Got my Diabetes under control

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Enlightened2014
Enlightened2014 Posts: 12
in Introduce Yourself
I put most of my life story in my bio, which I am pretty happy to share since I am really seeing results. I have taken my fasting sugars from 300+ down to 71-95 with a combination of diet, exercise and natural supplements!!

MFP has really helped me to be accountable for everything I put in my mouth, wow pretty shocking when you look at the nutrition numbers. Add in tracking my exercise & seeing how much more that allows me to eat is pretty cool. I have been studying supplement and nutrition for years, and thought I had a grip. Now I realize I had a lot to learn, with MFP I am seeing the reality of my food choices.

I hope I can meet some new friends here to help me continue my new life style.

Replies

  • RodaRose
    RodaRose Posts: 9,562 Member
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    Good job reversing diabetes!!
  • GlucernaBrand
    GlucernaBrand Posts: 486
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    Congratulations on reaching your goals! You're right that tracking food intake and exercise daily can be really powerful tools in making lasting changes in our usual habits. ~Lynn /Glucerna
  • hookilau
    hookilau Posts: 3,134 Member
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    Good for you!!
    Getting that beast under control is quite a feat. :drinker:
    I'm in the same boat & find MFP helps a great deal too.

    Which supplements are you using?...I've tried a number of them and as you already know, they're hit or miss.
    Just wondering if there's something else I haven't tried as yet.
  • Enlightened2014
    Enlightened2014 Posts: 12
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    I work with a naturopathic doctor and have been taking the following for diabetes:
    Chromium picolinate
    Bitter Melon
    Gymnema Sylvestre
    Vanadyl Sulfate
    GlycoTrol
    Benefotiamine

    They all have benefits for diabetes long term, but I can't really say they have made significant changes in my fasting sugars. I started taking a new supplement the day I signed up for MFP which is not on the market yet, and believe this lowered my sugars 40-60 points. It is a enzyme designed for digestive inflammation, and has a couple of side effects losing weight, and lowering your glucose levels. I went from 230-under 100 in one week. I am now running 71-100 depending on what I eat that day, which MFP is really helping me see and track.

    I just started working with an endocrinologist, because it took 4 weeks to get appointment when I was in the 230+ with all my diet efforts before. He changed my medications which will take 2-3 weeks to stabilize, at which time I will discontinue the new supplement and see exactly how effective it is, now that my diet and exercise are consistent.

    Not going to change all my healthy eating, and exercise changes but I believe these crazy doctors found something by accident. I will let you know when they decide to bring to market.
  • hookilau
    hookilau Posts: 3,134 Member
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    I've heard of and tried a combination of all but the last 2 supplements you've listed.

    Ugh...bitter melon :laugh: My mom keeps trying to get me to eat that stuff. Bleck :angry:

    Older people in my family eat it & tolerate it's peculiar taste well. I just can't stomach it :laugh: I've tried the capsules but it didn't do much for me, as did the others. Berberine jacked up my blood pressure something awful though :grumble:

    Cinnamon was delicious but also, not particularly effective for me.

    Losing 36#'s & carb restriction (no sugar/no starch) has been most effective for me so far, it's just slow going.

    I figure with the law of big numbers on my side, and the fact that I've still got a bit of body fat to lose, this will likely see me through :drinker:

    Thought I might try resistant potato starch, though. I'm probably being greedy though, I get 90's FBG & <120 1 hr PP (as long as it's going down after the initial 20-30 mg/dl spike, I figure I'm good @ the 2 hr mark and beyond, casually, it's about 100-115. I test a great deal to get a sense of the trends :blushing:

    Anyhow, good luck with it :drinker:
  • itsbasschick
    itsbasschick Posts: 1,584 Member
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    congrats on getting your blood glucose under control! it's quite an achievement, and one that will save you from side effects of medications. good job :)

    i'm on my way there - since may 1 when i started keeping a food diary, restricting portion sizes and exercising regularly, i went from 300ish to 120 fasting, just above 100 after exercise. within a couple weeks, i hope i catch up with you. fwiw, i don't take any supplements except a low potency vitamin, which does include chromium and vanadium.
  • hookilau
    hookilau Posts: 3,134 Member
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    Yes, I should've mentioned exercise as well as carb restriction. I've been lifting for 15 yrs but only with being diagnosed & keeping BG's as low as I can possibly get them, have I been able to see physical changes for the first time.

    Without weight training, I'd be struggling for sure :sick: I hurt my back a couple of months back & had to ease up on the training & saw my BG climb no matter *how* low I kept my carbs.

    It was disheartening to say the least & for some stupid reason, I think I'm normal & didn't connect the dots because it was just something I'd always done. Never occurred to me that it was a key part in keeping glycogen low. Duh :laugh:

    edited for spelling
  • itsbasschick
    itsbasschick Posts: 1,584 Member
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    hookilau, i find walking over 30 minutes does the same for lowering glucose as weight training. have you tested after walking?
  • hookilau
    hookilau Posts: 3,134 Member
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    hookilau, i find walking over 30 minutes does the same for lowering glucose as weight training. have you tested after walking?

    yup...as it happens, I'm a local dog walker :laugh:

    My appointments are 30 minutes long & equates to btw 2-3k steps (I used to use a fitbit zip) depending on how active the dog is. This would drop my BG to normal levels temporarily.

    By comparison, weight training will initially raise it, then keep it low for at least 2 days. This includes fasting, walking only drops it for a few hours, so it has to be a constant thing. For me anyhow.

    I don't always have back to back appointments, but there was a time when I did (during the time I abstained from the gym because of my hurt back) and I found that low BG's was a thing I was constantly chasing. It took me a while to figure out that the one thing that was missing was the weight training. So I sucked it up & eased back into it figuring 8 weeks and 600 mg Ibuprofen multiple times daily was *enough* of a rest.

    I got lucky & haven't had an issue since going back. With weight training, I get more of a reprieve and can almost forget that it's a balance that I have to keep in order to get those nifty numbers.

    Though that's a bit of a double edged sword as it often feels like '50 first dates' :laugh:
  • Enlightened2014
    Enlightened2014 Posts: 12
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    Benfotiamine & Alpha-Lipoic Acid have been proven to prevent cell damage due to diabetes. Together shown to help stop diabetic Neuropathy‎. I forget to put ALA in my original list. I use Doctors Best brand and get them both from Amazon.

    Anything that can help with cell absorption and help prevent or reverse the damage from this disease is a good thing. You might want to do a Google search on those 2 and consider adding them. I have been working with natropath for years who has keep my ulcerative colitis in remission for 5 years, when the western MDs said nothing could be done and wanted to give me more damaging drugs.

    Lost another 2 lbs this week, I am way motivated thanks for the support.
  • LAT1963
    LAT1963 Posts: 1,375 Member
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    Good job on the diabetes.

    And the Ulcerative Colitis. Yikes!
  • Enlightened2014
    Enlightened2014 Posts: 12
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    Colitis ruled my life for about 10 years, yes that disease sucks. Found the trigger was red meat & stress. Lots of supplements, acupuncture for stress and now 5 years free.

    I just got too cocky with my diabetes because I was taking supplements, but was not testing and got a rude awakening. Found this crazy supplement and started eating less and sweating more, and life is going in the right direction now.

    Thanks

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