Newbie Experiences

[meethakhoon]

Around April 3, I started noticing some physical changes occuring. I was thirsty moreso than ever, and as a result, I'd be running to the restroom. I had just recently changed jobs and somehow found a way to relate my thirst and frequent urination to a change in lifestyle, workplace, etc. Two weeks into this problem and my family members started to take note of my waking up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom and drinking more water than ever. And I was losing weight at an incredible pace. I had dropped from around 254 to 240 in a matter of weeks.

My mom, being diabetic, saw the telltale signs and suggested I use her glucometer and test my sugar levels. I refused - afraid of the results. However, as my symptoms got worse and I started to realize I had NO energy, I caved into my fears and sat there with the glucometer. I was afraid.

316 is what the meter read. 316. I knew that normal levels were around 70-100. I was at a whopping 316 - and all I did was cry like a little baby. Scary to watch an overweight 30 year old break down and bawl. I felt as though I had been given a death sentence at worst or a life in prison sentence at best. That my carefree lifestyle was over. 316. I couldn't sleep. I checked the next morning 312. I made an appointment with my doctor that day and it was at 344.

I must have spent the next week reading every website and resource available to mankind on the subject of diabetes. In the meantime - I gave up my poison - Soda (Coke or Dr. Pepper to be precise) and decided it was time to hit the gym. About a week later, the doctor had me come in for blood work. My fasting blood sugar had dropped to 143 - and given that it was in the 300's a week prior - my doctor mandated that I take Metamorphin to manage my diabetes. My HAIC was a whopping 11.7 (should be below 6%?) whereas my triglycerides were at 281 (should be below 150).

I refused the medication. Instead, I opted to cut all sugar out of my diet, as well as carbs. Sugar was poison as I saw it. I ate balanced meals. And started working out -daily at first. But ofcourse that was and is unrealistic - 4-5 times a week became more acheivable. Anywhere from 30-70 minutes on the treadmill.

Over the month of May, I have pricked my finger every morning before I eat breakfast. Afraid - as always - of what the results will be. On days I am at home, I have tested multiple times.

Thus far, the entire month of May my fasting BS has averaged at 98.1 (I still have one day of the month left). Postprandial is around 105.

My weight has gone from a whopping 238.5 (keeping track from when I actually started working out, watching my diet) to 220....and I still have a long ways to go.

My initial fears have subsided. Infact, I sometimes almost think of this as a blessing in disguise and thank god that I have been given this oppurtunity to get in shape and fix my lifestyle. Initially my thought was 'I'm only 30!!' - now I realize that it's better now to deal with it than at 60. I pray that I have the power and ability to mantain this lifestyle and control without medication.

In a nutshell, I wanted to thank everyone on this site as it has been an extremely valuable aresnal of information regarding the personal experiences people have had - and some of the success stories have helped motivate and direct my own endeavours. I hope that someone who is newly diagnosed can read a story like mine and be motivated to make those changes in their lives.

God bless us all.

[DesertDiabetic]

The goal to control with medications is the first thinking all of us type 2's have. Your blood glucose readings are very good. It is important to remember that this considered a progressive disease for a reason. Losing the weight was probably the bigest one thing you did, other than changes in diet. You do realize that the changes in diet and keeping the weight down as well as exercise are a lifetime thing. You are still a type 2 diabetic, just one under control. Please don't consider the medications as a bad thing. I agree that taking medications to live is not what we want - however, being type 2 it is most likely you will progress to having to take them. Who knows how long it will take. And I do think that if you really keep tight on your program you may never progress to medications - believe me I am in the minority on this. What I am not getting to very fast is this - type 2's have already lost some of their insulin producing beta cells. As your fasting numbers drift up as they probably will do and your A1c also drifts up your existing beta cells will start to be over-worked and will die. Don't hold off too long taking the meds when you see changes, you have to protect the beta cells still alive and producing insulin. That is very important for you for the long run.

You mentioned the goal for A1c of below 6.0. That will not give you the best results. The goal should be as close to normal as possible. Normal is below 5.0. You will hear over and over that normal is below 6.0. That leaves out pre-diabetes altogether. The range between 5 and 6 is where your system is attempting to bring you down to below 5 and is not doing it. Your beta cells are working over-time to do this. This is something you don't want to do - don't kill your own beta cells thinking that below 6.0 is normal.

[meethakhoon]

Thanks - I realize that medication may be a part of my future - but as a personal goal I would like to do whatever is in my power to delay and possibly avoid that. I hope my doctor agrees. I wasn't sure if below 6 is normal, or below 5 - I seem to have found mixed definitions of what is normal. I have nothing against medication - as it is very important in the control of diabetes for many individuals. I have watched my own mother take medication and still NOT be able to control her diabetes - however with excercise and diet control, and medication - she has been able to. You are right, it is a progressive disease - and people discover it at different stages. Some need medication as excercise and diet just aren't enough. Others can get by on medication only, or excercise and diet only.

Nevertheless - I am still new to all this in many senses and hope to keep on learning from everyone else on here.

[Phranky]

Hey Meet - I know what you're going through, just got nailed with this as well last January.

If you're looking for opinions, and like noses everyone has one, I'd tell you to supplement your diet and excercise with some medication, it will aid you, as mentioned, in protecting your beta cells.

As mentioned, diabetes is a progressive disease and you have it, you're a Type 2 just like me. It will progress, and as it progresses, you will start to get into the area of EOD (end organ damage) that diabetes causes.

While taking some metformin may not be what you want, take it while you can, I'm only on metformin, watch my diet very closely, excercise, and am getting ready to take my first a1c test again. I too was at 11.

Now, I test frequently and am pretty much always between 3-7 fasting, and 5-10 after a meal, my average seems to be around 5 (remember, these are non-US numbers, multiply by 18 to convert to US).

Regardless of whether you takes meds now or not, it doesn't change the fact that you are a type 2, and the medication can help stabilize your BS as well as protect your pancreas for as long as possible.

Talk with your endo and follow his / her advice.

Cheers!

[DesertDiabetic]

Just one thing - I agree with you except where you say "... Others can get by on medication only...... I beiieve that is one of the worst mis-conceptions people make. I am not saying that it applies to your situation at all - i know people who get the medication and think that they are doing all that they have to do. Nobody can eat like a non-diabetic and pills alone will correct their blood glucose levels. It just doesn't happen. Sadly there are many many people that doctors give them that feeling - and they progress faster than they should have. Don't take what I say as being critical of what you said - it was just a chance to rant about one of the bigger problems many diabetics face today.

[meethakhoon]

Just one thing - I agree with you except where you say "... Others can get by on medication only...... I beiieve that is one of the worst mis-conceptions people make. I am not saying that it applies to your situation at all - i know people who get the medication and think that they are doing all that they have to do. Nobody can eat like a non-diabetic and pills alone will correct their blood glucose levels. It just doesn't happen. Sadly there are many many people that doctors give them that feeling - and they progress faster than they should have. Don't take what I say as being critical of what you said - it was just a chance to rant about one of the bigger problems many diabetics face today.

yes, i believe that probably is a misconception. and i also beleive that was my doctors answer - take the meds. she kept on insisting - and i did not like that. had it been my second visit in 3 months and i was not able to make a dent in my bs levels and she wanted me to take meds - i wouldn't argue. but without having tried - i didn't like the fact that she insisted on the meds, and put relatively no importance on diet and excercise. her answer was 'take the meds' and diet and excercise were a mere footnote at best.

trust me - i have nothing against meds, nor do i suggest they should only be taken as a last resort. however, i don't believe they should be used to cover up the root cause of one's problems. the root cause here was simply a lack of excercise and poor diet. and unfortunately that is what i got from my doctor.

i plan on going to see her again after 3 months of continual excercise and diet - and then following up with an endocronologist (sp) to get some 'real' advice.

[DesertDiabetic]

I disagree on just one point - the meds are not to cover up anything. You are insulin resistant - diet does not change that - exercise helps but does not do away with that either. Insulin resistance is at the cell level and that is what the medications are to assist.

Diet takes a load off your pancreas, and entire body.

Exercise aids in the insulin transfer - very important step.

Insulin resistance is a damage to your cells and does not go away by correcting the bad habits that caused it in the first place, if that is what caused actually caused the resistance.

[Phranky]

Desert - exactly, the meds will ASSIST his diet and excercise regimen.

Maybe I'm mistaken here, and I don't want to come off sounding snippy, but Meet, it's almost like you're implying that those of us on meds don't strictly control their diet and excercise regularly as well?

I'm at the dojo three times a week, on the treadmill at my office, and frequently go for walks on the weekend, as well as control my diet.

Having said that, I recognize that this medication is reducing the workload on my pancreas and other potential damages that high BS levels cause.

I don't understand you're premise that excercise and diet alone is fine - I think that's our point, you are now a Type 2 diabetic - period - and anyting you can do, including the medication, to ease the strain on your body is what your primary goal should be, not whether you can say, "...while I am a type 2 diabetic, I don't have to take pills, so I must not have it that bad.."

It doesn't work that way.

Anyhow, don't mean to sound snippy, I'm sure you know all this anyhow...

Cheers!

[labob]

I don't want to pile it on, but I think Desert and Frank are right on the mark. Once you're diagnosed as a Type 2, that's it, done deal, you have insulin resistance and lots of things have to change. You might be able to control your glucose levels with diet and exercise alone for a while, but it's also possible that diet and exercise won't be sufficient, even though they will always be the baseline for everything else that you do (meaning that even if you start taking some combination of diabetic medication, you still have to watch what you eat very carefully and commit to some form of exercise every day).

It takes a while to get your head around that -- at least it did for me. I was diagnosed in December 2005. I got the diet thing down in relatively short order (I had to learn that carbohydrates didn't just mean grains and starches, though, which took a while to understand); it took me even longer to accept that daily exercise really wasn't optional, even though I did my best to get some form of exercise several times a week. I weigh 150 lbs. at nearly 5'9" and exercise strenuously every day now -- and still I need to take 15 mg of Actos and 1.25 mg of glyburide. That's my baseline, and I expect that it will go up from there, even though I'm doing my gosh darn best to minimize the amount of drugs I take. Everyone has different reactions and needs, but the bottom line is that all Type 2s have some degree of insulin resistance and each of us needs to figure out how to compensate for that given our unique bodies.

[meethakhoon]

wow, looks like everyone is misreading what i have said. one key point that i would like to hit on is that diabetes is a progressive disease. i am not saying that people who take meds don't excercise or don't eat healthy. i sincerely beleive that there are varying levels of how severe one's diabetes is. with some, control of diet and health can 'control' their sugar levels. with others, medication is needed. that is all i would like to say. i am not attempting to judge by any means.

i think it serves us no good to make blanket statements such as 'every diabetic reqiures medication' or 'diabetics can control their diabetes with only excercise and diet'. neither are true all the time, only some of the time.