I know Ramadan and etc is on the rise, and being so, as a diabetic and a new revert to muslim, my curiousity and concern is on the rise as well. I know that as a diabetic, fasting is not an obligation. But even so, I wish to practice all the pillars of islam as best as I can!

i was wondering if anyone possibly any advice/tips/etc. for a muslim such as myself. anything would be appreciated

Assalam,

A diabetic should be able to fast without much problems. Its important for you to have a proper/nutritious meal during sahur. But, if the during the you feel unwell, its better to break your fast and inshallah make it up again another day.

But, i dont see diabetes being of a large issue here (this mainly applies to type II diabetes)

What type of diabetes do you have? My mother actually is a long sufferer of diabetes, however she does alot of fasting - not just the obligatory but months of voluntary :O! I guess it depends on how bad the illness is on the individual case.

I appreciate the words, thanks a bunch =D

and I have type 1 mashud (love the math joke in your sig by the way haha)

Make sure to check with your doctor before you begin to fast - explain to them what the fast entails and hopefully they can guide you. If there is a muslim doctor in your area, they may be able to offer some extra insights.

I googled diabetes and fasting and came up with some stuff that may help:

http://www.alinaam.org.za/library/dfasting.htm
http://www.crescentlife.com/spiritua...d_diabetes.htm
http://www.netdoctor.co.uk/ate/diabetes/201160.html

Above all - if you try fasting and feel sick - don't be ashamed to break your fast! You can still get involved in the whole month of Ramadan with increased prayers, reading the Qur'an each day and attending taraweeh prayer and any community iftars that may be held.

I hope that your first Ramadan is memorable inshaAllah!

My pops got diabetes and he always keeps his fasts, it doesn't make him feel unwell or anything he's always fine alhamdulilah But i guess everyone is different.

Always remember Allah(swt) has made our religion easy for us. We are not required to do that which will harm us or is not within our ability. If a medical problem prevents us from doing something we are permitted to do it with out thoughts and intentions. I have a problem that prevents me from doing Salat properly. My legs do not bend as they used to so for salat even at the Masjid, I have to sit in a chair and except for the words, perform Salat in my mind and think of the motions.

ive got type one diabetes aswell....last year i spent a week in hospital and i wasnt allowed to fast, but other than that i've always managed to keep my fasts giving fid'iah (compensation) for only one about 20 fasts last year that i couldn't manage to keep.......i had to break a couple of fast also because i ended up having hypos (low blood sugars for those who don't know what it means).....

apart from that i have to check my blood sugar levels every 2 hours through out the whole day starting from 8:00 am, and i adjust my insulin dose accordingly to how high or low my blood sugar levels were at sehri time and according to how much i eat at sehri.....usually i take 4 injections a day but in Ramadhan i only take 3.....1 i take at sehri (fast acting)and 2 (one fast acting one slow acting) i take at iftaar time.......but then that depends on the type of insulin your on and how many times u take it in the day........

thru out the day i cant really do much i just end up sitting around reading Quran or Tasbeeh till i've opened my fast.......usually just about half an hour before iftaar time my sugar levels drop really low and every 5 mins i have to measure to make sure they don't drop low enough for me to become unconscious......

before me my diabetic doctors and nurses had never heard of fasting and Ramadhan......because it was something new to them them were eager to experiment with me and try different insulin types etc to see which best suited me and how my health stayed........

talk to you diabetic nurse and doctor they should be the best help for u Insha'Allah......ive got an appointment tomorrow at the hospital for my checkup and seeing as it will be the last one b4 Ramadhan they will discuss everything regarding it.......

i hope everything gets sorted out Insha'Allah and your health stays well through out the whole of Ramadhan and u manage to keep your fast.......and if anything does happen during your fast which require you to break it don't put off breaking it remember that you are excused and u have a valid reason for breaking your fast....

one last thing....if your sugar levels are running too high during the day while you are fasting then it is permissible to take a couple of units of fast acting insulin as injections are permissible to be taken whie fasting.....

Asalam alakum with do respect to you to being a elder isn't diabities that u can't eat sweets so what si the problem?

It is a little more complicated than that. In order for a person to maintain the proper balance of sugar and insulin levels it is essential that everything be done on a precise schedule some people with diabetes need to eat small amounts ever 2 or 3 hours, other wise their sugar level drops, the insulin level rises and they can go into insulin shock and either die or go into a diabetic coma.

For a diabetic both sugar and insulin are deadly poisons. the problem is each is the antidote for the other. Insulin goes up, you need sugar immediately, sugar goes up you need insulin immediately. Some people with diabetes can control it with diet, but many need to control it with food and insulin, each taken at specific times.

The Diabetes UK charity have some information on their website:

http://www.diabetes.org.uk/Other_languages/English/

If you download the one called 'Ramadan and Diabetes', you will find it there Insha'Allaah.

I have hypoglycemia (i think someone a few posts up mentioned it) where basically my blood sugar crashes from lack of food and it does a little bit of permanent damage to my body each time. Would it be acceptable to try and keep the fast but take a bit of a sugary drink once or twice during the day? (that is what i have tried so far, since a straight fast would probably cause me to faint after an entire day of doing so. Or would taking that bit of sugar be the same as eating a meal, and thus ruining the fast?

We are not expected to do anything that would needlessly damage our body. When our intent is to fast, and conditions beyond our control prevent us from fasting, it is my understanding that it is as if we have fasted.

Hopefully somebody can remember some specific hadith that will clarify this.