New to the Group

PinkSurvivorJen

Hello everyone! My name is Jennifer....42 years old, originally from St. Louis, Missouri now living in Batesville, Mississippi. A little over a week ago I was diagnosed with diabetes. I am still trying to adjust to my new lifestyle as a diabetic. I found this group in hopes of meeting others who know what I am going through who I could possibly learn and get advice from.

I am overweight and have been struggling for years to shed these pounds. I lost 21 pounds but ended up putting some of it back on. I still have about 100 more to lose. As awful as it is, I guess being diagnosed with diabetes will be the motivation I need to lose the weight. I have been trying to change my eating habits...watching my carbs, steering away from sweets, drinking more water. Having a hard time trying to get my blood sugar down. When I went to the doctor last week my sugar was 197, but I had purchased a blood sugar machine a few days prior and it had been running in the 200's. It has not been averaging about 130's to 180's. Occasionally it has been lower than that. I know I need to start exercising more. I need to get myself motivated. I know if I beat cancer, I can get over this hurdle as well.

Yadagoy

Welcome. I, too, am looking to MFP to get motivated and make the necessary changes.

I can't believe that was diagnosed about 10 years ago already. I've been on Metformin and managing through diet and exercise. During the last year, though, I've been very careless. I hadn't been testing my BG, and I've eating a lot of things that I should not. The support I get at home and at work are close to nothing.

My aunt had heart surgery this summer and has been in the hospital on and off since then with complications. I discovered that she also has diabetes, and seeing what she's going through is scary. Also recently, I overheard someone at work talking about a friend who is Type 2, non-insulin dependent, who all of a sudden had her BG go up to the 600's then went into a diabetic coma. That also scares the crap out of me.

So I'm trying to get back on track. l've been checking my BG, and even when I eat well enough - what I would consider a balanced meal - my BG is running high. It's high so frequently that I'm afraid that my doctor is going to add medication or insulin. We'll see.

For now, I'm testing often, trying to see the effect of what I'm eating. This morning, I woke up with a high reading, 141, and I thought I'd wait for it to come down before eating. When I checked again, it was 157, and I was very hungry, meaning that the glucose (energy for the cells) was in my system, but it wasn't getting absorbed by the cells. The more starved your cells become, the more glucose is released into the bloodstream (the higher your reading). This disease is very confusing, there's no black and white, no easy fix. We must eat, but what that food does to us is always a gamble. And we don't always look sick, so people assume that everything is fine. So we need all the help we can get.

Feel free to add me, if you want.

Good luck!

PinkSurvivorJen

I have always known that I needed to lose weight because I knew my risks of getting diabetes were high. My mother has it, father did before he died, both grandmothers, a few aunts and uncles. I would do well for awhile and then something would happen in my life that would cause me to stress eat the biggest of which were losing my father, being diagnosed with cancer (which I beat!!!), and losing my husband. I am now a single mom trying to raise two teenage kids with the help of my mom. Between trying to make ends meet and the stress from my job, I put on more weight than I care to admit. I did really well getting about 20 lbs but I started slacking off and put some back on. I have gotten that back off but have a long ways to go. This diabetes diagnosis is going to help me get back on track. I am doing my best to change the way I am thinking about food. Last night I saw what just a little bit of sugar can do. I was actually getting normal readings yesterday. I had ordered some candy from a fundraiser back before I was diagnosed. I decided to just have one piece of each kind (2 pieces of candy). After checking my sugar about 2 hours later, it was jacked up. I exercised afterwards and got it down somewhat. I know this is not going to be easy. It will be a learning process, but I know I can do it.

Good Luck to you as well!

PinkSurvivorJen

By the way, how do you add someone as a friend on here? I am new to the message boards and to adding people other than those who I am already Facebook friends with.

MurpleCat

Hi there & welcome! As you probably have noticed, its pretty quiet here, but I think there are more people lurking than we realize.

Congrats on beating cancer! You already know you are strong and resilient -- draw on that knowledge when facing this next challenge.

You can do this!

MurpleCat

For some context: I'm T1, diagnosed about 18 months ago.

Initially had been diagnosed at T2, based on age & weight (at my highest I weighed 351#, currently 210#) put on Metformin & told to change my eating. It didn't help because, unbeknownst to me, my pancreas function was declining. A DKA sent me to the ICU, where they gave me insulin and said, "You are responding like a T1, not T2. Get that checked." Sure enough, T1.

Started with insulin pen, then insulin pump. Now I've got the latest & greatest, approved by FDA about a year ago, "artificial pancreas". Huge improvement in peace of mind and quality of life. Though diabetes still takes up a lot of my time and energy, its manageable. Its like having the shittiest hobby, ever.

FWIW, I lost ~100# on WW, prior to diabetes; lost 40# in just a few months because of the DKA. I definitely do not recommend that as a weight loss strategy!

marcelo225

Hello, I am 54 y.o. male T1 since being diagnosed in my mid 20's. It has been a pain in the butt dealing with diabetes and everything else we all must deal with. For the past 5+ years I have been on what I call "Diabetic Burn-out". Tired of testing- poking- injecting...yada yada so I haven't been on track. I recently got some lab work done and my kidney function is starting to be effected...scary. I stepped on the scale at my doctor's and the thing started to smoke...jk. I am at 233lbs and I am all of 5'8" making my BMI 35.4 - I almost dropped my donut when I found out my BMI - Just kidding on the donut but not the BMI. I have started to exercise again and my goal is to lose weight and keep all of my organs. I am a true foodie, avid traveler and commercial photographer. My ear is hear to bend for anyone who needs it and I am hoping to find the same.
As I tell my daughter everyday before I drop her off at school "Do your best and don't stress".
My best to all of you and hoping to make some new friends.
Marcelo

Yadagoy

I had started here last fall, but slacked off over the holidays. My next doctor's appointment is in a month, but I don't think that I've made any progress since my last. I'm aiming to get back on track.