Struggling Type 2 Diabetic ... Please Help

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Ever since late Friday night ... My body has been suffering from extreme hot vs cold body sensations consistently throughout day

Right now my legs and feet are cold and gets cold more than usual ....to point I put on socks . Than at night when I lay down my body heats up so bad like a furnace ... Literally, at first I thought it was acid reflux(sorry if I spelled it wrong) because I was constantly burping ...

I've been doing some googling and I'm not sure what's going on...Yes there's other problems due to high blood sugar levels

muscle fatigue, headaches, sometimes cramps in feet. I'm very aware if I don't change eating habits and portion controls .... I will lose feet,toes, legs and eventually life


Can someone that's Diabetic or knowledgable on Diabetes please tell me what's going on with my body and how can I treat it properly?


Yes I have therapy intro on August 17th and Doctors appointment on 25th of this month
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  • Noreenmarie1234
    Noreenmarie1234 Posts: 7,493 Member
    edited August 2020
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    The worst thing for diabetic neuropathy is high glucose levels that damage the nerves. If you aren't controlling your diet, it will continue to get worse. Is there a reason why you haven't started making changes and eating in a deficit? Are you just struggling to start the weight loss journey? What is stopping you? Maybe we can try to help. That is the best solution to your issues.
  • Maesneuadd
    Maesneuadd Posts: 61 Member
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    As the others have said it sounds as if you are getting unpleasant sensations because of diabetic neuropathy. This starts in the furthest away, from the middle, part of your body - so usually the hands and feet. Aim at getting you sugars down, and your weight too, and these will hopefully lessen. I found a low carb diet helped me get rid of the weight and get my weight down. I also found that soem tingly feelings I's had in my feet went away after that also. Good luck
  • ALZ14
    ALZ14 Posts: 202 Member
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    I’ve had gestational diabetes 3 times (not the same as type 2, I know) and my father is type 2.

    I don’t know what those symptoms mean, but you need to see a doctor ASAP if your blood sugar levels are out of control, it can cause serious long term health issues.

    While you wait to be seen you need to examine your diet closely. You MUST reduce your carbs AND increase your protein. Protein helps your body process those carbs to reduce spikes in blood sugar after eating. Just because the carb amount you are allowed is in a meal doesn’t mean you shouldn’t also have protein to balance it out. The protein should (when done properly) reduce your need for high quantities of insulin. You also likely need to adjust your insulin intake to keep your levels in check, so you need to be tracking your food, insulin you take and the blood sugar levels so your doctor can help you.

    My recommendations:

    1) See a doctor ASAP.
    2) get your blood sugar in check, even if that means putting weight loss on hold for a little while
    3) restart a weight loss attempt when blood sugar is stable. Losing weight will also help your blood sugar and reduce your need for insulin.
  • jeraldt6
    jeraldt6 Posts: 28 Member
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    I will send you a friend request when I am done writing this. Any other type 2 folks adding me as friends would be appreciated. I am type 2. Was at risk for years and then after having to be on budisonide for 90 days it went full blown.
    A year and a half later, after a physical, the doc......... long story short, diagnosed me and tried to put me on meds. I was in denial, even though all I wanted to do was eat and sleep. I was, I guess, depressed. Dec 1 2019 I decided that I was either going to take control and get healthy or I was simply going to die.
    I was 6'4 and 260 pounds, obese.
    What I did is what I would recomend for you, in addition to regular doctor visits.
    1. I became a daily regular here on MFP. I made it a point to log every bite of food I ate and every amount of exercise beyond daily life that I did. I sought out like minded friends as I am doing now with you, some of whom are still mfp regulars. This is important to keep you logging in on a regular basis.
    2. I joined the highest end gym that I could find/afford and was near enough by where I lived. 10 miles away.
    3. I immediately tried out a trainer recomended to me by the gym personnel and then hired him. For the first months, I worked with the trainer twice a week for an hour each time. I now work with him once a week. This is necessary to keep me motivated into using the gym and exercising hard regularly throughout the week.
    4. I spent hours online learning how metabolism works, how the endocrine system works. I learned very quickly that following reccomendations by the american diabetes association or by registerd dietitians who claim to know about this stuff doesn't work for me.
    5. I purchased without a prescription and against doctors reccomendations a glucometer, one that also tests ketones. I test my levels regularly when I think things might not be going right, meaning I have varried from my diet.
    6. I am now on a very low carb diet. I am almost always in ketosis. I eat less than 40 grams of carbs a day with less than 30 my goal. Note: I look forward to when my weight gets into my ideal zone as then I will be able to play with the carbs a little more but always monitoring the intake making sure that I never exceed my glycogin stores with additional carb intake.
    7. there are more steps, but enough for now

    I am losing weight and bodyfat very slowly. It is frustrating and disappointing how slowly it comes off and how slowly my muscle mass is increasing. As hard as I am working in the gym I should think it would have had much better gains and losses by now. The fact is that my system fights it. High blood sugar just prevents all the good things from happening. Muscles are starving for energy during a workout and can't access all that sugar in my blood. The good news though is now that I am 20 pounds lighter (50 yet to go), my glucose readings are daily between 110 and 140 as apposed to from 150 to 210. I expect my a1c will now be back to around the 6.9 level. And I am feeling better.

    Make the lifestyle change. Start watching Dr. Bozz on youtube, watch ketostephanie on youtube. Hire a trainer and make it a point to spend a couple of hours a day in the gym with only maybe one or two days off per week. No cheating yourself. You will fall, you will make mistakes as you go but pick yourself back up again and keep going. See that superbowl toyota commercial about picking yourself up again.

    Finally, don't listen to anyone just because they have a title like MD, or RD or RN or anything. Listen to what they say and then do your own research. Make sure what you do makes sence to you. For example, if you are told to change your diet and then told to eat whole grains and brown rice and Whole grain breads and so on, realize that these foods though healthier than perhaps soda pop, turn to glucose and raise your blood glucose levels. Protein and fat for the most part, don't.
    Do your own research, watch a workout video to get motivated and then get out and do it.
  • lorrpb
    lorrpb Posts: 11,464 Member
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    If you are concerned about waiting 2 weeks, give your dr office a call now. Ask to speak to the nurse and describe what you told us. They might make a med adjustment now or they might say don’t worry we’ll see you on the 25th.
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,391 MFP Moderator
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    To add to what others said, starting good habits and making better food choices now and work on losing weight. Focus on getting most of your carbs from fibrous sources and consume those carbs with fats and protein. When you do this, it will slow down the absorption. Eliminate or reduce snacking. Eliminate candy and don't drink calories. If possible, do a little exercise. It's certainly possible that you might need to bring carbs down a bit until you get your glucose under control. This was the case in one of the people i trained. She maxed out at 35g per day. Hopefully, you won't need to get down that far.

    And like others stayed, call your doctor asap to get their opinion on a path until you can see them.
  • Onedaywriter
    Onedaywriter Posts: 324 Member
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    My wife has type 2 diabetes for many years. Don’t be discouraged- it can managed!

    As others have stated avoid carbs - in particular sugar (including soft drinks and fruit juices) and “white carbs” (ie pasta, white breads and most regular beads -whole grain only) including fruit (for now until you see doc and dietician). Also all alcohol. Drink lots of water and try to get lean proteins into your diet.

    Compression socks help with the cold feet. They stimulate the nerve endings and aid circulation.
  • rheddmobile
    rheddmobile Posts: 6,840 Member
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    So what are your sugars doing when you have these symptoms? Are you testing when they happen? What meds are you on? High blood sugar is obviously bad but so are lows, and crazy swings from high to low are worst of all.

    You can help yourself. Cut carbs to whatever your body can manage without spikes, exercise every day and especially after meals, and get the weight off!
  • jrhoward1961
    jrhoward1961 Posts: 2 Member
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    Don't give up! I was diagnosed 15 years ago and really did nothing about it, just took the meds they gave me. My A1C reached 10.2 this year. Now I know why my eyes were so blurry. It is the thought of losing my vision that has turned me around to taking control. See a nutritionist. Educate yourself. You can do this and so can I!
  • pyleseli
    pyleseli Posts: 4 Member
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    I am also type 2. At my heaviest, I was as 270 pounds (TBH maybe higher but I avoided the scale)! Now, I am trying to lose to get my A1C at 7 and my weight below 200 lbs. I KNOW you can do it too! I take one day at a time. Walking was my first lifestyle change and I now walk everyday. Although I really couldn’t do this at first and had to start at 3-4 times a week. I remind myself that making a pearl takes time and I need to be patient with myself.

    SW 238
    CW 222
    GW 175-180
  • pyleseli
    pyleseli Posts: 4 Member
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    Oh! I use my blood glucose meter to track symptoms like you are referencing (One Touch Ultra) which go directly to an app on my phone that I can download and/or share with my doctor.
  • rheddmobile
    rheddmobile Posts: 6,840 Member
    edited August 2020
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    so glucose meter is different from blood sugar meter?

    Glucose meter and blood sugar meter are two different words for the same thing.

    Definitely get one you like, with inexpensive strips so you don’t hesitate to use it often! Sometimes the ones your doctor or insurance provides have very expensive strips, but it isn’t more than 10 - 20 dollars for a Walmart or Bayer meter if you pay for it out of pocket.