pre diabetic.......devistated.

amysgottadothisthang

Hi guys!

Some of you know me....some of you don't. I will make this (semi) short and sweet.

I was diagnosed with pre diabetes in Sept 2013 and knew I had to get my weight under control. I started Myfitness pal and found a wonderful trainer. I have lost 36 lbs so far.

I have not had anymore blood work to check my blood sugar level since then. Three weeks ago I had a tumor removed from my foot which thankfully was benign. (Praise the lord) Unfortunately, I am not healing well. I saw my surgeon yesterday because my incision has broke open and looks hideous. He said "You are diabetic." I said "No. I was pre diabetic in Sept 2013 and I have since started a new healthy life style that includes healthy eating and exercise." He said " I only see this kind of poor healing in diabetics."

I now have to use $260 ointment that is made for diabetics to promote wound healing and have to have my hemoglobin A1c checked. I feel like my whole world has been turned upside down. I made another appointment with the dietician but it isn't for 2 more weeks.

This isn't a pity party.....I know I did this to myself and I take full responsibility.

My question is......would anyone that is familiar with diabetes mind looking at my food diary and tell me what I am doing wrong? Please tell me what foods I should avoid or eat more of. I want to be proactive and get this under control...ASAP! Amy useful websites or book recommendations would be awesome.

Thank you so much,

Thank you so much for your time.

rbiss

Honestly, the best thing you can do is drop the most weight as fast as possible. It is reversible, but it's not a disease that will go away with poor eating. I read the book Eat to Live and it was very helpful. It seems extreme, but in the beginning, I think that is needed to drop the weight and truly understand. Speak with a good nutritionist, someone who believes the disease is reversible, and have them make a diet plan for you. You need to both manage the disease and drop the weight.

amysgottadothisthang

oh, and to make matters worse... I was on bedrest for 2 weeks and my Dr will not allow me to go back to training. I am doing upper body exercises with weights but what I desperately need is cardio!!! Any ideas on cardio that don't involve flexing of the foot/toes?

amysgottadothisthang

Thank you rbiss......I am going to amazon online right now!

rbiss

I would listen to your doctor about the bedrest. Just really watch what your eating and let your foot heal then get back at it. It will be over soon enough.

Don't worry, it will be hard, but it's not impossible.

waxwingdesign

Hi Amy, I looked at your food diary and I can tell you straight away that the Special K breakfast cereal won't work for you. Pretzels, pizza, even with a thin crust, won't work. You may have to cut all refined carbs and even fruit sugars to get your blood sugar stable. Try switching to steel cut oats with some blueberries for breakfast. (It takes a while to cook in the morning, but if you use a rice cooker, its perfect. Put in one cup of oats to two cups of water, a little salt. Turn on the cooker, and instead of putting a lid on it, put a wooden spoon over the top, it will keep it from boiling over. I do that then go do my morning routine, 35 minutes later, breakfast!)
Don't eat any refined carbs like pretzels, pasta, sandwich rolls, cereals that aren't actual WHOLE grain. This will definitely help. DO NOT drink fruit juices or eat fruit right now except maybe some berries. Drink water, eat veggies and protein. This should really help. Best of luck to you!

eslcity

I was told I was pre diabetic also... which caused me to consider a lifestyle change... but with that change I continue to test my blood glucose level.. at first daily.. now bi-weekly. Get the tester... talk to your doctor... I don't know if it is reversible or not...

But I will always keep my eye on it for now on...

Jewlz280

My Dad is a diabetic and when they wanted him to drop weight, they put him on a low carb diet. When I was originally diagnosed with PCOS, my doc did the same because I had insulin resistance. I normally would say eat in moderation, exercise, and stick to your cals but in this case, your best option just might be to lower your carbs. You don't have to do a true low carb diet, but just get them lower. But the best advice I can give is to find a Dietician/Nutritionist who deals specifically with Diabetes. You can ask your doc or the local hospital for information. Good look and I hope you figure this out.

SergeantNarwhal

Well yay for you for taking initiative. That's really incredible. I'm excited for your journey!

Eat to Live is REALLY great. Take it with a grain of salt because the author is kind of intense, but a lot of great information.

I noticed in your diary - first off, great job logging - that there are a lot of days that are over in sugar and/or carbs. Don't forget that carbs are often turned straight into sugar (glucose) in your body. So you might consider cutting back on carbs a little bit as well ad adding more complex, whole grain carbs to your diet. And of course, scaling back your sugar intake, that's a given.

I'm eliminating sugar from my diet completely for 21 days so if you want to friend me for support feel free.

Mad props to you girlie.

123_lac

How often are you checking your blood glucose? I suggest eating to your meter, which means you need to test frequently to find out how specific foods are affecting your blood glucose. Test at 1 and 2 hour postprandial. If your blood glucose doesn't go over 140 then that meal should be fine. If it does, you might want to avoid that food or lower your carb intake. Also, there are oral meds you could talk to your doctor about.

SapiensPisces

There are some good resources available online for managing diabetes.

Most of the eating part is keeping your blood sugar relatively stable throughout the day, so eating small meals frequently versus 2-3 large meals.

Call your doctor again and ask if you can get some literature from him/her about this.

ETA: I was diagnosed prediabetic last year and my dietitian told me to simply just try to manage my intake so that I'm eating frequently and not exceeding my calorie budget for the day. Weight loss is the best thing you can do to reduce your long term risk, but don't do anything drastic on this front until you have your appointment. Best of luck.

sue_stef

I am diabetic
I was diagnosed in December and changed everything from how I eat to how I move to how I think
it is not just about cutting sugar but cutting salt and carbs as well

it CAN be reversible for some with weight loss
but mostly what that means is it is diet controlled
rather than controlled via medication

I have several recipes I can share with you
I eat as low sugar as possible this includes fruits etc
I also cut the salt to 1500mg or lower
(sometimes I go over)
and carbs got cut way back

I also move a lot drink a lot of tea and water

by doing this I got my blood sugars under control and my blood pressure down

I got back in may for another A1c
even if the numbers are "normal" I will still consider myself a diabetic
I will not say "I'm cured"
I will say
I have it under control

friend me if you like we can talk more

(((HUGS)))
cause you need them

Edmond_Dantes

It sounds like metabolic syndrome (syndrome X) is rearing it's head.
Other posters are correct: cut out many of the carbs- no special K for breakfast, no yoghurt (sugar)covered pretzels, no clementines, no potatoes, no fruit juice (one of the worst offenders). Eat more protein and vegetables (non starchy).

Weight loss will help considerably.

Good luck!

Also, be careful of where you get your advice. A DM support group, especially with physician input may be better than MFP

amysgottadothisthang

Thank you so much for all of the advise! The book is already ordered!

So, I am going to decrease my carbs.....and decrease my fruit intake. I know that fruit sugar is different from candy bar sugar so I thought that it was ok....WRONG!

I really just want to educate myself and get on the right path ...ASAP.

Again, I really appreciate all the wonderful input!

asciident

Well you need to get your blood work done first and foremost.

I'm not an expert but there are a lot of type 2 diabetics in my family. They've mostly been told to stick to low(er) carb diets; my husband has been asked to stick to a max 30g carb per meal, half that for snacks. They've also been told to combine carbs with protein in a meal to smooth out glucose spikes.

One major thing I noticed about your food diary is that you don't seem to weigh your food. Weigh solids, measure liquids.

MuseofSong

I know I did this to myself and I take full responsibility.

I haven't snooped your diary and I'll tell you why in a minute, but first and foremost, get this freaking idea OUT of your head! You did not make yourself diabetic!

It can be sourced from an endocrine disorder, hormone imbalance, or an autoimmune disease. Your body isn't working correctly. Your body doesn't process glucose correctly.

It's not because you're fat. It's not because you ate sugar. It's because your body has a problem doing what it's supposed to do. Somewhere in your genetics, you are predisposed to this, and for whatever reason, the disease manifested.

Okay, so what can you do to get a handle on this. First of all, don't wait to go to the doctor for an A1C every few months or whatever. You need to test your blood sugar every day. Most insurance will cover testing supplies and you'll only have a small co-pay (if any).

At first, you may need to cut carbs to lower your fasting blood sugar on average below 120. Once you get it below 120, try to keep it between 80-120. See your doctor and talk about the blood sugar goals that are right for you.

Again, you didn't do anything wrong. You did things right.

You should have been put on metforim to help your body deal with this disease when you were told you were pre-diabetic. Your doctors dropped the ball if you were told, 'Hey! You're pre-diabetic, good luck with that!' *close door*

You weren't educated. You weren't medicated. You did what you could, but you were running in the dark with your eyes closed. It's great to exercise and lose weight. Fantastic actually, but if you're not checking your blood sugar and getting medical support, it could be one step forward, two steps back everyday, as you tried your best to delay a disease that doesn't want to be delayed in its onset.

I'm sorry this happened to you. You must be having blood sugar spikes routinely over 150 to have wound healing delays. That's not good, Amy. You need to get your sugars down. Every spike over 150 delays your immune system for 4 hours because it shocks it. So if you eat every 4 hours, and your blood sugar spikes over 150 each time you eat, all day long your immune system is on hold. And any blood sugar reading over 126 affects your nerves, kidneys, and eyes. I am not saying this to scare you about diabetes. You are not going to die tomorrow. You can't expect to have blood sugar control in a few days or weeks. It will probably take 6 months of treatment to get 'normalized'. So be patient with yourself.

Metforim, diet, and exercise - triple threat for blood sugar/insulin resistance disorders!

You CAN go into remission with this disease. You CAN keep it at bay. You just need the right tools and the right frame of mind. You CAN do this, and it's NOT your fault you got sick.

takeadeepbreath

Foot wounds in diabetics are a pain in the butt to heal. Don't walk on that foot and keep pressure off of it at all times. Consider seeing a wound care clinician (usually a nurse) for more specialized advice on your wound care if you can. I think in the US (is that where you're from?) they're called wound/ostomy/continence nurses. Surgeons are great and all but WCCs literally work on wounds for a living.

Make sure you're getting lots of protein - I've seen chronic wounds that have been not healing for years suddenly turn around and close up within a few weeks when the person started eating enough protein.

Keep your blood glucose under control. Are you monitoring it every day, at least twice a day (if not more often)? Having lots of sugar floating around in your blood is literally directly damaging to your tissues and could be the main thing preventing your wound from healing.

ChristineinMA

My daughter was diagnosed with Type 1 in Nov 2011. I was in shock for a good while, but I started to read anything I could get my hands on in order to help my daughter.

I think one of my favorites is DiabeticLivingOnline.com - it is the companion website to the BH&G magazine that is available at a lot of supermarket checkouts :-) The website is available 24/7 which helped me when I couldn't sleep at night for panicking about how we were supposed to live with this very major upheaval.

It was a major upheaval - at first - because you question everything you are doing and (at least I did, as a parent) blame yourself that you could have done things better. You don't know what to eat, or how to avoid a low blood glucose, what should you have with you when you go out, etc, etc. You won't be alone in this, because you will have a team - your endocrinologist, your diabetes nurse or certified diabetes educator, a nutritionist, therapist, your online chat rooms, dLlife pen pals, etc. etc.

Here is a link to the Newly Diagnosed section of DLO http://www.diabeticlivingonline.com/newly-diagnosed

Edmond_Dantes

Your diet looks pretty good overall. I saw veggies in there almost every day. Fruit, too. I would be cautious about 2 things i saw: salad dressings and meat. Google "scholarly articles intramyocellular lipid diabetes". Your diet is lower fat than most, but it could stand to be lower. People have reversed their diabetes by eating about 10% of their calories from fat.

You might also consider swapping out your morning cereal for something else, like fruit. I have read several studies where fluid milk was linked to diabetes.

This is not very good advice.

MuseofSong

Post-Snoop, which I avoided doing till later so I wouldn't want to pick at your diet before I explained myself - for the month of April, except for Pizza Night, I wasn't seeing major carb loads. I assume that snacks were throughout the day, not all at once, so I wouldn't count them as a carb load. I did see a good balance of carbs and protein for many of your meals, too.

As I've read and was taught by Kaiser Permanente dietitians and their books, to help with insulin resistance, pre-diabetes, or diabetes, you want to keep your meals at 45 carbs or fewer and snacks at 30 carbs or fewer as you get your numbers under control. Keep in mind, that's the goal range that I've been taught is decent WHEN you're taking meds like metforim and you are not insulin dependent.

If you are not taking any medication to help you control your blood sugar, you might want to have a more carefully balanced diet. The PROtein crowd may say to cut that even more, and anti-carb people might tout the 50/day, but if you replace too many carbs with eggs, meats, and cheese you'll most likely run into higher LDL cholesterol and really high sodium days.

I would recommend high fiber carbs when you choose carbs. Every time you have 5 grams of fiber you can subtract that from the total carbs for a net carb ratio. Balance your carbs with fats (like nuts or avocado yumz!) and protein and you won't spike from a rush of easily digested carbs. That's the main thing avoid--big blood sugar spikes.

Get enough sleep. Drink plenty of water. Try not to stress too much (stress raises your blood sugar) or if avoiding stress is impossible, find ways to relax when you notice you're stressed. Exercise can also temporarily raise your blood sugar, so don't freak out if you test after a workout and it's high.

Don't try to crash diet, give up everything you love, or eat things that are gross to you. Just make different choices. You can still eat foods you love. You just have to balance the carb choices with fiber, protein, and fats.

I hope you feel better soon and heal well.

And others have mentioned, you need to be working with your diabetes team for your new health goals and blood sugar control.

Also, if you are feeling very upset or depressed, you should seek counseling. Diabetics are more likely to suffer from bouts of depression, sometimes from self-blame and shame, the anger and helplessness of diagnosis, and sometimes just because unbalanced blood sugar makes you feel up and down all the time. High blood sugar can feel exhausting.

This runs in my family with Type I and Type II diabetes. I'm insulin resistant from PCOS and monitor my blood sugar. My A1C is 5.6 so I can go from 'hooray! I'm okay!' to 'oh noes!' if I don't watch it.

dcandreani

I was diagnosed pre diabetic as well 3 months ago. Since then I have cut my carbs down to about 100g a day and increased my exercise to 1-2 hours, 6 times a week. My a1c has dropped back into normal range according to my latest blood work. Weight loss will make a huge difference, trust me. As will greatly reducing your carbs. I basically cut out pasta, I only eat pizza occasionally and all other bread is whole wheat. Instead of things like special K and pretzels for snacks, try nut/cranberry mixes or an apple with powdered peanut butter.