Think Like a Pancreas: A Practical Guide to Managing Diabetes with Insulin--Completely Revised and Updated (Marlowe Diabetes Library) Paperback – January 24, 2012

Gary Scheiner's first edition of this book was excellent, it's hard to believe that he could improve on it so much.Full disclosure: I've used Gary's services at Integrated Diabetes Services and benefited greatly from his help. My diabetes technology blog is mentioned in the book. I have had type 1 diabetes for 40 years, this book informed and motivated me.Think Like a Pancreas starts with Gary's diabetes diagnosis story - this guy really gets diabetes because he's had Type 1 since 1985. He has used many different types of diabetes insulin pumps, blood glucose meters, and continuous glucose meters (CGM).The second chapter (What's the Dang Diddly Point?) focuses on the reasons why blood glucose (BG) control is important. Instead of telling you just about 'complications', Gary explains that improved control will give you energy, reduce your appetite, keep you healthier, and give you the ability to lift cars with one hand. OK, I'm just kidding about the last one. But this chapter is motivating and empowering, you'll WANT to work at improving you BGs after reading this one.As he says at the start of the chapter "Taking care of diabetes is really just an ongoing series of small sacrifices, costs, mental efforts, and time commitments." We're never going to achieve perfection, but we can constantly improve diabetes control.The remaining chapters talk about: the different types of diabetes; the keys to controlling these, including even lancet choices; basal (background) and bolus(meals, BG corrections) insulins; the many factors that can affect your BG levels (and how even the best controlled are out of range 25% of the time); places to get support and help, including a huge number of excellent websites; and companies that provide various diabetes-related products.The appendices are: logsheets; carb factors for various foods; glycemic indices for foods; and a useful table of carb amounts to cover exercise.Phew, a lot of information. But Gary writes extremely well and this is book is easy to read, though you'll end up highlighting and marking many parts of it.I strongly recommend this essential book for people with diabetes, parents of children with diabetes, and medical folks who are treating diabetic patients. Over the years I've purchased many copies (1st edition and this one) to give to folks who are struggling because of diabetes. It's just excellent.

This book is not for those who are looking for a quick-and-easy fix to their insulin regimen, but it is a wealth of knowledge with fantastic resources all in one place. I've been Type I for 22 years, on a pump for 11, and thought I knew all the ins and outs of diabetes management already, but picked up the book in the hopes that it would help me bring my sugars into a range acceptable for conception. Although a lot of it I did already know, there was a fair bit that I didn't - or that had changed in recent years. With the help of this book, I dropped my AIC nearly a whole percentage point in just 3 months!I especially appreciated the tables and formulas (both within the body of the text and in the appendices); for example, I didn't realize that there were actual formulas for how many carbs to eat for certain types of exercise, and the tables to that effect have been a Godsend. The glycemic index table is one of the most extensive I've seen, and since I have the kindle version of this book, I can carry around this resource with me everywhere on my smartphone. If you're already an expert, you can still learn something from this book, and if you're a novice but looking for all that hidden info - here it is. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to take further control, and is willing to go the extra mile to manage their diabetes successfully.

If only this book had existed decades ago when I was diagnosed type one.If only I’d learned all it had to tell me about my body and how it’s grappling with this stuff called insulin, both a giver of life and a bringer of death.If only I’d known what I do now, I might have spared myself decades of mismanagement and complications.This book is beautiful and very informative, and the info it contains is life changing. It is simply written but not dumbed down, and it lays out very important info about how insulin works and how to best manage using it. After reading it and employing the tools it discusses, I’ve gotten a MUCH better understanding of my disease - it’s an education I sadly never got from any doctor.I can’t thank the author enough for writing such an engaging and important book. EVERY DIABETIC AND THEIR FAMILY MEMBERS SHOULD READ IT. In fact, I think they should give every newly diagnosed T1D a copy as they leave the hospital - or maybe even before! It really should be required reading, and I’ve told my endo that now on numerous occasions - lol.

I know this book is controversial in some circles but I actually liked it and found some useful information in it. Or, more like reinforcement of useful information.The 'new' things--- or thing--- that the book gave me was a quick way to figure daily insulin requirements. Everything else (and that as well, had I looked further) is available online somewhere. So you don't really need the book, except for the convenience of having everything gathered in one place.There's plenty about how the pancreas works, about how diabetes works, etc. etc. That's all good basic diabetes education and it rises well above the absurd grade school level of pamphlets given out by endocrinologists, who seem to want to maintain a certain mystique about the disease. If you start out knowing only a little this book will bring you a long way forward, and that's a good thing.On the other hand, if you're already knowledgeable, you won't find a lot here except, as I said above, having the convenience of everything in one place.Still, I fail to understand the severe critics of this book. The information is indeed practical and accurate, there is no hype or promise of magic cures --- just straightforward "how to use insulin" advice.Four stars. One star off for redundancy with information found easily elsewhere.