[candy43]

Hello,

I am new to the forum. I was diagnosed with Diabetes Type II several weeks ago and have some questions that I can't seem to get answered
from researching myself and my doctor give me conflicting information. I'd appreciate any help.

A year ago, I had a A1C of 6.2 and was told that I was insulin resistant but did not get a diagnosis of diabetes...The doctor just said, You are insulin resistant, get this book called Sugar busters and that was it. I should have asked more questions now I think about it, but I didn't.

This year was probably the most stressful of my life. I divorced, had to sell my home of 13 years because I was layed off, my father died, I moved into an apt, my daughter had migraine problems, then she got mono....I got pneumonia in one lung, was put on prednisone for four days, clarithromycin, and continued to take a drug called norethindrone which I have been on for going on four months now because of irregular bleeding every two weeks and endometriosis like symptoms. I also have PCOS, Polycystic ovarian syndrome.

When in the hospital for pneumonia, the nurse pricked my finger and I had a blood sugar reading of 312. I told her that I had just eaten 2 jelly donuts a half-hour ago but she said that didn't matter. The ER doctor told me I had diabetes and wrote a RX for metformin on the spot, asking me to follow-up with my primary for a blood glucose test. An A1C, now showed 6.9.

The night before the blood glucose test, I was depressed and ate a whole pound of ground beef. with taco seasoning, and some taco shells. 10 hours of fasting later, my blood glucose reading turned out to be 174 and I was diagnosed. Here are my questions.

Questions:
1. Could eating that much ground beef have caused the high blood glucose reading. Wouldn't someone eating that much protein have unusually high numbers for a fasting blood glucose? I had another fasting blood test 3 days ago after 15 hours fasting and it was 93 but that was after I was taking 500 mg of Metformin a day and exercising for three weeks.

2. Could this diabetes be totally drug-induced and if so, is this diabetes reversable? I've heard diabetes can't be cured. Is that even if its drug and stress induced? The doctor said norethindrone would not have caused it, but in my research on the net, I see that norethindrone does cause high blood sugar in some people. Also, the prednisone, although only four days, I believe could have made matters worse, even though the Dr says that is not long enough to be on it to cause diabetes. Other articles I've read say any amt of time on prednisone will raise your numbers. I've also read that just having the flu is enough to cause people to have high blood sugar, so certainly the stress of pneumonia may have contributed, no?

3. Finally, I have been through so much stressful situations as a single Mom, could that have not contributed and once I am off the norethindrone, and less stressed is is possible to go back to being non-diabetic? Or once you're diabetic, is there nothing you can do to turn back the clock?

4. Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome, norethindrone, pneumonia, prednisone, eating too much protein before a blood glucose test, severe stress.....are these not all things that once they go away, I could return back to a normal blood glucose reading? I've always heard you should have three blood glucose tests to confirm diabetes but I only technically had one while off metformin. I didn't have the test where you drink something after fasting and get tested two hours later either. My blood pressure and cholesterol are normal.

Thanks so much for any insight.

Candy

[fgummett]

Sorry to hear of your troubles and also sorry to tell you that someone without D may spike a higher Blood Sugar after meals but not by as much as we do. Someone without D can pretty much eat as much as they like and their body will still keep the sugar level under control.

[candy43]

hey and thanks so much for replying. That is kinda hard to hear but I'd rather hear the truth. Now, not to be slow but is the fasting blood sugar I had the same thing as taking my blood sugar with a glucometer.

and are you saying that if I had a normal blood sugar, eating that large amt of beef b/f my fasting blood glucose would not have given me a 174? I'm sorry. I'm so confused. Please forgive me.

[candy43]

oops..I didn't mean the devil smilie..I meant the smiley smiley...gosh

[Evermont]

Candy, so sorry to hear about all your troubles - you're dealing with a lot more than anyone should have to.

I'm sure other folks here will try to answer your questions but some of them may not be answerable.

It's easy to understand why a person would not want to have diabetes, so I'm with you on that count.

My advice to you is to commit to a healthy lifestyle. Whether you have diabetes or not, regardless of how it came to be, regardless of how permanent or temporary... there are certain things that you should do now and for the rest of your life. Eat right and exercise. Find ways to eliminate stress and deal with the stresses you can't eliminate. Perhaps you can get enough control to safely eliminate diabetes meds and stay that way for a long time. Questions of whether you have diabetes or not seem very important to you now but in terms of what you should do, and keep doing, those questions and the answers (if you ever get them) make no difference.

[fgummett]

You'll find pretty much everyone here is only to glad to help and by the way Welcome to DF Candy! I'm pretty sure most of us can relate to denial when it comes to our D

It may be possible that medications you have taken or are on could have an effect on your BS but in my understanding someone who does not have D would not have a fasting BS as high as 174 mg/dl

[candy43]

Hey Keith,

Thanks for responding and you're right, doing all those good healthy things will help regardless. I am in denial. And I am still a little depressed but I'm coming out of it. And i see you have made huge progress with your A1C numbers. Kudos to you for doing that with no meds.

[candy43]

Hey Keith,

I replied to your post under Frank's message. Sorry and thanks.

[slipperyelm]

I don't think your diabetes is going to go away. Some drugs can temporarily make blood glucose go up and steroids are among them, but that does not mean that diabetes will be gone once you are off meds that also cause an increase. As for PCOS going away, well I've never heard of it going away. See if you initial A!c was 6.2, you already had elevated blood glucose.

Actually it looks like the metformin is probably helping you tremendously. You are lucky for that.

And no, The ground beef should not be able to make your blood glucose go that high. I would say whether a person is diabetic or not, ground beef should not do that. It was probably the carbohydrates in the taco shells and the sugar in the seasoning. I've noticed a lot of those commercial taco seasonings have sugar, corn starch, wheat starch--all things which contribute to blood glucose. Before you ate that meal, your blood sugar was also probably already high, so that eating taco shells & whatever only added more glucose on top of what was already there.

You might want to read that book and find out about what foods really contribute carbohydrates and therefore glucose. (I have not read the book, but I'm hoping that despite the name "SUGAR Busters," it does not make the assumption that things like white sugar and corn syrup are the real culprits.

Some people report they have more trouble controlling their blood glucose during specific incidents of stress, but it is not as though diabetes will go away when stress is relieved. Actually it is possible that you are one of those for whom stress makes little difference in blood glucose levels. I think it is supposed to be not the hard-life chronic kind of stress that makes BG control harder anyway, but more of the short-lived incidents of stress within a life of normal or high on-going stress. So like, maybe you feel as though you never get a break, your friends have betrayed you, your family has turned their backs on you, you can't afford a car so it takes you two hours to get to work, the school is bugging you to come volunteer on the playground once a month but you cannot leave your job to do that, and.... Well that is chronic stress. The specific stress would be something like--- You were at the boss stop and got robbed by a guy with a knife and you were of course really scared, then when the bus came they would not let you ride because you had no money and the driver rolled his eyes at you when you asked him to call the police because of the robbery. Meanwhile, this will make you late to pick up your child from daycare and you have to pay and extra $10 for every five minutes late. Now that is specific stress. (Sorry, I get carried away with story telling sometimes. )

Anyhow, glad to see the metformin really seems to be helping you. If you feel up to learning more about all this diabetes stuff, welcome to these forums. There is a lot you can learn from people who care and are in the same boat. People with many different kinds of experience, so there is bound to be some help for you here.

[candy43]

Thanks Frank. You are right. Denial is not just a river in Eygpt. I am in huge denial. I don't want this Diabeetus..I want to eat pie and not exercise every day..LOL....I guess I'm being a bit selfish..I have a lot to live for and I have to just accept it but its so hard.

[candy43]

Thanks so much Slippery for responding. Ya'll are great. I just need to admit, I have diabetes and stop looking for ways to prove I don't have it. My dad had it, type 2 late onset. My Mom's whole family practically is on insulin. My uncle died of kidney failure but not before they amputated his foot. Its in the family...I just hate pricking my fingers and I need to stop being such a big baby. Its just I hate the site of blood. That is why I never became a nurse, I love people but I hate the site of blood. Sorry to be so graphic and thanks so much again.

Candy

[moorejames]

I don't want to pile on here, but you were diabetic before you take any of those drugs. They certainly didn't help and might have sped you along on the curve of your disease, but you were well on the way already.

Check out the book "Diabetes, The First Year". I found it very helpful when I was diagnosed. Read the sections on not blaming yourself a couple of times....

[princesslinda]

Hi Candy, welcome to the forums. It is scary to get a diagnosis of diabetes, but you'll find from reading a lot of these posts that many do well with their diabetes management and lead a full and happy life, with just a few lifestyle modifications.

You mention being insulin resistant...may of us are as well. When you are insulin resistant, you are making lots and lots of insulin, but your body is not able to utilize it, so your beta cells just keep over-producing it. Lots of women who have PCOS are started on the metformin, as it does help with insulin resistance, making your body better use the insulin you are making and giving your beta cells a rest from their hard work. I've also read that many who have PCOS do go on to develop T2 diabetes.

Regarding your high readings being caused by eating donuts...or any other food for that matter, if you DO NOT have diabetes, your body would function normally and your blood sugars would go up a little immediately after eating but then come back down to normal quickly. My husband (not a diabetic) and I can go out to eat and he'll have many, many more carbs that I do...and i've tested him 2 hrs afterwards, and his #s are always MUCH lower than mine 2 hrs after the meal. As for the beef...protein is a good choice for diabetics who do not have kidney problems, as it digests more slowly, keeps us feeling full longer and generally doesn't cause a blood sugar spike.

I know prednisone can really cause elevation in blood sugar. I had a co-worker who developed steroid-induced diabetes. She went off the steroids, but still has to take meds for diabetes, as her numbers never went down to normal once the steroids were discontinued.

There's a great book you'll see recommended for newly diagnosed T2s, "The First Year, Type 2 Diabetes," by Gretchen Becker...get it, its a worthwhile read, answers many questions you'll have.

Look around, ask lots of questions, you'll learn a lot here.

[candy43]

Hey, can anyone please tell me how to get rid of the devil sign smiley?...Its not that I'm an angel but you know, don't need any more bad Karma....LOL...Thanks.

[princesslinda]

Candy, you sound a lot like me....I have a strong family history of T2 diabetes...my mom lost her leg from a non-healing sore and died of renal failure...so i've seen about every complication one can have from it. I am also a total wuss when it comes to needles or blood (my own anyway) .

When I was diagnosed, I was sure my life was over. I felt so sorry for myself...and angry for a few days, then I realized that I couldn't change that I had diabetes, but I could take charge and do all I could to make sure my outcome was better than that of my mom and other family members i'd seen.

You should have seen me the first time I had to stick my finger...it was difficult for me...now, 18 months into diagnosis and 4-5 sticks a day...I can tell you its no big deal, you get used to it after the first couple of times. You just have to do it.

I found that regular testing helped me feel more in control. When you test 2 hrs after your first bite of food, you'll learn how different foods affect your blood sugar, and you'll be able to make smarter food choices. I kept a food journal when first diagnosed, where I wrote down every bite I put in my mouth the the corresponding blood sugars. In just a short while, I had a lot of good blood-sugar friendly choices.

You'll be fine.

BTW...your devil signs are gone No more "bad karma>"