Diabetes Support Group~~~Part 1

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  • jdhall
    jdhall Posts: 76
    Thank you! I will keep that in mind at the end of the month. I am hoping to loose a few more pounds by then and maybe I will have some play weight! LOL! :bigsmile:
  • gemiwing
    gemiwing Posts: 1,525 Member
    Hi :)

    I have insulin resistence, is it ok if I join this discussion? It's hard to find support where people understand the complexities of trying to lose weight while watching your carbs, sugars, insulin and medicines all in one.

    If it's ok, can I ask if anyone has noticed their BS spiking after (or during) a work out? I've found that if I exercise longer than 15-20 minutes I get a BS spike and I black out. How do you handle this without insulin?

    If there's a better group for me to join- let me know and I'll get out of your hair!
    :flowerforyou:
  • LeanLioness
    LeanLioness Posts: 1,091 Member
    Hi :)

    I have insulin resistence, is it ok if I join this discussion? It's hard to find support where people understand the complexities of trying to lose weight while watching your carbs, sugars, insulin and medicines all in one.

    If it's ok, can I ask if anyone has noticed their BS spiking after (or during) a work out? I've found that if I exercise longer than 15-20 minutes I get a BS spike and I black out. How do you handle this without insulin?

    If there's a better group for me to join- let me know and I'll get out of your hair!
    :flowerforyou:

    This is a great group for you!! Insulin resistance is pre-diabetes with all the same signs and symptoms. My Dr calls it mild diabetes..........

    Here is some information on blood sugar spikes after exercise, it should give you a better understanding.........

    We also have a carb watchers group on here, come join us there too.
    Blood sugar spikes after exercise confuse many diabetics. The idea of exercise for many diabetics is it will burn blood sugar thereby aiding in reducing blood sugar levels. Often diabetics monitor their blood sugar before exercise and after exercise. The blood sugar after exercise is often higher than before exercise and this is a source of confusion to diabetics.

    There are two main reasons for the blood sugar spikes after exercise. One reason is the body releases growth hormone during exercise. Growth hormone is an anabolic (growth stimulating) hormone that burns fat for energy rather than glucose. The work that growth hormone does in the body is accomplished by the burning of fat and this is why blood sugar levels do not drop from exercise; blood sugar is not being burned as the primary source of energy for growth hormone. After growth hormone is used up in the anabolic processes, blood sugar will return to normal. In the meantime type II diabetics want to burn fat. Stimulating growth hormone by exercising leads to burning fat. This is what a type II diabetic wants. Stimulating growth hormone also leads to building muscle (see article "Exercise for type I and type II") and muscle improves metabolism versus fat. This is of benefit to type I and type II diabetics.

    A second reason for blood sugar spikes is exercise stresses the body. This stress results in the body adapting to the changes exercise is forcing, such as the need to increase blood volume, the need for the heart to work harder, the need for increased respiration, and other such adaptations to exercise. The liver is an organ that stores about 20% of the glycogen (sugar) of the body. When the body is stressed, such as in exercise, the liver releases its sugar into the bloodstream. This additional sugar can raise blood sugar levels. Sugar released from the liver due to stress will eventually diminish and blood sugar levels will start to drop several hours after exercise.

    Furthermore, a diabetic might consider reducing carbohydrates at nighttime and adding multi-fiber (the body uses many different fibers, so a multi-fiber might be more beneficial than only one type of fiber) supplements to evening meals. This might gradually reduce sugar readings in the morning. Read the articles on this web site about fiber.

    In conclusion, release of growth hormone and glycogen from the liver can result in blood sugar spikes. After several hours the blood sugar levels will drop to normal for the diabetic if the growth hormone and sugar released from the liver are what caused the blood sugar spike. Therefore the point of this article is for diabetics to realize that often blood sugar spikes are normal after exercise. If the blood sugar returns to normal the diabetic should not stress himself over these spikes. Stress is not good for diabetics and there are many articles on this web site describing the negative aspects of stress in diabetes.

    Note - Milder exercise may decrease glycogen release and blood sugar fluctuations. Less stress may decrease blood sugar spikes after exercising. For example, a mild walk might not be too stressful.


    WARNING: DO NOT STOP ANY TREATMENT OR MEDICATION YOU CURRENTLY USE. CONSULT WITH YOUR DOCTOR BEFORE STARTING THE USE OF SUPPLEMENTS.

    http://www.restoreunity.org/understanding_blood_sugar_spikes_exercise.htm
  • LeanLioness
    LeanLioness Posts: 1,091 Member
    How Do You Know If You Have Diabetic Nerve Damage?
    Learn how to spot the symptoms so that you can get the proper treatment.
    By Laurie Salomon
    Reviewed by QualityHealth's Medical Advisory Board
    Diabetes is a disease that doesn't discriminate--the damage it causes often takes place throughout the body. And one of the things the disease attacks is your nerves. About 60 to 70 percent of diabetics suffer some type of nerve damage, or neuropathy, according to the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. And the most likely to have it are people who've had diabetes for at lesat 25 years, who are overweight, who have high blood pressure, or who have trouble controlling their blood-sugar levels.
    While doctors cannot always pinpoint exactly how diabetes causes nerve damage, some of the most likely culprits, either singly responsible or working in combination, include high blood sugar and other metabolic factors such as high levels of blood fats and low levels of insulin; vascular difficulties affecting the delivery of oxygen and nutrients to nerves; and autoimmune problems that cause nerve inflammation.
    How do you know if you've got diabetic neuropathy? The first symptom of nerve damage is often numbness, tingling or pain in the feet, although some diabetics with nerve damage may never notice any symptoms at all. Symptoms may start gradually and build over time, or they may come on suddenly and aggressively. Typically, they include:
    numbness, tingling and pain in the legs and feet (this is the most common type of diabetic neuropathy, and it's why experts recommend that diabetics get thorough foot exams each year)
    numbness, tingling and pain in the arms, hands, and fingers
    atrophying of the foot and hand muscles
    gastrointestinal distress
    dizziness due to blood-pressure drops
    urinary problems
    erectile difficulties
  • CALIECAT
    CALIECAT Posts: 12,530 Member
    Hello everybody. Sorry I missed yesterday. Sorta under the weather, but feeling a lot better now. thru all this surgery it has got my blood sugar aout of whack. The doc said it would normalilized soon.
    Hope fully you are all doing well. Watch your carbs and sugar and drink plenty of water. take care/ Calei
  • capetazj45
    capetazj45 Posts: 3
    :bigsmile:
    Hi everyone, I love the advice giving here from "real" people who go thru this every day.
    My issue if the "dawn effect" lately my sugars are running in the 120's to as high as 160 :noway:
    in the mornings.
    I don't do anything different on those days. I have also check my sugars in the very early am and they have been under 110. I have going to have a lot to talk to my doctor about when I see him next week.
    I just get very frustrated because the rest of the day, (if I eat right) my sugars are great.
    Has anyone else experienced this.
    :flowerforyou:

    Judy
  • jdhall
    jdhall Posts: 76
    I was told when I had this problem that during the night, my sugar was dropping real low and then my liver would produce sugar in order to bring it back up. This was causing the spike in the blood sugar. So to avoid that they said to eat some protein before bed becasue it goes into the system slower than carbs and would prevent the lows. Do you wake up during the night feeling bad? If you do you need to check your sugar to see what it is doing. It will make you insane to try to figure out why it is doing this. Make sure you stick with your regime and it will get straightened out.
  • CALIECAT
    CALIECAT Posts: 12,530 Member
    Thanks JRHall , I didn't know that. They did have me eat a peanut butter sandwich befor bedtime when I had my surgery tho.What kind of protein do you hae for a snack? I always eat a carb thinking that would keep my blood sugar at bay.. Would a protein shake be good before bedtime. It has around 25 grams of protein.
    Calie
  • LeanLioness
    LeanLioness Posts: 1,091 Member
    Thanks JRHall , I didn't know that. They did have me eat a peanut butter sandwich befor bedtime when I had my surgery tho.What kind of protein do you hae for a snack? I always eat a carb thinking that would keep my blood sugar at bay.. Would a protein shake be good before bedtime. It has around 25 grams of protein.
    Calie
    Yes, protein shake, 1 oz of cheese, peanut butter off the spoon, meat,

    The hospitals and dieticians kill me with the whole eat carbs with the protein...........you need carbs, blah, blah, blah..........
  • jdhall
    jdhall Posts: 76
    Yea! They are on the kick of making everything balance out and they do work to gether the carbs, fat and protein, but if you are having high numbers in the morning, the protein is the best to help with that at night by itself. Lioness has some great ideas, anything with high protein will help, just watch your labels. Someone told me that yogurt can go either way. You read the label and if the protein number is higher than the carb number, then you count it as a protein. So you could do that at night. I have only seen one yogurt that is that way and it is the new greek yogurt. She also said you had to doctor it up with some sweetner and a little vanilla flavoring. You could try that. I saw it in the store, it was more expensive than the other yogurts. It is hard work I tell ya! Keeping all of this straight, but we can do it! :happy:
  • CALIECAT
    CALIECAT Posts: 12,530 Member
    Sorry i have not been around much. But have been thinking about all of you. and wondering how your blood sugar is doing. Mine is doing fairly good. It took a while after sugery to get it back to normal. But I kept working on it . Jrhall I like the greek yogurt real well but only one sore close by carry it and we don't go there very often. And like you said it is expensive compare to the store brands. But I do buy some when i do get to go there. See you guys later.

    Calie
  • jdhall
    jdhall Posts: 76
    Calie, Glad to hear you are doing well with your sugar! :love: It is very hard sometimes when you cannot exercise with your meds and especially after having surgery. I am glad your chin is up. I have not lost any weight this week, that is very frutrating to me, especially when I feel like I give up so much to get there. I am a little down right now, but I will keep going. My main goal is to keep the sugar in control and that is happening for me right now. Hope everyone is doing good. Talk to you soon. :drinker:
  • CALIECAT
    CALIECAT Posts: 12,530 Member
    Jrhall---Say it is nice to get up and see a post from you so early this morning. My weight is at a stnandstill too. It's hard to get back on your routine after you get off. But I am working on it. We have a storm fixing to roll thru so I better get up and get my shower and get dress before it hit.
    Calie:heart:
  • ellens292
    ellens292 Posts: 176
    I haven't been posting here lately because of our travelling, but the good news is that my blood sugar has been down. In fact, I have been able to cut back one metformin, to 4. I hope it will help with the gastritis, stomach pain is nasty. And I'll really have to watch the carbs to keep my blood sugar down.
    Marie, you have lost 15lbs, twice as much as I have. I'll be very happy if I can catch up to you. I don't think it will be this month tho', seems I've gained 3 lbs since we got home, hope it's just fluid retention and comes off fast. Really shouldn't weigh oneself too often, I guess, especially if we stress out over it. But I always wonder if I'm counting the food right or maybe having more than I realize. Sometimes I just feel like eating everything in sight, to do with blood sugar maybe?
    Anyway, nice to catch up with you all.
  • CALIECAT
    CALIECAT Posts: 12,530 Member
    Just dropping in before I put this thing to bed for tonight.

    Hi Ellen, So glad to see you back. Just keeping doing the best you can. It will all come together one day.
    Calie:heart:
  • jdhall
    jdhall Posts: 76
    Hey guys! Just checking in, nothing to exciting going on here. :happy: Hope everyone is doing good! Have a great day! :blushing:
  • CALIECAT
    CALIECAT Posts: 12,530 Member
    I don't think low carbs is for me. At least not as low as i have been trying to get. I am going back to recording my foods and aiming for 15 carbs per meal. I needed just a little bit more varity in my foods. We will see how this workd for me.:heart: Marie
  • LeanLioness
    LeanLioness Posts: 1,091 Member
    I don't think low carbs is for me. At least not as low as i have been trying to get. I am going back to recording my foods and aiming for 15 carbs per meal. I needed just a little bit more varity in my foods. We will see how this workd for me.:heart: Marie

    What are you eating that you are not getting enough variety????
  • CALIECAT
    CALIECAT Posts: 12,530 Member
    I guess it is grain products. I love my bread. I just like to eat what I am in the mood for. by counting calories I can do that. I do not like to be restictive. I will see how it goes. Maybe I will be in a better mood after the doc get thru with me. I go back in next week to the hospital for some more test on my right leg. And then back in for the stents in that leg. He told me to watch my diet and get more exercise. As much as I can. I am not giving up I am just taking a break for awhile.
    :heart: Calie
  • CALIECAT
    CALIECAT Posts: 12,530 Member
    Hi all.
    I had my walk in and raring to go. Don't know how long it will last. but for now I am feeling great.Everybody had a nice day. Will get me some beans pick over so I can cook them tomorrow. Oh boy. i love my beans.

    Hope you all have a wonderful day!!!!!!

    Calie
  • jdhall
    jdhall Posts: 76
    Cali: Glad to see you got a walk in. Home grown beans, YUMMY! I had a bad day yesterday, ate everything I could find. I hate those days. I am back on track today though! Hope everyone is doing okay!:flowerforyou:
  • LeanLioness
    LeanLioness Posts: 1,091 Member
    I guess it is grain products. I love my bread. I just like to eat what I am in the mood for. by counting calories I can do that. I do not like to be restictive. I will see how it goes. Maybe I will be in a better mood after the doc get thru with me. I go back in next week to the hospital for some more test on my right leg. And then back in for the stents in that leg. He told me to watch my diet and get more exercise. As much as I can. I am not giving up I am just taking a break for awhile.
    :heart: Calie

    Did you find the Wasa Fiber bread crackers?

    Also, there are some good whole grain, low sugar and no sugar breads out there!!! Even low carb bread.

    You don't have to sacrifice to change your lifestyle, just purchase the appropriate foods!!!
  • CALIECAT
    CALIECAT Posts: 12,530 Member
    no I didn't find Walsa crackers yesterday at the store. But the Sara Lee 45 caleries per sl Has only 18 grams of carbs and 5 gram of fiber which leaves 13 grams of net carbs. Which I think is worth it. Itas not hard to find a low carb filling for it. Todays lunch is pimento cheese and sl tomatoe. I will make a good tuna salad today. I should do alright. At least I am not worried about it. My blood sugar is doing fine. going clked some beans tomorrow. Will have to check it out. I do not think all this fat is good for me. even tho I love it.

    Calie
  • LeanLioness
    LeanLioness Posts: 1,091 Member
    no I didn't find Walsa crackers yesterday at the store. But the Sara Lee 45 caleries per sl Has only 18 grams of carbs and 5 gram of fiber which leaves 13 grams of net carbs. Which I think is worth it. Itas not hard to find a low carb filling for it. Todays lunch is pimento cheese and sl tomatoe. I will make a good tuna salad today. I should do alright. At least I am not worried about it. My blood sugar is doing fine. going clked some beans tomorrow. Will have to check it out. I do not think all this fat is good for me. even tho I love it.

    Calie

    Don't give into the mindset that Fat isn't good for you...........

    It actually is!!

    I eat the fat off the steaks I cook, real butter, heavy whipping cream, cream cheese, full fat dressings, mayonnaise, etc..........I love coconut oil, which is pure fat.

    You saw the forum I started about my bloodwork and how much better it is since I have been liberally eating fat with Atkins, my cholesterol went down from 220 to 187!!!!
  • CALIECAT
    CALIECAT Posts: 12,530 Member
    I am back on a sensible diabetic diet now. Enought of all this high fat food. I have enough fat without adding to it. That is my take on all this real low carb diets. I am still watching my carbs but cuttibg out all high fat food. Plenty of lean meats, veggies, fruit. and milk products. Aa sensivle diet. I try but It did not work for me. I repect any diet you are on but each to his own. And good luck. there is no magic formular just a well balance diet. and exercise. And Thanks for all the help you all have given me. Hope we can all remain friends and post our progressed here. Love Marie
  • jdhall
    jdhall Posts: 76
    Remember, you have to do what is best for you. I personally do not like the no carb diet and I do not by no-fat or low fat stuff. I would rather have less of it and enjoy the flavor. If you stick to the diabetic diet you should be fine. :happy: Have you seen a diatician lately to see what they have to say? they may be able to give you some advise on the new diet situations that are out there. Remember knowledge is your best weapon!

    Of course we will still be your friends, do not think like that! We will help in anyway we can. Just focus on being healthy and getting your legs back into shape. :heart:
  • CALIECAT
    CALIECAT Posts: 12,530 Member
    Hello, Sorry to be MIA again. Seems like my mind just keep a wondering around in cicles.

    :heart: Hope you are all doing find and keeping you blood sugar undercontrol.

    :heart: Keeping your weight down

    :heart: Your exercise up.

    Caliecat
  • jdhall
    jdhall Posts: 76
    Hey everyone! Just checking in, I hope all is well for everyone. I am doing okay, sugar is still good, but I am slowly gaining weight each week. I must be doing something wrong, maybe not eating enough. Who knows! :mad:
  • LeanLioness
    LeanLioness Posts: 1,091 Member
    Remember, you have to do what is best for you. I personally do not like the no carb diet and I do not by no-fat or low fat stuff. I would rather have less of it and enjoy the flavor. If you stick to the diabetic diet you should be fine. :happy: Have you seen a diatician lately to see what they have to say? they may be able to give you some advise on the new diet situations that are out there. Remember knowledge is your best weapon!

    Of course we will still be your friends, do not think like that! We will help in anyway we can. Just focus on being healthy and getting your legs back into shape. :heart:

    Atkins and South Beach are not no carb diets.......................they are controlled or low carb lifestyles.......

    I also do full fat stuff.
  • ellens292
    ellens292 Posts: 176
    Hello everyone.
    I haven't posted here much of late, but wanted to say, I'm doing good with one less Metformin, keeping the blood glucose down and lost a lb this week [one of the ones I found when we got home from our California trip]. But that puts me under 200, boy, does that feel good.
    Ellen
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