein so gutes Buch über Diabetesmanagement gefunden.Was macht das Buch einzigartig:1. Es ist von einem Arzt mit Diabetes geschrieben. Die Erfahrung ist im ganzen Buch spürbar. Das Buch ist mehr aus der Perspektive eines Betroffenen geschrieben als aus der dozierenden Perspektive eines Arztes.2. Scheiner zerlegt den Einfluss auf den Blutzucker in jeden einzelnen Faktor, wie z. B. Krankheit, Sport, Nahrungszusammensetzung etc. Ich habe noch keine so systematische Analyse des Themas gefunden. Darum verwende ich das Buch auch gerne immer wieder als Nachschlagewerk.

O livro traz muitas informações técnicas sobre os diversos (e pouco divulgados) parâmetros que influenciam o controle de glicemia no sangue e possíveis ações que o diabético pode tomar para normalizá-lo. É leitura obrigatória para quem precisa dar uma mãozinha ao próprio organismo quando o pâncreas não mais o faz.

Consigliatissimo a tutte le persone con diabete o che hanno a che fare con persone con questa malattia! Copre davvero tutti gli aspetti e tutti i vari tipi di diabete, spiegando nei minimi particolari come funziona il corpo e come reagisce alle varie problematiche che possono insorgere, dalle ipoglicemie alla chetosi.L'unica pecca è che essendo del 2012 non è aggiornato sull'argomento microinfusori (per quanto però vi sia una sezione interamente dedicata al "fine tuning" della basale, che secondo me da sola varrebbe già il prezzo richiesto per il libro intero), sensori CGM/FGM (c'è però un'altra pubblicazione dedicata, dello stesso autore, risalente al 2015), e insuline (la più recente di cui si parla è Lantus, niente Tresiba né Fiasp etc).Concludo dicendo che l'inglese utilizzato è molto semplice!

Fabulous book for T1 D. It’s like my bible. Learned so much and very comprehensive. Totally worth it.