Type II Diabetics - Let's Support Each Other

Soozcat

Lexie: please, please don't blame yourself. We do understand that just being diagnosed with Type 2 and coming to grips with that knowledge is difficult enough.

You should know that the more research done about Type 2 diabetes, the more it appears that weight gain is not the cause of diabetes, but one of its symptoms. Diabetes has a lot more to do with simple genetics than with anything else. There are people who gain loads of weight and who never develop Type 2, as well as a percentage of thin and apparently healthy people who develop the disease.

The good news is that your A1C isn't super high, which means you have a very good chance of bringing your blood glucose down to non-diabetic levels with diet changes, a little exercise and possibly some medication. "Non-diabetic levels" in this case means keeping your blood sugar under 140 mg/dl at all times. You should see if there's an endocrinologist in your area; IMO endocrinologists really keep up to date on the latest diabetic research and they should provide better support and medical advice than a general practitioner would.

I'm not going to lie to you: keeping your blood glucose levels in a healthy range means you will have to change some things about the way you eat. It doesn't mean you'll have to swear off everything you love forever, but it does mean you'll need to be much more conscious of how many grams of carbohydrate you eat. I've started to think of carbs in my food like measured doses of radiation: a small amount won't hurt me, but the more I have in a short period of time, the more damage it's likely to do. You probably can't eat an entire ice cream sundae without affecting your blood sugar levels -- does that really come as a surprise? -- but you can enjoy small portions of high-carb foods without wreaking havoc on your health. There are also a number of ways to modify your favorite foods so they're lower in carbohydrates and thus better for your blood chemistry.

You can do this. Until there's a cure, you can take care of yourself and do what you can to ensure that your life is long, healthy and full of awesome experiences.

amyllu

OOH Lexie, Do know how you feel, beleive me I was soo stunned when I was told and I refused to accept it for quite sometime and I worried about understanding all this stuff about carbs and Bg etc.
Now, 2years down the line I wonder why I got so uptight about it all.
First thing to do is calm down and then spend just a little time each day if poss getting to grips with another aspect of Db.

Wishing you all the very best..

p.s. I also found it helpful to sign in to a Diabetic forum. Lots on line.

betterlife2011

Lexie Hey I know exactly how u feel about everything I have been dianosed for goin on two years now but i know nothin about how to control diabetes or what all the "carbs" thing is because there are lots of "carbs" out there good ones and bad ones.. See my situation was that i was with the wrong docter for those two years and i just got the courage up to change docters and i found a great one and in two weeks i go see a dietian specialist on diabetes. YEah im so happy..LOL!!!!!!!!!!! but in the mean time this forum is GREAT the people on here know what u r goin though and are willin to help u just have to be willin to listen. Dont worry u can eat at taco bell just in moderation. MY biggest thing is i love mashed potatoes well any potatos really cheezy fried scalop u name it i love it and that has been one of my challanges is triing to cut back on that.. If u have any questions ask if i cant help u someone on here will thats where im learnin what i know now plus try some websites i like bloodsuger101.com and people have mentioned a couple others like diabetes.com/blood sugar control-materes/aic html i havent tried them ones yet but i will see what works for u. This is what my old docter said keep ur sugars between 80-100 and only eat 90 carbs and 1200 calories and gave me metforim thats it and walked out U have to look around sorry to say i have learned this U are the ONLY one that can help urself push that clinic its their job to help u Feel free to friend request me if u want and we can go though this journey together. I also will have my diary opened so as i get things under control u can look and see and lot of others on here have theirs open but all diabetics are different differnt carbs do different things to people. Take care and Good Luck Keep on them docters.You Can Do This!!!!!!!! Its NOT a death sentence its just a life change

jrbanta

Betterlife2011-I love any kind of potato too and it is a big weakness. It's hard to eat just one serving of mashed potatoes for me. I don't deprive myself of them but just try to stick to 1/2 - 1 cup only. Not always easy...:ohwell:

yamdad

even with taking 2 pills a day of glucovance 500mg, walking 4 miles a day, and eating healthy for since january i still cant keep my sugars under 150 and if i have any kind of fruit i jump to 250.. its frustrating but i am hoping to shed the weight and rid myself of this. any ideas on any fruits i can add to my diet that dont contain tons of sugar?

jrbanta

Blackberries, raspberries, blue berries, and strawberries are lowest I think.

betterlife2011

Tonight for dinner we had left overs which was grilled ck breast on pit and homemade cheezy potatoes my favorite which i am so proud of myself i put a half cup on my plate i only took two bites and gave it to my fiancee plus i tried doin situps tonight it was so funny i actually go my fiancee jr to do them with me we did a set of five but itll get better and im learnin how to get movein after havin leg problems for two years and bein on wrong meds for it the docters gave me cymbalta which made me go into a deep depression that the therapist thoght i was bi polar but now that i have been off it for two weeks im great back to my old self wantin to move around and go places not just to dream world lol i even laid out today and thats big for me havent done that in over two years well sorry i had to brag a little my life is actually turnin around and now i believe that im worth the change Good night everyone cya tomorrow.

Ping_A1C2U

even with taking 2 pills a day of glucovance 500mg, walking 4 miles a day, and eating healthy for since january i still cant keep my sugars under 150 and if i have any kind of fruit i jump to 250.. its frustrating but i am hoping to shed the weight and rid myself of this. any ideas on any fruits i can add to my diet that dont contain tons of sugar?

Are you eating the fruit alone, or with your meals? I seem to have much better luck controlling the spike if i have the fruit with some fat and protein.

Noctuary

Well I hopefully have gotten over the weekend of hypoglycemia. Was pretty bad. I had lows of the 45s and was scared I was going to have to go to the hospital. I got back on track today with my small low carb snacks and that seemed to help. I was able to get in 30 minutes of swim after work. Couldn't do the full hour as usual because I know not to do that after work (midnight!) because I have the tendency to get the low sugars in the middle of the night. Swimming even at 30 minutes really lowers my numbers considerably. I went from a 158 to eating my snacks and work dinner, to exercise to after an 85.

Noctuary

Well I hopefully have gotten over the weekend of hypoglycemia. Was pretty bad. I had lows of the 45s and was scared I was going to have to go to the hospital. I got back on track today with my small low carb snacks and that seemed to help. I was able to get in 30 minutes of swim after work. Couldn't do the full hour as usual because I know not to do that after work (midnight!) because I have the tendency to get the low sugars in the middle of the night. Swimming even at 30 minutes really lowers my numbers considerably. I went from a 158 to eating my snacks and work dinner, to exercise to after an 85.

vzepol

Well I hopefully have gotten over the weekend of hypoglycemia. Was pretty bad. I had lows of the 45s and was scared I was going to have to go to the hospital. I got back on track today with my small low carb snacks and that seemed to help. I was able to get in 30 minutes of swim after work. Couldn't do the full hour as usual because I know not to do that after work (midnight!) because I have the tendency to get the low sugars in the middle of the night. Swimming even at 30 minutes really lowers my numbers considerably. I went from a 158 to eating my snacks and work dinner, to exercise to after an 85.

Go see your doctor. Take your food and exercise log with you. It sounds like you need to have your meds adjusted.

Take care,

Noctuary

Well I hopefully have gotten over the weekend of hypoglycemia. Was pretty bad. I had lows of the 45s and was scared I was going to have to go to the hospital. I got back on track today with my small low carb snacks and that seemed to help. I was able to get in 30 minutes of swim after work. Couldn't do the full hour as usual because I know not to do that after work (midnight!) because I have the tendency to get the low sugars in the middle of the night. Swimming even at 30 minutes really lowers my numbers considerably. I went from a 158 to eating my snacks and work dinner, to exercise to after an 85.

Go see your doctor. Take your food and exercise log with you. It sounds like you need to have your meds adjusted.

Take care,

Oh yeah, I agree. I also realized now that I have tight control over my sugar levels, I was taking my Glipizide wrong! I hadn't been taking it 30 minutes before my meal AND I had, on occasion, taken it with my last meal (a real no no). I'm gonna make an appt to get to see him.

I did get through the night fine. Didn't crash and wasn't too high in the am (fasting read 85) So I seem to be back on track. Heading out for an hour swim now. Course I just had my pollo loco tacos al carbon! I got protein in me and hopefully won't crash after swimming.

Noctuary

Well I hopefully have gotten over the weekend of hypoglycemia. Was pretty bad. I had lows of the 45s and was scared I was going to have to go to the hospital. I got back on track today with my small low carb snacks and that seemed to help. I was able to get in 30 minutes of swim after work. Couldn't do the full hour as usual because I know not to do that after work (midnight!) because I have the tendency to get the low sugars in the middle of the night. Swimming even at 30 minutes really lowers my numbers considerably. I went from a 158 to eating my snacks and work dinner, to exercise to after an 85.

Go see your doctor. Take your food and exercise log with you. It sounds like you need to have your meds adjusted.

Take care,

Oh yeah, I agree. I also realized now that I have tight control over my sugar levels, I was taking my Glipizide wrong! I hadn't been taking it 30 minutes before my meal AND I had, on occasion, taken it with my last meal (a real no no). I'm gonna make an appt to get to see him.

I did get through the night fine. Didn't crash and wasn't too high in the am (fasting read 85) So I seem to be back on track. Heading out for an hour swim now. Course I just had my pollo loco tacos al carbon! I got protein in me and hopefully won't crash after swimming.

Soozcat

even with taking 2 pills a day of glucovance 500mg, walking 4 miles a day, and eating healthy for since january i still cant keep my sugars under 150 and if i have any kind of fruit i jump to 250.. its frustrating but i am hoping to shed the weight and rid myself of this. any ideas on any fruits i can add to my diet that dont contain tons of sugar?

I'm guessing you've given a low-carbohydrate diet a try? Everyone's body works a little differently, but going low-carb brought my blood sugars down to non-diabetic levels within 2 weeks of being diagnosed. I test my blood 1 and 2 hours after a meal to see how what I've eaten is affecting my glucose levels, and keep track of the foods that cause spikes as well as the ones that keep me in the normal range.

Right now I'm looking for good recipes to make low-carbohydrate versions of baked goods. Sometimes you just gotta have something from the bakery, but my body sure doesn't respond well to bread. (Rice, however, seems to be the worst offender. Which is sad, because I love rice and used to eat a lot of it.)

betterlife2011

well i just wanted to check in and tell everyone that i kept up with my goal and exercised at least 20 mins a day tomorrow im goin to start the biggest loser cardio blast and see how that works then goin for a walk when kids get home from school good night everyone ttyl nellie

LexieSweetheart

thamk you guys for your support. I am doing a lil better the first few days i lived off salad and tuna because i had no idea what i was supposed to eat. I am still confused about carb counting. does everything count or just those above 15? live i have Vienna sausage and they have three carbs

Noctuary

thamk you guys for your support. I am doing a lil better the first few days i lived off salad and tuna because i had no idea what i was supposed to eat. I am still confused about carb counting. does everything count or just those above 15? live i have Vienna sausage and they have three carbs

They have 21 grams of fat. I'd get rid of those asap.

Your best bet will be to get to see a Diabetic nutritionist. All of us are going to just end up overwhelming you with information. I took it upon myself to figure the diet stuff out. Took me a good 3 weeks of panicking before I found a good moderate plan. I went to D Life site and read up about carbs (the hardest thing to learn) and about what I could and could not eat. In the end you should be testing yourself regularly. And your meter will tell you what foods are working for you and which are not.
I was directed to this blog and this post specifically to start my game plan:
http://loraldiabetes.blogspot.com/2006/10/test-review-adjust.html

AZackery

I advice all of you that are a diabetic to search the internet for low glycemic foods. Eat things that's under 55.

Per meal, eat 45 grams of carbohydrates and per snack eat 15 grams of carbohydrates.

You can even have free foods three times a day that's consists of less than 20 calories per servings and less than 5 grams of carbohydrates per servings. Look up foods that fit into this categories. For example. Vegetables and calories, etc.

Make sure you check your blood sugar at lest 3 times a day, if you can't check it more. Before exercising is a good time to check blood sguar.

More than 100 reading, at least 10 points and up, exercise medium to intense.

100-105, exercise lightly.

90ish and below. Take a rest day.

Exercise can drop blood sugar reading fast. Your body will give sign of when something is not right.

Take baby steps into workouts. 30 minutes to an hour of workout is good for a day. If you can't do 30 minutes, start small 10 minutes to 20 minutes. Work your way up the ladder.

Drink water. You can add sugar free packets to your water. Diet Lipton Green tea is good too.

Substitute Splenda or similar for sugar.

Things that helps with lowering blood sugar. Cinnamon, vinegar, pickles. Watch sodium.

A little fat on meat is good sometimes, but there try to eat lean meats.

Soozcat

I don't pay much attention to the glycemic index. It's derived by testing the blood glucose rise of particular foods in people with normal pancreatic function. Since I, as a diabetic, no longer have normal pancreatic function... I prefer to focus on grams of carbs per serving. But if it works for you, great.

Noctuary

The last two posts were both equally correct. In the end use your meter. It tells YOU what works for YOU. I can do like the above mentioned post about 45 carbs per meal (depending on the type of carb) and be ok. Any more than that, and it's hard for me to not get a high sugar read. I also try to snack low carb snacks like low carb fruits and turkey sticks, hard boiled eggs or string cheese. The Glycemix index is good when I am picking out my fruit. I've given up watermelon and grapes for now. Considering what they do to me particularly. I also read every label. And you know what the killer is? Corn syrup. They even put it in light salad dressing. I will go out of my way to NOT buy stuff with corn syrup in it. It just totally destroys your sugar levels something fierce. I also notice 30 minutes of a good cardio will indeed lower your numbers quite well. And if you aren't sure of how you do with exercise, always take a snack with you. I can't tell you how frustrating it was to crash in the women's locker room from not eating enough before hand.