Diabetes and Omega 3??
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Vixxie75
Posts: 51 Member
This morning I was looking for a herbal treatment for nerve pain. I've been using Devils Claw to help with my back pain so I can cut my morphine down. I've gone from taking 90-120mg twice a day to 60mg twice a day but ideally I want to get rid of it completely. I found if I dropped below 60 I'd get a horrendous trapped nerve pain across my shoulders and down my arms. So I was looking for something to add to the Devils Claw when I found a piece on Diabetes and Nerve damage.
I know all about neuropathy, but I didn't know the damage can be to all the nerves not just in your hands and feet. The page went on to say that Diabetics should take Omega 3 to stop this happening and without it you could suffer nerve pain etc and gastroparesis. Well guess what I was diagnosed with years ago?? Early stage Gastroparesis plus this nerve pain has started! The Gastro was put down to abdominal surgery and having part of my bowel removed but now I'm not so sure.
So I've now added Omega 3 tablets to my daily dose. Figured it couldn't do me any harm and it might do some good. Another thing this site said was diabetics are more likely to have low B12 levels. I've been on injections for 3 years after a random test showed the lowest B12 levels my doctor had ever seen! (2! Apparently anything below a 50 is bad! Oops!)
I wonder what else diabetes has stuffed up in my body that I've not been told about?!!
I know all about neuropathy, but I didn't know the damage can be to all the nerves not just in your hands and feet. The page went on to say that Diabetics should take Omega 3 to stop this happening and without it you could suffer nerve pain etc and gastroparesis. Well guess what I was diagnosed with years ago?? Early stage Gastroparesis plus this nerve pain has started! The Gastro was put down to abdominal surgery and having part of my bowel removed but now I'm not so sure.
So I've now added Omega 3 tablets to my daily dose. Figured it couldn't do me any harm and it might do some good. Another thing this site said was diabetics are more likely to have low B12 levels. I've been on injections for 3 years after a random test showed the lowest B12 levels my doctor had ever seen! (2! Apparently anything below a 50 is bad! Oops!)
I wonder what else diabetes has stuffed up in my body that I've not been told about?!!
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I do know fully about the B12 thing. I was on Metformin and birth control pills and occasional antacids and my B12 levels plummeted. I now have a tiny point of what seems to be permanent neuropathy in my left thumb joint (upper). If this is what diabetics feel like all over, you all have my permanent sympathy!
Do you know, too, that if you supplement with B12 that you MUST supplement with a B-Complex (preferably the Super Complex classified as B-100 or B-150) vitamin, or the B12 will kill all your other B vitamin levels AND allow you to not absorb B12 properly either? Yeah, I was majorly supplementing B12 for a while before anyone bothered to fill me in on that!!! I was so angry. B8/Inositol is another great supplement that helps balance insulin/blood sugar levels, as well as treat PCOS/hormone imbalances, AND at higher therapeutic levels, can actually help prevent any mental diseases and such, too. Our bodies make B8, but most of us with any metabolic issues simply don't make enough of it.
I did buy a blood sugar control wellness formula of supplement, but since I am insulin resistant and my blood sugar was not an issue, AND I combined it with an already low carb diet, it started hitting me with low blood sugar moments and so I stopped taking it. I don't think I can send it overseas, but if anyone else wants it, I think I took less than 6 pills out of it, and I'm just going to have to toss it if no one wants it.. It has a BUNCH of supplements in it together that bring BG down, like Ceylon cinnamon, alpha lipogic (or whatever) acid, and stuff like that.
I had not heard about the Omega 3 thing, but I'd been considering adding it back in.
One other thing I've heard a lot about is getting naturally fermented foods back in our diets. You may have seen some posts of me talking about Kombucha (a naturally fermented tea), but you can do real sauerkraut, natural pickles or other veggies, kefir, and all manner of stuff. I have a lot pinned on my Pinterest page if you want to look.
https://www.pinterest.com/knit_or_miss/
https://www.pinterest.com/knit_or_miss/natural-probiotic-adventures/
I have other pages with my low carb meals, too... Feel free to poke around.
I have a good friend who I don't think is in this group, @Dragonwolf who has lots of info on low sugar stuff, diabetes, low carb diets, supplements to help, and all kinds of stuff, if you wanna bounce her a message and tell her I recommended you...
I've rambled so much I lost my train of thought, but there you go!0 -
Nope, I've not been told that about B12! They just inject me every 3 months. I'll get some when I'm shopping on Monday.
I've got PCOS too. Great for weight too isn't it?! It doesn't help I've passed it on to my daughter. Her's doesn't seem as bad as mine but I was fine until I was 18, her's started at 13 so I think hers is more gradual.
Not heard of the fermenting things but I am trying to go more natural. I feel that we've all become too dependent on process foods and medications. So anything that returns to the old ways is good in my books. I'll have a look.
I'll have a look for your friend. I was looking for something I could cook and have as a treat. I'm allergic to Aspartame so I was after something using Honey or another 'fake' sugar. I found a few online but the reviews weren't great!! lol!
Thanks again xx
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Re: PCOS: this is the most awesome group I've found for PCOS. http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/3070-p-c-o-sis
Might get some ideas for your daughter, too. Speaking of which, did you know that undiagnosed insulin resistance often is what causes PCOS, not the other way around? And if left further untreated, it can trigger diabetes and other auto-immune diseases? If you have not already done so, I would strongly suggest getting your daughter's fasting insulin levels checked (fasting insulin is NOT the same level of test as glucose. For diabetics, the two are related, but a person can also be like me, without out of control insulin and normal blood sugar...) as soon as possible, because you may be able to prevent her going down this same road.
Sweet Leaf stevia is the only one I have found that doesn't have fillers and doesn't trigger my insulin response. So other thank rare jello stuff, it is the only one I have. It comes in powder or liquid. Also, it comes in flavored liquid so like coffee, chocolate, vanilla, strawberry, or whatever. All no glycemic impact, all organic, and as far as I know, no dyes and such.
As for the jello, you can use unflavored gelatin (Knox is one brand) and any "extract" that doesn't include sugars/carbs. I recently discovered a grocer that focuses on organic and health foods, and they had so many extracts, it made my head spin. You can also get them online (amazon and such). Just look for ones that show the ingredients or nutrition data.
OMG, I am so in love with Kombucha. I don't have a gallbladder anymore, so I had all kind of bathroom issues. I've been drinking this close to three weeks now, I think, and it took a while to get used to the taste, but I love it! You can make your own pickles or any veggie. You can make sauerkraut, or kimchi, without vinegar. One of the first things they tell you with PCOS is to get more naturally fermented products in your diet. I could bombard you with emails, but that would just be too much!
I agree with getting back to methods that focus on whole foods and in the home being best!!!
Dragonwolf and Alliwan both suffer from PCOS, too...0 -
Erm, you're going to think I'm making this up but I don't have a gallbladder either! Had pancreatitis when Teri was 6 months old due to undiagnosed gallstones. I had been telling the doctor for 3 years something was wrong, but I was fobbed off. By the time they operated it was so bad, I had to have muscle under my arm and side removed. The stones were like sand and had clogged up everything. I'm going to have to look up the Kombucha stuff. I'm desperate, I'll try anything!!!!
Teri had a fasting test 2 years ago and it came back ok. They were testing for a load of stuff because she was having problems (now know it was Fibromyalgia) and I had loads of things I could have passed on to her.
I do wonder if I've been insulin resistant since I was a teenager, but they never tested for it. I've got so many problems that keep pointing back to it. Mind you even now I'm not getting very far! That's why I'm going herbal! Fixing myself!0 -
I picked up some Stevia this morning. Going to try cooking with it later.0
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Ok looking into Kombucha stuff. Do you have a heat tray? Cheapest set I've found with a tray is £40. I'll have to wait a few weeks until I can afford it but I'm definitely going to give it a try!0
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Me again! Just before I take Molly out for a walk! I've found a cordial so I've ordered that. Will get the kit when I've got the money next month!0
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Around here, most folks use the kombucha stuff on the counter. Room temp is generally sufficient to brew according to all I've read. That was my plan, to stick it in a closet (where my washer and dryer are that the washer is broken), and wrap it in a blanket if I need to, but I don't think I would need a heating tray. I will find out..
I apparently was passing gallstones while pregnant and everyone kept telling me it was heartburn. I went from eating an all fast food diet to not being able to tolerate fat or meat for much of my pregnancy = lots of stones. When my daughter was 6 weeks old, they finally figured out what was wrong (I was missing at least one of the major symptoms), and I had emergency surgery when she was 7 weeks old.
Yeah, looking back, I had all the typical symptoms of IR back to like 8-10 years old...
On stevia, watch the levels, because too much will taste metallic or like chemicals. Use less than you think...0 -
When I was pregnant with Teri I was taken into hospital with severe chest pains. I had a little oik of a house doctor who looked all of 12 and he told me to stop making a fuss it was just heartburn. I now know it was a stone moving and getting stuck! By the time I found out it was too late and I was being rushed into intensive care. Apparently if I'd waited another 12 hours the infection could have been too much for be to survive. I saw 3 doctors in the days before that and they all told me I had a chest infection. You don't throw up with a chest infection!
Oh well it's sorted now!!
One thing I am bothered about with the Stevia is it's like powder. Will it still act the same in my baking?0 -
It depends on what you're baking. Most old recipes use the sugar for texture. Some need to be tweaked changing things up. But recipes that are written for low carb should be okay...0
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Ok great, thanks x0
