On Medicine

I can't remember a time when I didn't worry about my dad's diabetes. My father, Carl Payne, 67, was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes nearly 40 years ago, and despite continuous treatment since then, his blood glucose, or blood sugar, was always too high whenever doctors checked his A1C levels. That changed about a year ago, when he discovered how counting carbohydrates helps to control his blood sugar. That realization came as he was undergoing training to get fitted for a medical device called an insulin pump.

My dad, who has had to take regular insulin injections since the mid-1980s, said he remembers being sent to a diabetes education class in 1970, when he was first diagnosed. At that time, carb counting wasn't as heavily recommended as it is now. After he started counting carbs last year, he discovered what diabetes experts have long known: The more carbs you eat, the higher your blood sugar reading is, and the more you need insulin. My dad recently had his A1C level checked again, and the doctor said it was much improved.

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