Type 2 at 72

I had occasion to recently talk to a friend who has been a Type 2 diabetic for almost 10 years. He is on insulin shots and had "well being" issues during a time when his doctor would prescribe any designer insulin. He also does not feel as well when his sugars are lower.
He most definitely developed Type 2 diabetes for dietary excesses. He lost a lot of weight when he started the diabetes regimen, but never saw true success with diabetes management until he stopped experimenting with oral medications and went to the needle. I have him solidly in mind whenever I advise anyone to skip the designer oral medications that doctors and their pharmaceutical sponsors push and go right for the needle.
He is not someone "similar" to me but of a different generation. People, including sometimes his own (adult) children, consider him kind of stupid. He speaks often and too much, sometimes approaching levels of a gossiping housewife, but he does not speak well. He is not well educated, and I am not even certain he graduated high school. His presentation may not be polished and of high vocabulary, but he is not stupid. He is quite intelligent in that life experience way.
He tests his sugars via home meter twice a day these days. He used to do it far more often. He rotates fingers, using all ten. He’s experimented with finger adjustment with an innate curiosity that should tell anyone that this is no stupid person. His experimentation showed him that even the finger used can alter results of the meter test. A 100 on the middle finger might be a 103 at the thumb or a 98 at the pinky. "Never callin’ a 200 when it’s there at 120, but it’s different," he assured me.
He uses all ten fingers in rotation. "I went like a week or so only using one finger," he told me. He was noticing decline in his sense of touch, so was looking to reduce that in most of his hands. "The entire fingertip turned black," he said. This told his common seismical brain to rotate fingers. He knows the number will be off from finger to finger, but only by a few points, and always "in the ballpark."
He has to show more caution with everything he does. He has so little sensation left in his fingertips that he is prone to drop dishes when washing them. Other times, "just for no reason" his fingertips will burn from the inside.
I told him, with my usual cynical humor, that he should send thank you letters to One Touch Ultra and Accu-chek. After telling me I always was a smart ass, he told me that the fingertips problem makes writing more difficult than it’s worth.
This diabetic’s problems that I bring up is not "just" a problem of diabetes. Diabetes reduces circulation and other metabolic and neurological functions, but did not spontaneously cause the extent of neuropathy he suffers. The home meter testing caused the actual problems.
I urge anyone and everyone to talk about all treatments with their doctors and to research every aspect on their own. As debilitating as diabetes can be on its own, many of the treatments cause their own problems. Regular readers of the blog know that my own experiences have taught me these lessons, often in irreversible ways. PRP laser treatment can cause the very problems it is supposed to prevent. Routine diabetes eye care with dilation of the pupils then strobing with intense light can cause light sensitivity. Home blood sugar testing can cause neuropathy. These treatment will not change if patients follow recommendations like sheep, without thought or input of their own. Without patient input and with a love of the perks and enticements, doctors will not question the information that the pharmaceutical companies provide. Without pressure, the [pharmaceuticals will never relinquish profits, even when those are derived from the discomfort and detriment of the patients (and their government) paying for it.