Type 2 Noob here

[Option B]

Hello.

Just want to say hello and give ya some back ground on my life...

Went in to the hospital on the 5/13 with abdominal pain ended up being Pankiatitis*sp found my triglycerides were 4803 and my sugar was 385 and was in for a day when they diagnosed me as a type 2... It hit me very hard... I love to eat its prolly the thing I am best at... they did some kind of test and looked back at my sugar levels and found I been riding the 300 level for the last 3 months... so they started me on injections and a couple of oral pills.. was in the hospital for a week going through all kinds of tests then the released me to start my life over again on my own no instruction just some dr's notes and a dream they put me on a 1800 cal a day diet all kinds a stuff I cant eat or do to say the least I am pissed off and have no idea what I am doing here is my injection schedule

Breakfast 15 units of 70/30
Dinner 8 units of 70/30
Regular Insulin "Before Meals & @ Bed Time
150 - 200 = 2 units
201 - 250 = 4 units
251 - 300 = 6 units
301 - 350 = 8 units
351 - 400 = 10 units

Plus they have me on oral
Metaformin 500mg once a day
Glyburide 2.5mg once a day


I am obsessed with checking my blood sugar and so scared that anything I eat is going to raise it I am sooooo moody and cranky that my cats are cowering from me and my wife is getting pissed at me .. I need some advice on how to deal with this... the hardest part is the food. I love food but now I am scared of it...

There is much more but I am starting to rant and ramble...


Lance

[nantomsuethom]

Lance, welcome to the forums. This is a great site with lots of great information and great friends. :)
With all that insulin and oral meds I would hope your blood sugar levels will start to come down.
It is very overwhelming in the begining but before you know it you will feel better.
I don't have diabetes, my son does. When he was first diagnosed he also was obsessed with checking his bg. He also feared the high bgs along with the lows.
Good luck and keep us posted.

[liz32]

Hi lance: I was diagnosed about 6 months ago and it was quite a bit of news. I still remember the first itme I went to the grocery store after being diagnosed. It seemed that all the food was yelling...I'll hurt you...you can't have me..i'll make your sugars go up"! It was awfull! By the time I got home I was crying and my poor husband had no idea what was wrong. It is cery overwhelming and they diffinately don't give you enough information in a couple of days to live the rest of your life with. Therefore: it's a good..let me say that again..it's good that you found this place! It's such a great spot to get questions answered and to learn from other diabetics. Nothing is ever that same for each of us but each of us has something to contribute. I also take metformin, and take an insulin called Lantus. It's a peakless 24hr insulin so I only inject once daily. How's your tummy doing with the metformin? That stuff can be rough but it gets better with time. Anyway, I'm rambling..ask lots of questions and just vent if you need to. We all have at one time or another. Take care and learn all you can...it's the best weapon you've got with this desease. :)

[TvBabe]

Lance right now you sound just a wee bit overwhelmed :) Remember Rome was not built in a day and there is an adjustment period....trust me every single one of us make mistakes so don't beat yourself up over it :)

Your medical professionals have put you on meds that will bring those blood sugars down and trust me you'll feel 100% better for it. When I was diagnosed I was in the 630 range (US Scale I'm in Canada) and I felt horrible. I won't candy coat it, at the beginning it was ****. Now you say your testing alot....that is a good thing. Testing before and 2 hours after a meal will help you understand which foods your body really reacts to. Take notes of the foods that bother you. I hang out in a diabetic voice chat room and diabetes is not a one size fits all type of disease. Some people react strongly to potatoes, other's fruit set them off, another person can't even nibble on rice if their life depended on it. So what I'm saying is test, test and test again and figure out which foods are your downfall. Some of those foods they told you in the hospital to avoid well you might not have to avoid ALL of them :) By testing frequently at the beginning to slowly realize which foods are problematic for you :)

Now what I did initially was look at my pre-diabetic diet and looked up the carb values to see if I was overwhelming my body with something that was high carb. Carbs convert to sugars in our blood stream. I looked everything up on the following website:

http://www.lowcarbfriends.com/carbcounter.shtml

This website is divided up into categories so it was extremely helpful to me. I use to have a large glass of orange juice each morning (pre diagnoses) by looking up the carb amount I soon realized that wow, although that is healthy it's also HIGH carb and I was drinking approximately 25 carbs in just that one glass of juice every morning. If I really wanted to have something orange it would probably be better if I actually ate an orange since I would benefit from the fibre which helps to offset the total carbs of that food choice. Now maybe you should look at your pre diagnoses diet and see how high carb it was and start your adjustment from there?

Secondly portion control is very important if you are like most of us I think you'll probably be somewhat surprised how much you've probably been overeating. Size those portions down, if you do get hungry between meals concentrate on having something that is a protein each meal, proteins help you feel "full" and they can also help to balance your blood sugars.

Thirdly start an exercise program, just walking 30 minutes a day can make a significant difference in your blood sugars and it will also lower your cholesterol levels. :) I started a walking program a few months back and it has made a HUGE difference in my blood sugars it dropped my a1c (that is the test they gave you that averaged your previous 3 month blood sugar levels) from 5.7 to 5.1 and after being on Lipitor for 5 years my cholesterol levels are now well within normal values and my doctor took me OFF Lipitor :)

Fourthly if you have questions don't be shy about asking, here, at your doctor's office and if you have trouble with your diet, your dietician. If you need additional appointments with your doctor, diabetic eduator or dietician don't stand on ceremony, make those appointments......you will gain the benefit from them.

It took me approximately 3-4 months before I really started feeling "comfortable" with my diagnoses and how I was managing it. There is a somewhat steep learning curve when you are first diagnosed but everyone here has gone thru it and we've all walked a mile in your shoes. If you have specific questions ask them, we try our best to help "newbies" :)

And lastly.....good luck, remember everything you do from this point on will benefit YOU :)

[duck]

Hi Lance,

Welcome aboard, for what it's worth!

Okay, some terms: The three month test is called a "Hemoglobin A1c" and it measures what your average blood glucose levels were for about 90 days--it is weighted toward the last 30 days, FYI. You said you had pancreatitis which can trigger high blood sugar episodes--I don't know if it can "cause" diabetes, but I know diabetics who suffer from pancreatitis, so. I think it is wonderful that your healthcare team gave you a "sliding scale" so you know how much extra insulin to take when you are high. I went almost ten years before someone offered me such an important tool for this doggone disease.

1800 calorie diet is standard for an MD to prescribe--it's the one-size fits all (but no saying how well it fits) diet that they are taught in the ONE mandatory nutrition class they have to take. Doctors stick to what they are taught, you have to give them credit for that. Try to adhere to it for now, and make a list of concerns for your healthcare team.

Some questions (and you can say "go to **** duck" and not answer): Are you overweight? Do you exercise and are you active (not the same as exercise)?

Keep a diary of EVERYTHING you eat--if it goes past the lips, write it down and how much it was, including trivial things like gum and breath mints. Get a digital food scale and measure everything--it helps with the diary. Keep your blood glucose readings in the diary, and keep notes on how much insulin you took, how active you were and how you "felt" (sad, happy, depressed, moody, giddy). It sounds kinda weird but it will help you make some correlations for your future treatment of this thing, and should assist your care team in making modifications to your diet and drug therapies--Bodybuilders keep some of the most intricate diaries (journals) I have ever seen to the point where they know if they eat ketchup, they gain 2 milimeters of fat--You don't have to get that dialed in, but its neat to know others do it for whatever reason.

Tell your hunny how much you appreciate her--do it now, there will be times when she will need to hear it, and you will need her to be supportive.

You'll make it, and we can help. :thumbsup:

[Jamie]

Lance ...

Welcome to the forum. I'm also type 2. I was also upset (more at myself) when I was first diagnosed, but the best thing I did was to research as much information as possible to really understand this disease. I also recommend that you see a dietician. They can really help you deal with your hunger issues and set you on the proper path to controlling your blood sugar levels. Don't be afraid to ask any questions, no matter how silly you may think it is. You will find lots of people here that can help with any information and support that you may need.

Jamie

[duck]

Lance ...

Welcome to the forum. I'm also type 2. I was also upset (more at myself) when I was first diagnosed, but the best thing I did was to research as much information as possible to really understand this disease. I also recommend that you see a dietician. They can really help you deal with your hunger issues and set you on the proper path to controlling your blood sugar levels. Don't be afraid to ask any questions, no matter how silly you may think it is. You will find lots of people here that can help with any information and support that you may need.

Jamie

Good advice...Seek out a REGISTERED Dietician here in the US, we have at least one member who is in college studying to be an RD. In the USA, legally any of us can call ourselves a "nutrionist" and get away with it (try calling yourself a "medical doctor" and you'll see my point). RD's have much better schooling about disease-related diets and can be a wealth of info for you.

[Option B]

Thank you all for the response

As for the questions

yes I am over weight went in to the hospital at 329lbs came out 304lbs I will find out what I weigh here shortly I am headed to the dr at 4pm for my first app since being released from the hospital.. so wish me luck I am having a pretty good day right now after lunch my blood sugar has been rising to 260 - 290 and right now it is 117 and I am feeling great I have found that when my Blood sugar goes up I get cranky and very angry with myself for letting this happen to me .. but right now I am doing pretty good I don’t exercise much as I am pretty much tied to my computer desk 90% of my life as I work for several computer companies as a contractor but me and my wife are going to start walking 30 min a night and see how that helps I do conceder myself active but since I have been out of the hospital I have found I have no motivation "prolly due to the fact that I am obsessing on my new found change in life"

Thanks again :thumbsup:

Lance

[jdstein11]

The walking is something that I've been told will help you; remember that you need to make exercise part of your life, not something you just have to do.

I know (as someone diagnosed as T1 only one week ago) that there's a lot to understand and absorb (sorry for the pun), but this site has been VERY helpful to me and the people very supportive. (I'm sorry but) welcome to the family!

Regards,

Justin

[Option B]

Update time:

went to my Family DR and he took me off all but the Glyburide he said I was just borderline at most after looking at all the charts and records from my hospital stay and said I need to drop 80 lbs over the next year get down to 240 / 220 and I can prolly come off all meds


I thank you all for your info and I am going to make this family part of my family as I will prolly need help with dropping the weight and diet...


Thank you All

Lance

[Belinda]

Welcome Lance...glad you found us but not necessarily under the conditions that you did :D . Being diabetic is a job with in itself...take it one step and day at a time. You may want to see an endocronologist for ;your diabetes..good luck and keep us posted

[am1977]

Hey Lance,

Welcome...so glad you found us :D.

I'm type 1, and not so knowledgable as others on type 2 issues, but I definitely am willing to try if I can. My advice to you, like I tell others, is to learn all you can about this disease (knowledge is power), gather a good medical team, test and take meds as you should, exercise, eat and sleep well, and seek support. It seems like a lot, but these things can really help you manage this disease and keep you healthy.

Good luck to you and hope to see you around :)

Andrea :nerd: , Type 1, MM 511

[lil_ford_gal]

hi Lance, Im a newbie to, but been at the diabetes thing for 8 years, been on all those meds you are on, but nothing helps me, had to go to regular insulin and metformin as well....maybe we can learn together..one thing I do no...the metformni will make you loose weight I lost 168 pds on it..yeah 168...didnt have much of an appetite....watch your carbs (my favorite..mac and cheese), excercise, drink lots of water...thats my plan of action for now....hope you do well, hon