New here

paulomi81

I am a mother of a 6 month old. Father diagonised with diabetes at 35, and passed away at 52 through a heart stroke. I have PCOS also and not surprisingly had gestational diabetes during my last trimester. I controlled it through rigorous diet ( and getting addicted to the glucometer) throughout the pregnancy and actually weighed less after delivery than what i started with (Yay!!). My BMI would be around 26 right now. My problem is that post delivery my numbers have dropped but still are in the pre-diabetes range. My fasting ranges from 99-104 and post meal from 110-125. I get an occassional 90 or 160 post meal (after 2 hours). These numbers are after not following any kind of diet and eating pizzas, noodles, rice and sweets in my diet. My doctor had told me to aim for a <95 fasting and <120 post meal post pregnancy also. Now for my questions….
1) How frequently do you think i should test? Should i just not strip test and just do a lab testing every month instead? Right now i just check my fasting numbers and check post meals if i had a meal i am not sure about or a very heavy meal in a restaurant. If i have a regular 1 chapatti meal at home, i dont bother wasting a strip on it as i know i am below 120.
2) Is it given that i will eventually become a diabetic given my family history and PCOS? Am i just working on delaying the inevitable?
3) How do i get out of the self pity of having to deal with this? I am not jealous of anyone's riches, cars, jobs or exotic vacations but i burn and writh inside when i see anyone having a fasting of 75 and post meal of 85! How do i accept it that this is what it is without fighting it or blaming myself or my fate or my luck and what not! How can i without feeling any guilt or shame admit to people (if asked) that i am prone to diabetes and hence have to follow a low carb diet?

I am also on diabetesforum.com (with paulomi as my username) and i have a feeling that a lot of you guys seem to be there. I like the idea of tracking food here.

djshari

Welcome.

1) How often you test is really up to you - doing for your FBS in the morning and 1 hour after your heaviest meal of the day. I would say 1 hour because your numbers are so close to normal and the 2 hour reading is to make sure you are going back down - the 1 hour should show any spike. This will give you an overall idea - and then any other time is extra, for example if you aren't feeling well or just ate a carbier meal.

2) It is probable, which you already know, but I think it is better to delay the inevitable than to give in, with this anyway! Most people with diabetes are only controlling it anyway - trying to keep their #s as close to normal as possible to avoid complications.

3) Time? I know at first I was pretty upset. My dad had it as well but I'm the first of his 5 kids to have to deal with it. I try to think of it in a sciency kind of way - I mean LOTS of people follow special diets, even without medical issues. If anyone asks you could tell them low carb works for you, or you like the atkins diet, or even just say you have a family history of diabetes without divulging anything more personal.

I'm sure everyone else will have suggestions - we all react in different ways so it's finding what works well for you.

hookilau

Just wanted to say welcome :flowerforyou:

I'm pretty new too (dx'd just over 2 months now) and don't have much to add to the above post except that I know what you mean about feeling jealous of other's bg numbers :ohwell: It sounds so bizarre, but there it is :blushing: also jealous of starchy carbs other folks are able to eat with impunity.

I'm still trying to find a predictable pattern so I find myself struggling a bit from time to time. I find I get the best numbers after I do things like shopping (slow browsing and walking around stores) and regular morning and evening dog walks (also slow, 30-60 min). It's tough though because I'm restricting all starchy carbs and only get carbs from things like salads.

I'm aiming for < 140mg/dl 1 hour post meals and< than 120 every other time, this is usually 2 hours post meals but can sometimes be random casual test throughout the day just to see where I am.

I'm eating to my meter and am totally a slave to it, I think that comes with the territory as well as superstitions :laugh: You sound like you've got a good handle on things though

doy. edited for typos

mclgo

Hi, I'm new too. I was diagnosed about 1.5 months ago.

My doctor told me not to test as often as the education materials say, because people "burn out" on testing. I always do a morning fasting BG, then test at different times each day. Usually 2x or 3x per day. I've read other, more experienced people say to use your meter to see what spikes YOUR bg. It's different for everyone. So far I'm seeing really low readings because I've been so good with my nutrition.

I've had life hand me lots of situations that could make life miserable. The one thing I've learned is that attitude is everything - EVERYTHING. You have an absolute choice every second of every day what your attitude will be. You can choose to take on this challenge with a smile and determination, or you can be angry about it. But that anger only hurts you. Take a hard look around - really see what other folks have to deal with. In the grand scheme, this isn't so bad.

Stay strong! Friend me if you like.