[Achilles]

Greetings to all. This is my first post so I said what the heck might as well introduce myself and make it my first thread at the same time.

I was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes last week. I had many of the symptoms when I saw my Dr. for the first time, weight loss, healthy appetite, tingling in feet, feeling tired even though I slept well, and blurry vision. My fasting plasma glucose was a 262. I didn't have my A1c done the first time but will in the next Dr. visit in a couple of months.

I've been lurking these forums for the past week or so, gathering valuable information and reading the wealth of knowledge that is available here from benevolent people that share their experiences with this disease. I have found some comfort in reading this information and while the psychological acceptance of this disease is still something that I struggle with, I have read that this is normal... we are all human afterall.

So now I have come to seek solace from total strangers who understand what I am going through and the lifelong journey which I will have to embark upon like most of you who are well on their way.

I have always gone out of my way to help others. I even said last month that I help others more than I help myself. The time has come for me to catch a grip on this disease and help myself because only I can do that with the support of folks like you.

My Dr. prescribed Metformin XR, 500 mg / day to start off with a night time meal. It is with optimism that my body has responded well to the medication albeit I do have a small headache in the morning and a dry / metallic taste in my mouth. I'm supposed to increase this to 1000 mg / day in another week or so since I haven't experienced any of the other side effects such as nausea, vomiting, etc.

Because of what I have learned on this site and my Dr's advice, I have been on a low carb diet for about 5 days now and have also been exercising each day for about 40 minutes. I alternate between doing abs / cardio one day to resistance training the other day. I feel better already after just 5 days. I'm in pretty good shape to begin with actually. I'm 5'-10" and weigh about 180 lbs. Diabetes unfortunately runs in my family.

I have been testing my fasting BG numbers, and they have been 140 - 150 in the morning the past couple of days just from diet and exercise alone. From what I have read, I haven't been on the Metformin long enough for it to make much of a difference but that is some further hope I guess.

I'm definitely sticking to this as this has finally given me a purpose to try to get into the best shape of my life. Figuring out what to eat has been the hardest part for me. I was such a huge breakfast person. Love pancakes, biscuits, waffles, cinnamon rolls, etc. Now I'm enjoying eggs and bacon for breakfast with my coffee. I'll try to have a single pancake with lite syrup tomorrow morning. I'm from the New Orleans area my entire life. Eating good is part of the culture down here.

Anyways, sorry for the long first post. I look forward to the encouragement I will receive here and hope to, in time, provide support to others too. Right now, I feel like I need to help myself the most. Thanks again.

[Scrabblechick]

Achilles, many welcomes from another Southerner! We're almost neighbors! We like to eat here, too. LOL.

I was diagnosed (DX) in February, and I'm finally starting to get my brain wrapped around this thing. My blood glucose (BG) at DX was 157, my A1C was 7.4. Not scary, but not good. My sugar has been running consistently between 90-110 fasting the past several days, with a few spikes up, but nothing major. I'm taking 1500mg of Metformin a day. I had some mild diarrhea, but it disappeared in a couple of weeks.

There IS such a wealth of information here! Mention it, and it's happened to someone on this forum. These people know their stuff.

I'm really glad to see you're already modifying your diet, exercising and testing yourself. Your BG is already way down. Good job! That's 90 percent of the battle, as far as I'm concerned. The "D" runs in my family, too.

Do see if your doc will order a diabetes education class. Mine was extremely helpful.

You're making a great start so keep it up! We're glad you found us. As I've found myself saying often the past couple of days, keep us updated on your progress. We really do care!

[adiantum]

G'day Achilles & Welcome .
Lurking is an excellent means to learn, so you will understand that by asking questions here can also help someone else that may be lurking.
I love the positive steps you have adopted already in controlling this D. The blood glucose testing is an excellent indicator on how your coping with foods.
Maybe try rolled oats for breakfast, special k or find a wholegrain bread that wont spike your readings as you need carbs with low glycemic index for energy.
I agree with scrabblechick about those education classes. I'm still referring to the handouts & its a comfort to know I can return anytime .

[davef]

Achilles,

Welcome to the foums, glad you have found us and introduced yourself. The people here are great, always ready to help and support.

The first while after DX can be daunting but it's great to see you are taking positive actions to take control. You are right about Metformin taking a little time to kick in, I found it took about two weeks, your decision to watch carbs will really help you.

There is a book, which was recommended to me here on the forum and I found very helpfuly, "The First Year: Type 2 Diabetes" by Gretchen Becker. I found it easy to read and very informative.

Are you testing regularyly, if you test two hour after first bite of a meal it will tell you how different foods work for you.

Visit often and ask lots of questions, that's how we learn, we are all on this journey together.

[princesslinda]

Achilles, welcome to "the family." We've all been where you are right now, so we understand where you're coming from. Sounds like you've got the right attitude and are making some very important lifestyle changes which should serve you well.

Like you, I have a very strong family history of diabetes...still, we're never quite prepared when it happens to us.

When I first found the forums, the most important advice I was given was test, test, test. Testing 2 hrs after your meals will show you how different foods affect you and allow you to make smart/informed food choices. Being southern myself, I know how hard it is at first to find blood-sugar friendly choices...esp. when the culture resolves around food.

The "metallic taste" is something I recall while on metformin. It can take metformin up to 3 weeks to reach optimal levels in your body, so don't be discouraged if you don't see immediate results.

I second the recommendation of the "Becker" book.

For me, diabetes has been a "mixed blessing," as it forces me to take better care of myself and i'll probably end up living longer with diabetes than I would have if i'd never been diagnosed.

You'll do fine. One of our members has a quote in their signature that says "diabetes is not a death sentance, but it is a life sentance." Learn all you can about this new chapter in your life. It can be challenging at times, but there are much worse things we could be dealing with.

Glad to have your on the forums.

[fgummett]

Welcome Achilles... sorry to hear you have the big D but glad you have found us at DF.

I have traveled through N'Orleans many times over the past ten years or so and I'm always shocked to see how much of the city is still in ruins after Katrina... we had a (much smaller) hurricane here in Nova Scotia a couple of years back and I know what an emotional strain that was, but I can hardly begin to imagine the impact that something like Katrina would have on a person... and now Diabetes.. I salute your strength as you seem to be handling this very well... I still recall just how overwhelmed I was on diagnosis

I hear you about the Southern food too... I battle with that every time I am down there... and the portion sizes As suggested already you need to start looking to healthy substitutes.

As for taking care of others before yourself... I grew up with the Catholic idea that this meant putting others first... but I now realise that unless you look after yourself first you are no good for anyone else... kinda like on the plane where they advise you about the oxygen masks, and how you should put your own on before assisting a child or elderly person next to you... you're no good to them if you have passed out

Take good care... post often and ask questions!

Cheers
~Frank

[Ronman]

Achilles, welcome to the forum. I love your positive attitude, changing a negative into a positive. Keep up that attitude and I am sure you will do fine.

[bryan42]

WELCOME ACHILLES!!!! That was one of the best introductions I have seen, very informative..glad you are here!!
Bryan

[xMenace]

Welcome to the forum.

I'm so glad you are taking these steps with such a hopeful outlook. You sound like you will do fine.

In my experience by helping others we are actually helping ourselves more. When you explain something to someone, you really think through things logically. Many times I've discovered gaps in my own care by telling someone else how to do something.

Like that song goes: "Love is something when you give it away, you end up having more!" It is so true.

[Achilles]

All I can say is just WOW Thanks for all of the replies and encouragement. People from all over the world too.

I'll definitely go to the bookstore and look for that book on living with diabetes your first year. I've seen it recommended on here several times.

My Dr. office called me today at work and recommended a dietician and diabetes education classes. I so much want to learn as much as I can.

I'm really struggling to figure out what to eat. The 30 g of carbs /day seems like an impossibility at this point. I've been eating about 60 - 70 g / day the past few days. A lot of stir fry vegetables with chicken, light side salad, or fruit.

I found myself pushing my grocery cart this evening at Walmart with my tube of toothpaste and after shave looking at all the labels on the "bachelor - friendly" foods I used to eat. I can't believe how many carbs I have been eating for years.

For lunch today I have a turkey sandwich with provalone cheese on wheat bread, an apple, and a handful of non-salted almonds. Six hours later when I tested my BG, it was 136 mg/dl and I hadn't exercised yet. I was starving though so I had another handful of almonds and a Southbeach diet nutrition bar before the workout. Stir fry again for dinner tonight... I think I'm going to check out the recipe forum for some other ideas

Being from the New Orleans area, Katrina was very stressful. I am very fortunate to have been spared any damage to my residence as I live just west of the city.

I make some of the best jambalaya / gumbo too. I'm afraid to even try the brown rice. It seems to have a lot of carbs too.

Thanks again to all. Ya'll are great.

[jacobsam622]

outside of these virtual walls you may not find much moral support. I hate to say this but a lot of times the people we love are the least accepting of diabetes. I was diagnosed in 2004 while my wife was pregnant with twins. I went to the diabetes class's with my wife and they talked about the whole family having to change the way we ate for it to be effective. Over the past 4 years I let my control slip to the point where i was eating what ever i wanted not taking the meds are going days without them. I did regain control until I accepted the fact that my wife was never going to change the way we eat for my well being. Now she knows that if she fixes spaghetti I will not eat if she doesn't provide a whole grain choice for me. Just remember that while your family will still love you they may not be able to give you the support you need because they just don't understand

There are several diets you can follow south-beach, Atkins, sugar-busters, etc, etc,

None of these diets are totally correct.

When determining carbs subtract the fiber from total carbs. You can also subtract artificial sweeteners.

portion control is a must and do not get seconds


foods you can eat:

Meat, = Beef well trimmed, chicken, fish broiled or baked, eggs

Nuts - most nuts are low in carbs, peanuts, walnuts, almonds, any that have total carbs of less then 10g

spread buy no sugar added jelly or there are several reduced sugar, no sugar added Peanut butter

vegetables = almost anything but corn If you eat corn stick
with the small kernel corn on the cob.

sugar free ice cream, sugar free jello chocolate that has a
cocoa % >= 60%

Breads = whole grain or low carb whole grain.

pasta = whole grain

rice = brown rice

sodas = diet only

alcohol = Low carb beer, brands like Mich ultra, miller-lite, there is at two others. Red wine or wine that is at least 13% alcohol
tequila

avoid high carb food any anything with a lot of refined sugar

Fruit = try different ones to see how they effect your BS

if you have acid reflux avoid eating fruit at meal time.

general rule if its brown then its OK for diabetes

[Achilles]

Thanks for the info Jacobsam.

Well, I "cheated" a little today. Went to Subway for lunch and had a 6 inch BMT on wheat sandwich and a diet coke. Felt pretty good after because I was starving for lunch again. I used to get the 12 inch sub on Italian white bread.

I got home today and tested my BG (couldn't test 2 hours after lunch I was at work) and it was 126 mg/dl. That's the lowest it has been this week. After working out for 4 days straight, I even took a rest last night and only walked for about 15 minutes. I looked online and that Subway 6 inch sandwich has 47 grams of carbs.

It seems like wheat carbs and refined carbs are similar. Why is wheat or brown rice better? Something to do with more gradual conversion to glucose and not so much of a spike?

[slipperyelm]

Hi, Achilles. I live up river from you in Missouri, and I happen to have a touch of Achilles tendonitis , so now you and I are best friends, right?

I just wanted to comment on being hungry. Being hungry can be a symptom of diabetes. I experienced really bad hunger before I was diagnosed and during the period when I was getting blood glucose levels down. Anytime I "slipped" for a period of time and let my BGs go up for weeks, I would experience intense hunger again as I returned to getting them down.

Also, I find that I get hungry when I am eating more carbs than usual. Or sometimes I still get hungry for no **** reason at all. Well, that is an exaggeration, I still think it is somehow related to digesting carbohydrates and all the physiology involved in that.

In fact today, I had seemingly inappropriate hunger twice. Once I had been turning soil in my garden and ran out of steam and felt shaky. MY BG was 74, which is too low for me to sustain heavy work. So I went in and ate a banana and --gosh-- I already forgot what else I ate but it was something carby. (Bananas are carby too, by the way. Sugars are carbohydrates and bananas have a lot of sugar.) I rested and waited for the sugar to hit my system then I went outside to work. Oh, I tested my BG and it was now at 130, so I overshot on bringing up my BG. But there I was working again and I started to feel hungry. Yet I had just eaten! I had to just ignore that hunger. It is just a "bad signal" from being diabetic. ...Later it happened again: BG went a little low; I ate; I went out to work: I felt hungry even with food presently in my stomach.

So anyway, since you mentioned hunger a couple of times, I want to suggest to you that you might need to read those hunger signals with your brain and not just with your appetite. There may be times when you will feel hunger, but you will have to make your self realize that one sandwich was enough, not to eat a second one.

Personally, my weird hunger thing now only kicks in every now and then, but at first, when I was just diagnosed and working so hard to get the BGs down, whoa, I had a lot of hunger to ignore. It always hit me about 20-30 minutes after a meal, at bedtime, and then random other times.

Not everybody goes through that, though. But just wanted to mention it.

[jacobsam622]

Originally Posted by Achilles

Thanks for the info Jacobsam.

Well, I "cheated" a little today. Went to Subway for lunch and had a 6 inch BMT on wheat sandwich and a diet coke. Felt pretty good after because I was starving for lunch again. I used to get the 12 inch sub on Italian white bread.

I got home today and tested my BG (couldn't test 2 hours after lunch I was at work) and it was 126 mg/dl. That's the lowest it has been this week. After working out for 4 days straight, I even took a rest last night and only walked for about 15 minutes. I looked online and that Subway 6 inch sandwich has 47 grams of carbs.

It seems like wheat carbs and refined carbs are similar. Why is wheat or brown rice better? Something to do with more gradual conversion to glucose and not so much of a spike?

First Multi grain is better then wheat regular wheat is refined to much the breads you want to eat will half pieces of grain in the bread. The Reason brown stuff work better is because its not as processed and as result takes longer to digest. They are commonly referred to as complex carbs unfortunately a lot of food is miss branded, That is why testing is so important. I just got a second meter that uses cheap strips that way when I go through the 100 alloted by the insurance I can get more without paying an arm an a leg.

Once the Metformin kicks in your hunger should go away you may still be dumping sugar in your urine.

[Scrabblechick]

Hey Achilles!

Now the 30g of carbs per day is an extreme diet. I've said I admire those who can do it. I can't. I try to aim for 100g or below, give or take a few. That's attainable for me. But you have to do what works best for you. That's where the frequent testing is a benefit. Test 2 hours after eating and if your BG is under 140, you're doing all right. I like my 2 hour mark to be under 120, and I make it about 65 percent of the time.

You're getting on top of this early, which is exactly the right thing to do.