[rlrl]

Hi, I'm rlrl and I'm glad i have found this forum and board.

I've always leaned toward being somewhat overweight and i have been basically hypertensive since 1980 when i was 18. Always hungry, irritable, then feeling weak and tired and needing to eat. Curiously I never developed a bad habit with sweets, machine foods or dessert foods but I ended up with a dx. of type 2 diabetes mellitus unspecified last year anyway at 45. some evidence shows it's more of a glucose intolerance/insulin resistance/even a pre-diabetic issue(the glucose tolerance test actually came out to be non-diabetic) but for all practical purposes i basically am a type 2. my fasting glucoses have ranged from 90 to 115.

in early 2007 i visited a doctor who combines traditional with wholistic approaches. his blood test showed an a1c of 7.1 (which means my average glucose from 11/06-2/07 was 153) and i was noted to have an elevated random insulin level of 28.? i have been taking 500 mg of metformin(glucophage) per day (1/2 tab in AM and PM)

at that time my bp was 170/102 so i was put on bp medications, several of which stopped working (vasotec and cozaar) until i was put on valsartan (diovan) 160 mg BID which has worked well

the high bp and glucose history initially caused mild proteinuria in the kidneys but the bp medications and glucophage have downgraded the dx to only microalbumineria so this has improved

currently my a1c has dropped to 5.6(3 months glucose average is 107) and i had elevated liver alt enzymes which dropped from 84 to 42 so that has improved as well

I have eliminated fatty cheeses from my diet since the fall of 2007 and have lost some weight (237 to 218) and I am 5'6 1/2 (lost height from 5'8" 1/2) and I have just started an exercise program since 4/26 in which i am biking 20-25 miles per week. this is fantastic for me because i have never persisted with a program that i actually enjoy and am enthused about

the problem is i am frightened by my new diagnosis. I get these bizarre clusters of symptoms(they all occur at once) and i am not sure if they are caused by diabetes or food allergies and intolerances(I hope it's the latter). although these have improved and lessened as well, these symptoms have been with me since 2004 and include the following:

ibs/constipation
sinus/migraine like headache
mild nausea
irritability/irritated by noise especially
urinary urgency(with not much to do) and irritation
stinging sensation in varicose veins and testicular area(I was hospitalized in 2005 for infected varicose veins and had testicular pains for months after that just after these symptoms began)
joint aches
sluggish and tired

i'm told these may be caused by wheat gluten allergies and not by diabetes


i had my eyes checked and they're perfect, no problems
i had my foot nerves checked and they're perfect no problems
i had a stress test and an echo and there's no heart damage

any comments are welcome and i'm happy to meet you all

rl

[adiantum]

g'day rlrl,welcome to Df
You have a great attitude in gaining control . Your weight loss & exercise are a credit to you.
allergies / diabetes ... I dont know, but diet, exercise & regular blood glucose testing can only be positive.
Keep posting & reading these threads & you will gain support

[slipperyelm]

Hi. Welcome.

You are frightened by your new diagnosis. Do you mean the diagnosis of type 2 diabetes last year? Is the diagnosis the motivation behind the health improvements you've made?

That loss of 2 inches in height seems odd at age 46. Do you know why that has happened? Is it from spinal compression? Have you had an injury which has caused loss of inter-vertebral tissues? Do you have osteoporosis?

I don't know what to say about that list of symptoms near the bottom of your post. Have you talked them over with your doctor? Has s/he thought it worthwhile to do any screenings or treatments due to any of those symptoms?

Why not try a gluten elimination diet if that seems a good idea? I don't think it could hurt a thing.

Do you check you BP and BG at home? If so, do occasional poor numbers coincide with incidents of feeling bad?