Newbie questions!

[sdkikikins]

1. What levels are doing damage to the system? HOW high is too high for example? 200s? Not until 400s? Only 160s?

2. Can I eat a really yummy sweet meal once in a while KNOWING I will get a high reading? I'm assuming that it's over the long run that high numbers start affecting you negatively... I KNOW chinese food is a killer, but can I have it ONCE IN A WHILE? (I'm only on diet/exercise right now)

3. Because I'm only 34 and have a long life (presumably) ahead of me, am I likely to have to take insulin at some point? Or, can some people control w/diet, exercise and meds for the long term?

4. If I start drinking a Diet Coke at 2pm, but don't start my meal until 2:20pm, what time do I test? Does the Diet Coke "count" since there is no sugar/carbs?

5. And finally, the REAL reason I am posting... I am trying to find a good online log (or desktop software application) that allows me to enter test info (Blood pressure, A1C) and BS numbers along with notes about the corresponding meal. I would like to be able to look back and KNOW which meals "worked" and which did not, but not by putting in specific food database info. So, if I had a Rubio's chicken salad, I just want to note it next to the BS number that it generated, don't want to enter every ingredient and amount.

I currently use the www.bayercarediabetes.com site, but it is REALLY slow and cumbersome to enter each and every number. Any suggestions or recommendations?

Thanks in advance!

Kim

[Middle Aged Man]

Kim - Assume you are type 2 and on a Windoze PC, right?

[duck]

1. What levels are doing damage to the system? HOW high is too high for example? 200s? Not until 400s? Only 160s?

From what I can tell, it varies person-to-person; Some seem more tolerant of "higher" sugars, and others seem to not be able to tolerate lows. The general "target range" is 80-140 (there is some debate about this as well). Currently, my "target" is 140 and once I seem to be hitting that consistently, I will consider lowering it to 120 and see how I feel.


2. Can I eat a really yummy sweet meal once in a while KNOWING I will get a high reading? I'm assuming that it's over the long run that high numbers start affecting you negatively... I KNOW chinese food is a killer, but can I have it ONCE IN A WHILE? (I'm only on diet/exercise right now)

It's a personal choice--Being high for ten minutes is ten more minutes of damage you would not otherwise have incurred, right? Yet, you need to live life, and not a life of being deprived of everything you want. Strike a balance--I don't eat Chinese anymore unless I have had at least five days of good readings/my A1c is below 6.5.


3. Because I'm only 34 and have a long life (presumably) ahead of me, am I likely to have to take insulin at some point? Or, can some people control w/diet, exercise and meds for the long term?

We had a good discussion on that here: http://www.diabetesforums.com/showthread.php?t=5491&highlight=insulin+nurse


4. If I start drinking a Diet Coke at 2pm, but don't start my meal until 2:20pm, what time do I test? Does the Diet Coke "count" since there is no sugar/carbs?

Diet Coke does not count, and neither do "calorie free" foods. I test at two hours after I am done eating...which is different most of the times than when I took my bolus.

[sdkikikins]

Kim - Assume you are type 2 and on a Windoze PC, right?

Actually, I'm ALMOST Type 2, so am being treated as such. And, yes, a Windows user.

Sorry for not clarifying!

[Harold]

Since your a Type 2 it's a little more complicated, and only on diet or meds difficult to control. Your insulin resistant and everytime you go high you increase your insulin resistance. The damage from high bg's to your system are primarily what your trying to stay away from, but high levels of insulin also indirectly affect you. You might try different amounts of sweets to find out how much, if any, you can have without over loading your system. You may find some you can have and others you must stay away from. Keeping a food log along with your bg's you may find that some sweets like pastries may have unwanted affects later in the day or even a day or two after.

Most meter manufactures offer software you can load onto your computer and transfer your readings from your meter to PC via a cable. Some will charge for the SW and cable and some offer one or the other for free. Sometimes if you talk to a rep you can get them for free if your going to switch to a different meter because they give theirs away. The quality and flexibility differs greatly for different meters. There are some freeware SW out there, but typing in your readings is slow so you will still want to upload your meter readings. Then import them into the different SW.

[Ilene]

I downloaded a free log from the Advantis site. You can put in BG's, A1C's, diet, appointments and refill times for your prescriptions. Took me awhile to figure out how to use it, but now that I did it seems to work pretty well. I'm fairly new too!! Just diagnosed in May.

[sdkikikins]

I downloaded a free log from the Advantis site. You can put in BG's, A1C's, diet, appointments and refill times for your prescriptions. Took me awhile to figure out how to use it, but now that I did it seems to work pretty well. I'm fairly new too!! Just diagnosed in May.

This sounds like exactly what I am looking for, but can't find an "advantis" site? Do you have the exact link I could use? Thanks!!

[The9thPawn]

2. Can I eat a really yummy sweet meal once in a while KNOWING I will get a high reading? I'm assuming that it's over the long run that high numbers start affecting you negatively... I KNOW chinese food is a killer, but can I have it ONCE IN A WHILE? (I'm only on diet/exercise right now)

Before I started on my medication (shortly after being diagnosed) I purposely ate a "bad" meal. And I watched my levels before and after. I did this twice, and both ended up about the same. So I knew how my body acted with that food/drink. Then after being on the meds for awhile I ate the same meal, and the numbers not only were lower (before and after) but the margin of change was a lot lower too (which made me ultra-happy). It was still too high on the after reading, so I don't eat that too often.

Personally if I don't eat something like that once every two weeks or so, It gets harder to "fight the urge" during all the other days.

Granted for that time (like 2-3 hours a month) that I knowingly raise my levels I am not doing good 'on the inside', but in the long run it helps me see how my body is reacting to things (food, meds, changes in life, etc) and helps me eat better for the other 99% of the month.

I guess in a silly male-macho kind of way, I like knowing that I can control my levels both high and low, when I want to. But I'm wierd like that, hahaha.

To sum it up: GO FOR IT!! :whistling

[arlenecarol]

I guess in a silly male-macho kind of way, I like knowing that I can control my levels both high and low, when I want to. But I'm wierd like that, hahaha.

To sum it up: GO FOR IT!! :whistling

I don't think there's anything 'weird' about wanting to be 'in control' of your life, medically, emotionally, physically, any way...there's a power in that ability and if we take responsibility for our own lives, then i think this is the BEST way to live.

it is for me, anyhow.

good luck,

arlene