Newly diagnosed - Been lurking for a couple days.

[Searchy]

Hi there!

I just a little overwhelmed with all that i've had to take in the past couple of days.

My BG was 409 when I was in the hospital. When I was discharged it was down to 192, Followup at my PCP the next morning it was right around 180.

It seems to lurk around 160 now. But that is only 2 or 3 days of testing myself, so I'm not sure if I'm doing it right. I hope I am.

Anyway, I need to make a lot of dietary changes of course and I'm not exactly what I can eat and what I can't.

Some things I've read say Grapefruit is a good thing, some things I've read say it's a bad thing. Avacado, cucumbers, what kind of breads?

It's all just so confusing. I'm testing 3x a day before I eat cause that's what they told me to do in the hospital, but then I've seen threads that say to test 2 hours after I eat to get a good idea on what I ate did to my BG.

coffee??

Anyway, I'm glad I found this board and I see I've got lot's of reading to do. Hopefully it'll be a long healthy relationship between myself and these forums :)

[gary.keith]

Welcome to DF, Searchy!

I'll leave it for more experienced members to address most of the things you've mentioned.

One thing I am qualified to talk about is that, as a newly DXed D, the more I test, the better I know which foods are alright for me to eat, and which ones aren't. For me that means testing at two and four hours after eating anything, not just a meal, until I understand exactly how each food item affects my BG. I also test anytime during the day when my body doesn't feel right.

[ujay065]

Hi Searchy, I too found out a few weeks ago that I'm diatetic, T-2. Welcome---you asked about breads and the dietition told me to eat whole wheat, rye, or pumpernickle. They say to stay away from anything that is made from white flour, rice, potatoes. That is not to say that you can't have any, but only small amounts, and not that often. I drink coffee, or tea, but use artificial sweetners, i.e., splenda, equal, sweet & low or any of the others that are on the market. And, I drink my coffee black, although in the hospital they gave me some non-dairy creamer. But, as Gary above says, I'll leave any of your other questions to the more experienced members. Ask questions, and read alot of the other posts. There's alot of information here, and do as they say, test, test, test. And again, Welcome--- Ujay065

[Granny Shanny]

Welcome aboard, Searchy. I'm fairly new too, so I'll try to keep it brief . . . (yeah, riiiight . . . :D :D :D)

What I can tell you is grapefruit is only bad if you're taking statins for cholesterol. I think these meds usually caution against it, but just in case - don't eat grapefruit if you're on any statins.

Avocados, cucumbers - fine.
Breads? Not so good. You'll have to test & see what affects your own bg, but my meter is not happy with breads/biscuits/crackers/etc. The "white" foods are usually targeted in these conversations: Avoid potatoes, rice, pasta, anything made with sugar and/or white flour.

Coffee is okay for me, but I had to ditch the non-dairy creamer - it's loaded with corn syrup junk. Anything that has corn syrup products (high fructose corn syrup, corn syrup solids, etc.) is suspect, so read the labels.

Not using milk anymore either, but have found that cream is a fine substitute in recipes, if I dilute it 1:1 with water.

Anyhow, keep reading & asking questions . . . we've all been where you are & it's a load of stuff to learn all at once. Are you on any meds or insulin now?

[jer.lawrence]

To add to what Granny said, I agree entirely that testing AFTER the meals is going to teach you far more about what you can and can't eat. A lot of folks suggest testing 1h and 2h after each meal (this way you can see how high your bg goes, and hopefully see it start to come back down).

You can use this number to determine what foods are good for you and which ones are not. As you start to learn which foods you can eat, you could be testing less often, but at the begging, more is more.

The ADA suggests your "target" is to be under 140 two hours after your first bite of food. A lot of us here feel that the 140 is too high for us and strive for lower numbers. Once you get your numbers down and in control, it is very doable, but I know it seems scary at first.

Relax, it's not the end of the world. I was diagnosed less than three months ago. I've found a WEALTH of knowledge on the board. My sugar was up in the 300s when I was diagnosed, but I keep it consistently under 120 now, usually under 110. My morning wake up readings are in the 80's or 90's most of the time. It's very doable, you just have to find what works for you! To add to that, I've lost about 30 pounds and feel absolutely WONDERFUL. Diabetes is actually one of the best things that's happened to me lately. :)

Good luck to you!!

[Searchy]

To answer some of your questions.

I'm on Metaformin 500mg 3x daily and Glucotrol XL 10mg 1x daily.

I pretty much figured to stay away from HFCS, and I have been staying away from pretty much any added sugars.

I've been reading a lot of the threads in the Type 2 forums and there is a wealth of knowledge here, it's all just so much to digest. I've been doing good ever since Wednesday I think. I haven't seen my BG over 200, but then again I haven't been testing 2h after meals.

With increased testing though, don't you run out of test strips, you need an Rx for them right? Am I going to run into problems by using them at a faster rate with my health insurance not paying for them?

How do you guys handle testing at work, for those who work? Do you have two meters, or do you carry your meter with you everywhere you go?

[kvnkrby]

...With increased testing though, don't you run out of test strips, you need an Rx for them right? Am I going to run into problems by using them at a faster rate with my health insurance not paying for them?

How do you guys handle testing at work, for those who work? Do you have two meters, or do you carry your meter with you everywhere you go?

I can only speak for North Carolina and Kentucky since those are the only two states I've had to purchase test strips. They do not require a prescription. It may vary by state. They may be behind the pharmacy counter and you have to ask for them.

I'm confused by your next statement. If your insurance is not paying for the strips, why would they care how fast you use them? If your insurance is paying for them, find out how many they will pay for each month and work out an acceptable number with your doctor for the prescription. Some manufacturers (Freestyle) have a discount program that will reduce the cost, too.

As for testing at work, I do it at my desk with no problems. Keep an empty soft drink bottle or some other container with a lid to use for disposal. As for meters, I think it's safe to say that most have more than one. You should have more than one. You will need a back up eventually. Check with your doctor, CDE (certified diabetes educator) if you have one, or even contact the manufacturer. Most will give you a meter. The test strips are their "cash cow".

[Searchy]

I'm confused by your next statement. If your insurance is not paying for the strips, why would they care how fast you use them? If your insurance is paying for them, find out how many they will pay for each month and work out an acceptable number with your doctor for the prescription. Some manufacturers (Freestyle) have a discount program that will reduce the cost, too.


Insurance does cover strips for me. So I guess I meant, if I use them faster than what my insurance co is willing to give me then i'd have to end up paying more than my copay for them. I do have a freestyle lite and I did already sign up for their program. So I should get a free meter from them when my card comes(according to their website).

Doing my research on my meter I'm a little upset that I can get the meter for free or a $10 copay, and the data cable to manage the logs is $30.

[jer.lawrence]

I finally called my insurance company and talked to them and found out they cover 200 strips a month (or every 25 days). That's testing 8 times a day. Some folks do that, or more, but I've found that to be too many for me. I have the prescription for that many though, just incase I need them at any point. I just don't refill them until I need them again.

I also have two meters. One is at home, one at work. I usually step into the restroom to test my sugar, if I tested at my desk, all of my co-workers would be able to see me doing it. They all know that I'm diabetic, I just feel that it makes me more comfortable to test in the restroom. I keep one of the empty test-strip containers to dispose of my used test strips in.

[Searchy]

Jer,

Yeah I guess I'll have to make some calls to my insurance company and find out how many they pay for / how often.
I just don't want to add any extra expense into this if it's not life threatening .. haha .. and well ... I guess not having test strips could be life threatening.

Snooped at your profile, I'm a computer geek too. ;)