If you are diabetic, do you control glucose levels with strict dieting or with medication?

I am not diabetic but I know people who are. Some control it with meds, some control it with diet and meds. Type 1 Diabetes almost always needs insulin to be kept under control.

I have a SIL with type 1 diabetes, a BIL with type 2, and a boss of mine ate his way to type 2. The SIL uses insulin and manages her diet fairly well and she’s healthy. The BIL uses insulin and doesn’t manage his diet for crap. He nearly died this year and his health sucks. The boss lost the weight and his diabetes disappeared for now.

There is a diet that has been shown in small scale trials to reverse the disease process in people with type 2 diabetes. It consists of 800 calories a day in 3 meals of fibrous vegetables and 3 protein shakes and 3 litres of water with absolutely no fats or carbohydrates. People on the diet lose weight rapidly (they also feel like death warmed up until about week 4) with the idea that they then exercise to put on muscle mass. The increased muscle needs more glucose and soaks up the excess glucose the body was producing. Net effect – blood glucose is kept in the normal range without the need for meds.
Reference

I have type 2. It isn’t so bad that I need medication, and I was told to control it with diet. That means moderation on potatoes, carrots, rice, pasta, and sugars.
The biggest help has been when I stopped drinking diet sodas. I knew sugared sodas were bad, but the diet drinks screw up your blood sugars as well. By not drinking them, I have my blood sugars low enough to enjoy the occasional ice cream or chocolate, in moderation.

My stepfather controls his by diet. He was on medication until he met and married my mother who monitors his diet.