Diabetes Forums - Type 2 Diabetes http://www.diabetesforums.com/forum/ en Thu, 17 May 2012 08:20:37 GMT vBulletin 60 http://www.diabetesforums.com/forum/images/misc/rss.png Diabetes Forums - Type 2 Diabetes http://www.diabetesforums.com/forum/ A1C went from 8.1 to 6.1 to 5.4 in 3 months!! So Happy!! =^-^= http://www.diabetesforums.com/forum/type-2-diabetes/65621-a1c-went-8-1-a.html Thu, 17 May 2012 02:29:51 GMT Just had a blood test last week. After 3 months of changing my diet and adding more days of exercise, my A1C went from 8.1 (when first diagnosed) to 5.4 in 3 months!! My fasting bg is now 88 from 138!! I'm so Happy!! That means my change in diet is working, and it's really not so bad. I have learned that portion is the key! ;) Lost weight too, went from 157 to 142! =^-^= ]]> Type 2 Diabetes allilau1 http://www.diabetesforums.com/forum/type-2-diabetes/65621-a1c-went-8-1-a.html Need some Help. My body is starting to Change http://www.diabetesforums.com/forum/type-2-diabetes/65619-need-some-help-my.html Thu, 17 May 2012 01:37:43 GMT Hello everyone, I am brand new here and need some help or advice from experienced ppl living with a metabolic disorder. Thanks for reading and please be patient with my rambling. Since Late December 2011 or early January 2012. I noticed one day I had to urinate more than normal and from time to... Hello everyone,
I am brand new here and need some help or advice from experienced ppl living with a metabolic disorder. Thanks for reading and please be patient with my rambling.

Since Late December 2011 or early January 2012. I noticed one day I had to urinate more than normal and from time to time my mouth was dry. I knew what this might be b/c I had a scare years before. So I went to the clinic the next AM and got my finger pricked on a fast. 92. The DR said it was a tad high but not to worry too much and to focus on diet and exercise. Well I had since met with a dietician, started shopping around the isles at the grocery store and eating alot healthier. I bought the book "Dealth to Diabetes". Ive since quit drinking beer, only bourbon and water, but I still smoke. Trying to kick this habit. I have met some doctors, one being an endo, and he said im prob pre-diabetic. The rest day Im just fine of course. My insulin has been 2-3 on a fast. My A1C was 5.4. So I bought a meter, read some books etc to start following my bodies direction over the next few months.

So for the past few months I have still be going out and drinking bourbon and waters on weekends, smoking but eating healthy most of the time. Ive lost about 20 pounds(whether this is from the new diet and adding a LITTLE exercise, I dont know). Exercising about 20-25 mins a day 3-5 days a week. Since then, I have been eating salads almost every day with quinoa(healthy carbs) or black beans(healthy carbs) with lots of veggies and oil and rice vinegar, ALOT. I bake salmon frequently, eat oatmeal or hard boiled eggs in the AM and drink my morning coffee. Salads or chicken and veggies for lunch. Blackberries, apples and walnuts for snacks. Wholefoods vitamins, fish oil tablets, flax seeds for fiber.

The last few weeks I have noticed an uneasy, pressurized feeling behind my eyes, that seems to come on after eating a meal. My vision wasnt blurry and I wasnt dizzy, but it just felt like alot of pressure behind my eyes, and sort of like a fever. I went to an eye doc and they said my eyes were perfect. But this has been going on for weeks on and off. Some days are good, some bad.

Now the urination isnt all that common, same with the dry mouth. A few nights in a row I will wake up to pee but just one time. I dont really wake up with dry mouth. And my BG has been in the low to mid 90's to low 100's at a fast. After dinner two hours later, my BG was around 105-115.

Now last weekend I went to The Players Championship golf tournament. On the way I ate some eggs and a sausage patty and I had to pee more than normal and my mouth got dry. I drank way too much on the course, had some beers(which I was trying to avoid all together) and didnt sleep all night. It was a bachelor party weekend! Since then all this week, the eye discomfort has come on stronger, my BG after meals has been in the 120's-130's(2 hours later). My meter will say 130, then I will use a new strip and it will say 112. I dont know whats going on here.

Tonight I made a spinach salad with lots of veggies, oil and rice vinegar and almost a whole can of black beans on top. MY BG two hours later was 134 and then another strip said 123 right after.

I guess I am confused. I dont know what is really going on with my body after all the healthy eating, books read. Yes, I know the alcohol isnt good, but I thought carb-less liquor and water was OK, and better than beer! I dont know if I am eating too much quinoa or beans, too many simple carbs??

I dont know what my body really needs me to do. I dont know if I am becoming T2 or T1?

I dont know why after every meal this week, my eyes feel terrible and I am tired. But no frequent urination or dry mouth?

I usually eat an apple before bed. Bad idea?

Anyway, again thank you for reading, sorry for the rambling. But I am confused, feel bad and am looking for some sound advice for what lies ahead or how I can take better measures to prevent something worse.

Thank you and have a great evening!

-W ]]> Type 2 Diabetes phishin06 http://www.diabetesforums.com/forum/type-2-diabetes/65619-need-some-help-my.html CKD Does it ever improve http://www.diabetesforums.com/forum/type-2-diabetes/65612-ckd-does-ever-improve.html Wed, 16 May 2012 13:59:32 GMT I just got my blood test back.

The good news is my A1C level is 5.5 down from 10.6 in February.

Now the bad news, my eGFR is 28.6 down from 31.64 in February but up from April's reading of 26.06. (All my other results are in the normal ranges – electrolytes, cholesterol, triglycerides, etc.)

My question is does kidney functions ever improve and if so by how much? I am hoping that at least I can get back to Stage 3 from a Stage 4


5/10/2012: 93, 92, 90, 117/91, 72
5/11/2012: 92, 109, 102, 116/90, 70
5/12/2012: 90, --, 124, 110/78, 81
3/13/2012: 92, 93, 95
5/14/2012: 87, 108, 98, 109/79, 78
5/15/2012: 86. 105, 121, 114/76, 79
5/16/2012: 91 ]]> Type 2 Diabetes Diana_CT http://www.diabetesforums.com/forum/type-2-diabetes/65612-ckd-does-ever-improve.html New to this. http://www.diabetesforums.com/forum/type-2-diabetes/65607-new-to-this.html Wed, 16 May 2012 03:04:41 GMT I am frustrated trying to understand how lantus works. I started at 20 units two years ago. Increased by one unit every day until I reached a fasting level of 150. One year later I gave up and quit taking any medication. I felt better until January of this year. Now I am back on lantus at 50... I am frustrated trying to understand how lantus works. I started at 20 units two years ago. Increased by one unit every day until I reached a fasting level of 150. One year later I gave up and quit taking any medication. I felt better until January of this year. Now I am back on lantus at 50 units per day. My blood sugar has hovered around 225 for the last week. Finally after an increase of lantus @2 units every other day somehow my level has dropped to 135 and has not moved. This just happened tonight. Can anyone explain this??

Sent from my PG86100 using Diabetes forums ]]> Type 2 Diabetes gunman45 http://www.diabetesforums.com/forum/type-2-diabetes/65607-new-to-this.html Sugar is stupid http://www.diabetesforums.com/forum/type-2-diabetes/65605-sugar-is-stupid.html Wed, 16 May 2012 00:46:35 GMT This study indicates it's so: Sugar can make you dumb, US scientists warn - Yahoo! News Canada ]]> Type 2 Diabetes gphx http://www.diabetesforums.com/forum/type-2-diabetes/65605-sugar-is-stupid.html Trying to help my dad. Need insight/advice http://www.diabetesforums.com/forum/type-2-diabetes/65603-trying-help-my-dad.html Tue, 15 May 2012 23:52:21 GMT So my dad has had type 2 diabetes for 8 years now. He keeps complaining about burning feet and inability to sleep because of burning sensation in feet. His feet get cold sometimes and then burn up. He went to the podiatrist and the doctor said my father has peripheral neuropathy. They prescribed... So my dad has had type 2 diabetes for 8 years now. He keeps complaining about burning feet and inability to sleep because of burning sensation in feet. His feet get cold sometimes and then burn up. He went to the podiatrist and the doctor said my father has peripheral neuropathy. They prescribed him some metanx, a b12 supplement. He took that for a month but he didn't really see any benefit. He doesn't really eat right and his medication doesn't help him. I was wondering what I can do for him? I tried some of the recommended food items on here but they still make his feet burn up. He is on insulin but that doesn't seem to be working well.

If anyone can give me any advice, recommendations. I would greatly be appreciative. ]]> Type 2 Diabetes Shaf9 http://www.diabetesforums.com/forum/type-2-diabetes/65603-trying-help-my-dad.html Insulin and glucose question http://www.diabetesforums.com/forum/type-2-diabetes/65602-insulin-and-glucose-question.html Tue, 15 May 2012 23:52:19 GMT I thought I'd ask the knowledgeable people here about is something that I am unsure about. I know that if our glucose levels rise, our body signals our pancreas to release more insulin to cover this rise in glucose. What I don't know is if the opposite occurs.....if our insulin levels are too high, will our body signal our liver to release more glucose? It appears that this doesn't happen because if it did, we'd never go low.

It seems to be a well tuned system between our liver and our pancreas....when the liver releases any amount of glucose, the pancreas releases insulin. As the liver releases even more glucose, the pancreas will also release more insulin, so it's a balanced system when the pancreas reacts to what the liver is doing. The thing that I don't understand is that if it was a well balanced system in both directions, then any increase in insulin that was more than was required to cover the glucose in our system, it should force the liver to release more glucose, but that doesn't happen since we are able to go low.

Is this balance just a one way street that only forces the pancreas to release more insulin when glucose is released, but doesn't force the liver to release more glucose when too much insulin is released (or injected)? ]]> Type 2 Diabetes Hammer http://www.diabetesforums.com/forum/type-2-diabetes/65602-insulin-and-glucose-question.html Food Addiction http://www.diabetesforums.com/forum/type-2-diabetes/65601-food-addiction.html Tue, 15 May 2012 23:41:02 GMT I really have more than one health problem and I don't think diabetes is the biggest. I suffer from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder which brought on the addiction to food. I have to be honest here if I intend to find help. I'm finding I have to keep renewing my mind-set in order to keep the success I'm having on insulin. My mother used food to get me to do what she wanted, and it worked. So as an adult, I allowed myself to eat whatever I wanted, trying to soothe the effects of a controlling childhood. Does anyone else here feel that they are addicted to food, and it is just another hurdle to jump, in an effort to control their diabetes? ]]> Type 2 Diabetes TeddySue http://www.diabetesforums.com/forum/type-2-diabetes/65601-food-addiction.html Richard Bernstein letter on New York Times http://www.diabetesforums.com/forum/type-2-diabetes/65591-richard-bernstein-letter-new.html Tue, 15 May 2012 12:10:09 GMT This is the text of a letter to the NY Times Bernstein wrote in response to an article about the increasing incidence of type 2 diabetes in children.

"The recent outbreak and untreatability of Type 2 diabetes in children is no mystery. This double problem (triple if we include obesity) is borne of the very high carbohydrate, low-fat diet that has been imposed upon our population since the 1980s.

This same diet is advocated for diabetic children, making it impossible to control their blood sugar, even with industrial doses of insulin and certainly not with oral hypoglycemic agents.

Diabetes is principally a disorder of carbohydrate metabolism. Furthermore, it is impossible to store fat or become obese unless we consume considerable amounts of dietary carbohydrate: this is basic biochemistry.

It is the irrational fear of dietary fat that has spawned the high-carbohydrate food industry that didn’t exist when I was a child. In my 29 years of treating Type 2 diabetes, normal blood sugars, weight loss and even reversal of the disease have been possible only with very low carbohydrate diets.

RICHARD K. BERNSTEIN
Mamaroneck, N.Y., May 8, 2012"

I personally would like to thank the good doctor for convincing me that dietary fat is not evil. Without it I could never get enough calories to get through the day without endangering my blood sugar levels. ]]> Type 2 Diabetes Bakerboy http://www.diabetesforums.com/forum/type-2-diabetes/65591-richard-bernstein-letter-new.html hyperglycemia symptoms... http://www.diabetesforums.com/forum/type-2-diabetes/65586-hyperglycemia-symptoms.html Mon, 14 May 2012 20:49:27 GMT Hi there, I wanted to share with you an experience I had last night. I tried a new flavored drink that said zero calorie, zero carbs...but it was too good to be true. About an hour and a half into drinking it my eye sight started to blur extremely bad, my head started to throb, my body began... Hi there,

I wanted to share with you an experience I had last night. I tried a new flavored drink that said zero calorie, zero carbs...but it was too good to be true. About an hour and a half into drinking it my eye sight started to blur extremely bad, my head started to throb, my body began to feel weak. I was standing up and I felt as if I was going to faint. It felt like I had stood up too quick and the blood was rushing from my head. I had to sit down. I immediately took my bs and it was 216. I haven't had a reading this high since my dx in Jan. I got scared. I've never ever experienced anything like this. After about 45 minutes the symptoms started to subside and so did my bs. I dumped the rest of the drink. I took 30 units of NPH Novolin, took 500 mg. of metformin and laid down.

This mornings reading was higher than normal and I feel slightly dazed today. I've never experienced any low below 83 and I haven't had anything higher than 150 since Jan. Has anyone else ever had this happened to them when they got too high? Just wondering what was going on with my body for me to experience all of those debilitating symptoms and what I should do the next time it happens.

Thanks for listening. ]]> Type 2 Diabetes jesca67 http://www.diabetesforums.com/forum/type-2-diabetes/65586-hyperglycemia-symptoms.html How I Manage My Diabetes http://www.diabetesforums.com/forum/type-2-diabetes/65567-how-i-manage-my.html Sat, 12 May 2012 17:33:45 GMT
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ela View Post
... I admit that am curious about your case and how you manage your diabetes. What are your BGs after eating your delicious carbs? And what is your A1C? I mean I suppose it is possible to do it your way, but for me it isn't and it's just seems like something unreal. Please tell us more.
Hi Ela, your curiosity made me start a new thread on how I manage my diabetes. Also, I wanted to record for posterity (:) ) what I do now to remain healthy and control my diabetes. It is going to be a little elaborate and I apologize for taking so much of your time and also for consuming so many electronic bits.

Let me describe a typical work day.

The first thing that I do after getting up in the morning (at about 5:00 am) that is relevant to the control of diabetes is to work out on the elliptical in my basement for about 45 minutes. I burn around 300 calories, as shown by the display on the elliptical.

Then I go up to take my fruity pre-breakfast shown in picture 1 a. This is three kiwi fruits cut into 12 pieces. I take 6 pieces and my wife takes the other six. I think this works out to about 20g of carbs (including fiber, I think) plus a lot of vitamin C and all the other good macro and micro nutrients that kiwi fruit provides.

Then I go up, shower, dress and come down prepared to take breakfast and drive to work. The breakfast is typically either two Dosa shown in picture 1 b or two slices of bread and avocado chutney shown in picture 1 c. The curry taken with Dosa in the morning is usually one of those made for the supper of the previous day. The one shown in the picture has butternut squash, sweet potato, coconut meat ground into paste, yogurt, coconut oil, mustard and spices. If one day it is Dosa and curry, the next day it would typically be bread and avocado chutney. The ingredients of avocado chutney are avocado, a few strawberries, tomato, green chili (green pepper), a little onion, and salt to taste. I think the breakfast is about 50 grams of carbohydrates including fiber.

Then I proceed to work carrying the lunch that my wife prepares for me. The typical work lunch is shown in picture 2 a and b. Lunch consists of a little green salad (consisting of cucumber pieces, carrot pieces, olive rings and a few cherry tomatoes) a relatively dry curry (the picture shows chick pea curry), another curry with gravy (the picture shows the same curry used for the Dosa breakfast), rice, and plain yogurt. The mixed nuts (cashew, almond, walnut and pecan) are for evening, just before the return commute to home. The total carb content of lunch would be around 70 g net carb. The nuts in the evening might contribute another 10 - 15 g net carb.

For three days a week, I do yoga at work for roughly one hour before lunch. For the other two days I walk outdoors for about 45 minutes, weather permitting.

In the evening, immediately after reaching home from work, I take a fruit snack like the one shown in picture 2c. The picture shows a melange of pieces of apple, pear, mango and banana. I might also take blueberries, strawberries, pineapple etc. On some days, along with the fruit snack, I might take naughty things like half a Laddoo, a piece of [URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaju_barfi"]http://Kaju Barfi/URL], a little pecan pie, banana chips, etc. The carb content is variable but I think it would be about 40-50 g.

After the evening snacks, we (self and wife) go for a walk, for about an hour, in the great outdoors when weather permits. We have beautiful trails in our subdivision as shown in the picture, so we enjoy this walk a lot. Else, we go down to the basement and do the work out on the treadmill and elliptical.

Supper at around 8:30 pm is very similar to lunch.

On weekends and holidays my diet is naughty, so I won't make it public :).

My diabetes medication is Metformin, 250 mg in the morning just before breakfast and 500 mg in the night just before supper.

My BG and A1c are not stellar, but not bad either. The "dawn phenomenon" raises my morning fasting BG reminding me that I am very much a diabetic. The fasting BG is typically between 5.5 and 5.8 mmol/L (99 - 105 mg/dL) but on some days it can go as low as 5 (90) or as high as 6.5 (117). Except for this morning fasting reading, all my other fasting readings (i.e., before lunch, before evening snacks, before supper, etc.) are between 4.5 and 5 (81 and 90). My 1 hour post prandial BG readings are usually under 7.5 (135) and 2 hour post prandials are under 6.5 (117) but once in a while they may shoot up - sometimes 1 hour post prandials are 8 (144) and sometimes even 9 (162) but such readings are rare and only when I am especially naughty :) My A1c has fluctuated between 5.3 and 5.9 for the past several years.

I don't have Bernsteinian BGs and A1cs but that is fine with me. I value quality of life and eating tasty food is very much part of the quality. When finally the end comes, I don't know what will happen to this "I" that experiences the world now. Will it get extinguished for ever? Will it be reborn to experience the world again? Will its existence move to a plane none of us are now aware of? Or will it go back to the Ultimate Reality if such a one exists? I don't know, so I try to make this brief life as enjoyable as possible.

Regards,
Rad
Attached Images
]]> Type 2 Diabetes Rad Warrier http://www.diabetesforums.com/forum/type-2-diabetes/65567-how-i-manage-my.html <![CDATA[Diabetes and weight loss - the "click"]]> http://www.diabetesforums.com/forum/type-2-diabetes/65565-diabetes-weight-loss-click.html Sat, 12 May 2012 16:04:25 GMT All my life, I heard stories of "the click" that happened when people finally said, "THAT'S IT, NO MORE." And successfully overcame their lifelong weight problem. I tried, and tried, and tried but never heard "the click" - until I got diabetes.

Suddenly, I was terrified of what might happen. It's like actual mortality slapped me in the face for the first time. That was my "click." I do not want to end up with no eyesight or limbs, or kidney failure. The fear of diabetic complications was the thing I needed to stop all the excuses and self sabotage. I know that there is no going back, if I want to maintain the blood sugar control I've got now.

And once I no longer had an "out," I no longer had the doubts and insecurity about weight loss. It was the strangest thing. In the past, if I overate one day, I would think, "Well, that's that," and use it an excuse to pig out. Now if it happens I just chalk it up to one day and get right back on track the next day. I still do have cravings for things or get tired of the constant management, but it doesn't consume me. It's kind of mind-blowing to me, like all this time I wasted on hating myself when it turned out I just had a broken metabolism and didn't know it.

I like to tell people that diabetes really saved my life. :) ]]> Type 2 Diabetes Vilya http://www.diabetesforums.com/forum/type-2-diabetes/65565-diabetes-weight-loss-click.html Dawn phenomenon--managing http://www.diabetesforums.com/forum/type-2-diabetes/65563-dawn-phenomenon-managing.html Sat, 12 May 2012 10:04:33 GMT When I had gestational DM, I suffered from DP. It appears that it is an issue now. At the time, they just had me use insulin. I don't really know how to handle things as a Type 2.

Now, I know I'm just getting started on Metaformin, so things may change but I need some ideas for coping in the interim.

For example. I ate dinner at 7:00 last evening. Spinach/lettuce salad with grilled chicken and feta cheese, and a vinegarette dressing. I took my evening Metaformin at 9:00 pm. At 10:00 pm my BG was 124. At 1:30 am (I'd gotten up to let the dog out) BG was 107. I woke up at 4:00 am and BG is 145!

How would I methodically go about figuring out what to do, and where would I most likely start? Do I wait another week and see how the Metaformin shakes out?

Thanks for the input. ]]> Type 2 Diabetes AnnainOK http://www.diabetesforums.com/forum/type-2-diabetes/65563-dawn-phenomenon-managing.html weird day http://www.diabetesforums.com/forum/type-2-diabetes/65558-weird-day.html Fri, 11 May 2012 21:34:15 GMT So I woke up in the 70's today - lowest ever I think for FBG - had a normal meal last night - nice salad with blue cheese - small hamburger (no bun) with mushrooms and swiss. I have remained in the 70's all day - ate normal breakfast, lunch and snacks that usually take me to 105 ish then down to high 80's low 90's. I finally ate half an apple about 90 minutes ago - never eat them but someone gave me it at work - highest is took me was 84 - any ideas??? ]]> Type 2 Diabetes linda505 http://www.diabetesforums.com/forum/type-2-diabetes/65558-weird-day.html Metformin no longer working?? http://www.diabetesforums.com/forum/type-2-diabetes/65557-metformin-no-longer-working.html Fri, 11 May 2012 19:22:48 GMT I'm brand new to the boards. My husband is a Type 2 diabetic, diagnosed in July 2010 and has been maintaining well ... until recently. He fits absolutely no mold for being diabetic, he's 6'2" and when he was finally diagnosed, he'd dropped to 138 lbs. He's been maintaining around 150 lbs, but can't gain weight. He's athletic and fit and has always been healthy.

Recently his A1C jumped from 6.5 on 500x4 metformin daily with a low-carb diet and some exercise (he has a somewhat physically demanding job) to 7.5. He's added cardio and weight lifting and decreased his carbs a bit and is seeing his numbers go up. He doesn't seem to be able to gain weight, and it seems to take him a long time to recover after working out. He's always had a faster metabolism, and what I'm thinking is that his body is metabolizing the met too fast and isn't able to regulate properly - especially with the extra exercise. We've seen some scary numbers lately (170 waking, 140 before lunch) instead of the 130's 120's and 90's and 80's (respectively) he's had for almost two years. The only things he's changed is his morning meal (less carbs) and the addition of more exercise.

Is there anything anyone would suggest he try? Is it possible that he's getting worse and met just isn't cutting it anymore? How can he add weight? ]]> Type 2 Diabetes Skeets http://www.diabetesforums.com/forum/type-2-diabetes/65557-metformin-no-longer-working.html