Type II Diabetics - Let's Support Each Other

My husband and I both have type 2 diabetes. I agree, we need all the support we can get. Myfitnesspal is a great tool to manage diabetes. I have lost 6 of the 30 lb of my first weight loss goal. Alltogether I have 100 lb to lose.

I'm getting blood work done to see if the diabetes is getting better this month. But my blood glucose level is down since I started Myfitnesspal.com and since I started doing Leslie Sansone's walk away the pounds right in my livingroom. I have sent you a friend's request. You are a real inspiration to me since you have already lost 35 lb.

Keep going! I was diagnosed with it back in Dec. 2009. I was tipping around 470-480 lbs. I was taking 5 different kinds of meds. 3 for diabetes related stuff. 2 for bloodpressure, high cholesterol. Healthy dieting, lots and lots of walking. Lost many lbs. and in Jan. 2011 my doctor removed all medications from me! I no longer am diabetic.

katpawz, are you doing your measurements? Now that you are able to exercise again it would be a good time to start if you aren't already measuring yourself. I hate taking those measurements but sure do like the numbers going down.

lacrolix, CONGRATS on getting off the meds! That is fantastic and something I look forward to. Also on the weight loss. That is wonderful!

You ladies have a wonderful week!!

Cathy

I just found out I had type II diabetes in August last year. It wasn't a big suprise since both my mom, aunt, and grandfather have/had type II. I just hadn't been going to the doctor... So my condition is genetically linked. My fasting blood sugar was 227 which apparently was super high, and at the time I had been eating really healthy for about two months. I'm really working hard to get my numbers down because my grandfather died from complications do to diabetes and my mom's kidney function is not working at 100%. I started on 1000 mg of metformin a day but my blood sugar numbers weren't dropping very low so I was put on the max 2000 dosage. My numbers went down to around the 140s but it wasn't until I started exercising that my numbers dropped to around the 110-130 range. My last Dr. check up was in January and the good news is my a1c was 6.5, I was amazed before it was in the 8 range. And both my cholesterol and triglycerides have lowered drastically, so I don't need any extra meds for those issues.

One thing my diabetic counselor suggested to me that has worked out well even though it's kind of a pain is to each a little snack in between main meals and make sure that snack has a protein. Before I would snack on just a fruit but I'd get really hungry and sometimes my blood sugar would drop too low and I'd feel hypoglycemic but now that I'm eating protein with my snack I feel satisfied and I'm not starving in between meals. Because I'm currently on a diet I eat mostly unsalted almonds.

One thing I'd like to see would be comments on what foods make your blood sugar levels rise up, my triggers are the carbs in general, when I eat a lot of carbs for dinner, my blood sugar the next morning is higher than when I don't eat those carbs. And not all carbs are equal.

I'd also like to know how you gals are doing with your weight loss on the metformin if you are taking it. My Dr. says its a little harder to lose weight using metformin and while I'm losing some weight I get frustrated some days when the loss is a slow progress.

Hi all! Just diagnosed with type II 22 Feb '11. My nutritionist suggested i use this site as a way to track my dietary intake as i can also keep track of my carbs here instead of writing it all down in a little notebook like i had been doing. So far i'm liking myfitnesspal. Unfortunately my primary care doctor didn't give me a range where she wanted my blood sugars to be...so i'm trying to keep it around the 130s and lower...my fasting was 126 when they diagnosed me. i've found my numbers are always higher when i wake up and then they gradually drop as the day progresses. I take 500mg janumet 2x a day and so far i've been lucky to only have tummy upset twice. When i took metformin (dr prescribed it for weight loss and pre-diabetes) my tum was sick for close to a month..couldn't leave the house for fear...lol Anyhow, thought i'd key in and make myself known...

Welcome monkeygirl6!

I'm from the U.S., but live in the U.K. now. Diabetes is treated very differently here. First of all, the doctor did not spend ten minutes scolding me about my weight and how allowing my weight to get out of control caused the diabetes. Instead, he has been very supportive and helpful. Maybe my doc in the U.S. was just a bit of a jerk, I don't know. Also, they determine how well one is managing it by checking the A1c. Seems they've done studies and for non-insulin dependent diabetics, home testing isn't tremendously useful other than during the process of adjusting medication dosages. My fingers are happier now!

They have new at home testers that don't require finger pricks, the one I was given lets me prick my forearm and I really don't feel any pain When they first told me that I was diabetic I dreaded having to prick my fingers because everytime my mom has to do it she always looks like it hurts.

As for carbs impacting my blood sugars: potatoes have a greater impact than basmati rice (other types of rice act like potatoes for me). I eat very little in the way of starchy stuff (bread, crackers). Wheat seems to be worse than oats, spelt or barley. When it comes to starches, whatever is considered a serving, I eat half that amount. There also seems to be a connection to the amount of starches I eat and weight. If I slip into old habits and start more starches, my weight will start to go up, and rather quickly. That creates some big challenges, especially when eating out!

Thanks for posting!
katzpawz

I'll have to monitor the way different types of carbs are affecting my sugar, I've only noticed a general trend. I do know when I eat pasta for dinner my sugar in the morning is way higher than it would have been with a protein and brown rice. I eat a lot of brown rice, I used to live on white rice (I'm half Japanese) but found a brown rice that is not as grainy as others I've had in the past.

I'm glad you started this topic because I'll be diabetic the rest of my life, hopefully like you said I'll be able to drop some of the meds but if that's not possible I just want to avoid adding extra meds.

Hi My Name is Sheila, I turn 40 next month and I made the choice on the 1st of March to get healthy, stop living the life I live and lose 100 pounds. My Ultimate goal is to get off my meds and no longer be diabetic. I have realistic expectations that it will take time to lose this weight Ive have carried around for years Ive been a big girl all my life but I have the belief in myself that my will, want and desire to no longer be fat. I look at small reachable goals each week and that helps me reach them. Ive had gestational diabetes since I was pregnant with my first child. After my second it never went away so living with type 2 for 3 years. I take Glumetza and Januvia, I have good numbers pretty much everyday for a year now. Ive lost 15 pounds since November without really doing anything dont know why. I only know this because I went in November to get blood work done and they weighed me and then at the end of last month again went to the doctors Im now 260 this is when I made the choice to do something about it.
Last week I recorded everything I ate for the first time ever in my life and this week Im going to get the calories under 2000 a day. I was over by 370 calories last week but didnt really try to get them down just tracked how many I ate. Last week I burned 4100 calories this week I want to be at 650 a day. Yes I know this isnt exactly how the website uses the tracking but I am working my way into it with getting my calories down.
I drive school bus so I sit on my butt most of the day, I have 2 boys Tristan 8 and Quentin 3, we are planning a trip for July to Disneyland, I want to be able to walk around without it bothering me by the end of the month I would like to at least walk 6 miles a day.
I use my fitness pal to track all I eat and exercise each day its so helpful.
I dont own a scale, dont know if Im going to get one cause I worry that I will worry how much I lose each time I step on it and get down on myself when i dont lose but then think how am I to know how well Im doing. Still on the fence to scale or not to scale.

Look forward to being part of the group