Diabetes information

[Ajax]

I have been inspired by a post in the "our chapel" section. There has been alot of information posted in that thread. Lots of people here may be suffering from diabetes, I am one of them. I would like this thread to be about diet and exercise info that will help those of us trying to get our diabetes under control.


Andy

[6bg6ga]

If I may ask.... what are some of the early signs? Does it gradually build up and then you get it? I seem to be drinking 2 qts of water a day but the sugar test says I am high but not diabetic yet.

[wnmGng]

Constant feeling of hunger and thirst, and frequent urination are the three most common. Then constant fatigue and minor cuts and bruises are slow healing.

[3006guns]

Headache.........I had a constant low grade headache for two weeks and nothing seemed to help. Went to bed with it, woke up with it, had it all day. Finally went to the doctor and a blood test revealed that I was a type II diabetic, which was quite a shock. Still learning which foods will spike my blood sugar, but managing to keep it within safe levels. With today's medical science it's more of an inconvenience than anything else, if you do your part.

If you're concerned that you might be getting diabetic, just go to your doctor and get that simple blood test. The longer you wait the greater the chance it will become serious.

[btroj]

If I may ask.... what are some of the early signs? Does it gradually build up and then you get it? I seem to be drinking 2 qts of water a day but the sugar test says I am high but not diabetic yet.

Testing blood sugar may miss it. Blood sugar is a snapshot of what your blood sugar is right now. What was it 2 hours ago? Last night?

Ask for an A1C test, it gives a far better picture of what your blood sugar has been running for the past 3 months or so. Far more telling.


Ajax, want good info on diabetes? Ask the American Diabetes Association. Learn about the glycemic index. Know that exercise is important in controlling blood sugar. Pay attention to things like foot care and eye sight. Use reliable sources and sadly, this forum wouldn't really wouldn't qualify in my opinion. Neither would most other forums.

[RickinTN]

I was diagnosed in February. My otherwise good distance vision became blurred, fatigued with no ambition (didn't even want to cast bullets), frequent and URGENT urination, losing weight while eating like a horse. I've probably forgotten some. I seem to have it under control with medication and very strict diet. I have my next blood test in the next couple of weeks. Like any other medical condition try to catch it early.

Rick

PS I recently found that some Walgreens loacations offer diabetes screenings for sugar, triglycerides, A1C and cholesterol. Wouldn't be the same as a physician screening but could let you know if you need to consult with a physician.

[bob208]

I was always sleepy and kind of out of it. feet started to burn.

[mikeym1a]

Earlier in life, after my first cancer surgery, I became something of an athlete. I worked out at the local Nautilus Fitness Center, joined the local karate club, and at the urging of my instructor, starting running. The running became an obsession, and I eventually got to where I ran 3 - 5 miles daily. My weight never really came down. Eating is too easy, and I was burning off most of what I ate. But my weight still hovered around 230-240. Once I started having trouble with my knees, and stopped running, my sugar went up. And it continues to rise. Still, even without medication, it only goes to 170. Yes, that's high, but not so bad as alot of people I know. Seems that once it raises it's ugly head, it's really hard to make it go away. And I've restarted my sugar meds. Metformin tablets, daily. From what I've learned, stay away from anything sweet. That's really hard to do. Especially soft drinks. That high fructose corn syrup is bad for you. The body metabolizes it different than sucrose, converting it to fat almost immediately. Plus, the HFCS seems to disable the body's 'I'm full' switch. I recently read that instant rice is very good for sugar control. Lean meat, lots of veggies, low carbs, and a long walk after supper. Oh, I forgot. No eating for 4hrs after supper, except for maybe popcorn, and not the buttery type. I'm preaching to me, as much to anyone else. There is an guy on the internet with interesting articles on food and exercise, name of Mike Geary. Look him up, it might help. mikey

[shooterg]

I didn't notice anything. Eye doc caught it during exam(a real eye doc, not an optometrist).
Had to give up my Cherry Cokes and sweet tea ! Use sugar substitutes - find that the chocolate candies with sugar substitutes can be consumed sparingly w/o kicking my numbers up. Take metformin and cinnamon capsules, still have a piece of cake or bowl of ice cream on occasion. A1C hangs around 6 to 7. Did lose some weight(byproduct of no sweet tea and sodas !) Right eye unfortunately for me (right eye dominant) has some damage, but I'm just glad to be able to see the grandson still !

[osteodoc08]

Diabetes is a very difficult disease state for the patient and physician alike. Weight loss and daily exercise should be the hallmarks of treatment (but seldom are).

Diagnosis is done in 4 methods:
1. A1C of 6.5 or higher
2. 2 plasma fasting glucose readings of 126 or higher
3. Oral Glucose challenge/tolerance testing
4. Any random glucose greater than 200

It is typically monitored by A1C. Under 6.5 is considered at goal by the Endocrine Societies and under 7 is considered at goal by the ADA. I tend to be stricter on my younger patients who have a higher liklihood of developing complications of diabetes (which is the #1 cause of end stage renal disease and preventable blindness) among others.

Lately there has been a push for weight loss adjuncts such as Belviq and Qsymia (if a candidate) in patients with diabetes and a Body Mass Index (BMI) of 27 or higher.

ADA.org is a great resource.

I encourage all the diabetics here to get off their keister and get to moving. Its the best therapy.

[smokesahoy]

If you are type 2 just cut out the carbs. The diabetic diet reads like a way to obtain dm2.

Read the research by Gary Taubes. It's not genetic, it's culture. But if your family eats the same and always did it's easy to see how the 2 lines blur.

Remember when it was called adult onset diabetes? Now kids are getting it. Think of carbs as survival food for times when there is no meat.

Read into the connection of Ancel Keys and the government. Your type 2 is a total joke and you don't need to have it, but if you follow the diet guidelines that gave it to you in the first place you are looking at a lifetime of having it. Of worrying about losing toes, feet, and legs as neuropathy sets in and gangrene follows.

A shame, carbs are just too addictive to set down and people lose body parts to a disease that is totally preventable and reversible.

[cbrick]

Exercise is the single best thing you can do. Diet of course is important but with me the diet isn't as important as exercise which also leads to weight loss, another very important thing in trying to control diabetes.

I can't speak to early warning signs of diabetes because when I was diagnosed I was diagnosed at the same time with Graves disease. Graves disease also has a lengthy list of symptoms many of which are similar to diabetes so which was which I can't say.

Docs had me on the pills for several years and they never did all that much good for me. Finally was prescribed Lantus SoloStar insulin and it was a game changer, a life saver. It's a slow acting insulin and one dose a day at bedtime is all it takes. If your having trouble controlling your blood sugar talk to your doc about Lantus. The shots are nothing to worry about, the needle is so thin, so short and so sharp you have to look to see if it went in.

Diet can be confusing because some foods that seem to have little effect on blood sugar will spike it the next time you eat it, probably has to do with the amount and type of exercise you've had. Also different foods seem to have a different effect on different people. I have a friend who's blood sugar goes way up if he even sees a bowl of corn, I eat corn in limited amounts and it has little effect. Spaghetti is a huge no-no but it's about straight carbs as is soda.

Very, very, very important is getting annual eye exams from a good ophthalmologist, eye damage can sneak up on you with little warning. Cataracts and 10 years undiagnosed diabetes is the reason I no longer shoot competitively, Cataracts were an easy enough fix but not so diabetic eye damage.

Bottom line, listen to your doctor and make serious efforts at taking care of yourself. The consequences of not doing so are quite serious and permanent.

Rick

[tomme boy]

Stay away from anything fried. Mexican food is my downfall. It is all carbs.

I was drinking about 2 gals of water a day. Non stop to the bath room. I was in college at the time and towards the end, I was moving towards the front of the class every week as I could not see the board. When I hit the front row, I knew I better see what was going on. On the way home that night, I ran off the road as I could not see the road to stay on it. I went to the emergency room and they kept me in there overnight. My sugar was over 500. They put me on pills for about 5 years. Then I ended up having to go onto insulin. I gained 40 lbs in less than a month when that happened. I still have not been able to lose that weight.

[Wayne Smith]

All time best advice: Every medical center has Diabetic Education Classes. If you are pre-diabetic or diabetic ask your MD to prescribe these classes and your insurance will pay for them. Get your information from certified Diabetic Educators rather than folks like us. I can give you the numbers that count and how to manage them and did in the other thread, but you are better getting the whole thing, three technical classes and one on how to grocery shop. Each are important.

[bangerjim]

GOOD NEWS.........I have found (for me) alcohol slows down the metabolism of carbs! I know it sounds silly but it works for me.

Have a big pizza or a ton of shrimp Alfredo pasta? Have a couple shot of scotch....18 year old single malt is my favorite!

Good luck. It is a disease I would not wish on my worst enemy. But.......it is not a death sentence....you can live a long pretty much normal life......just monitor and eat conservatively.

And try blue agave liquid sweetener (Costco) instead of sugar!

banger

[uscra112]

I was diagnosed in February. My otherwise good distance vision became blurred, fatigued with no ambition (didn't even want to cast bullets), frequent and URGENT urination, losing weight while eating like a horse.

That was me in years 1996 to 2000. Two different doctors failed to recognize it, despite my constant compaint about peeing all the time, but one of my friends did, and she has no medical training whatsoever. The A1c test is the only sure diagnostic. I believe you can now buy an A1c kit in pharmacies.

The trope that it's all your fault is not entirely true. It does run in families, including mine, on my father's side.

It not a disease. It is a malfunction of the metabolic system which so far nobody really understands. They know that there is a molecule, (perhaps a family of molecules) in your blood that binds to natural insulin so that it cannot perform its' function of "unlocking" cell walls to let glucose inside to be used.

No-one seems to know where or why these molecules appear, but some evidence indicates that the molecule is manufactured in fat cells. This goes some way toward explaining why, statistically, obesity is such a common precursor. Not always. My grandfather and one uncle (his first son) were both Type 2 late in life, but both were rail-thin and highly athletic individuals their entire lives.

Aside from reduction in food intake, the main therapy is to "flood the zone" with insulin so that there's enough in your blood that isn't disabled to get the job done. There are at least a dozen drugs which stimulate insulin production. Another common drug is Metformin, which suppresses glucose production in the liver.

It is a progressive condition. No matter what you do, it will get worse as time goes on. (I'm into year 14 now.) If there is ever a "cure" it may come from understanding the system which produces that rogue molecule, and shutting it down. I scan the literature pretty often, and so far I see nothing like that on the horizon.

So I eat far less than will satisfy my hypothalamus, am therefor constantly hungry. Am now on injections. Actually glad of that, because the heavy doses of the drugs I was given are hard on the liver. Still taking the Metformin, which I hate because it nauseates me unless I eat copiously on top of it, (how's that for counterproductive ! My weight is still 40 lbs too much) Fingersticks three or four times a day, (that gets old), to make sure I don't over-do the insulin and run my self dangerously low. Still, my eyes are all right, (I see the eye doctor twice a year), neuropathy is still only mild, circulation still decent for a man of 69. On my best days, I think I'll make 90. Other days we won't talk about.

[cbrick]

Yes, it does run in families. If your over weight, middle age and there is diabetes in your family, mother or fathers side you have a much better than average chance that you will have it to. You don't have to have all three of those either, I wasn't over weight, was in pretty good shape actually but I was middle age and my mother had diabetes.

45 years a ago when my mother was diagnosed I heard that a cure was 10 years away, have heard the same thing every 10 years since. Things are far better today than even 30 or so years ago with a better understanding and far better drugs. Today it doesn't have to be a death sentence but it is very important to eat right, get exercise & see a good eye doctor. It's no picnic in the park but if ya take care of yourself life goes on.

Rick

[btroj]

Not a disease?

1.
a disorder of structure or function in a human, animal, or plant, esp. one that produces specific signs or symptoms or that affects a specific location and is not simply a direct result of physical injury.
"bacterial meningitis is a rare disease"
synonyms: illness, sickness, ill health; More
a particular quality, habit, or disposition regarded as adversely affecting a person or group of people.
"departmental administration has often led to the dread disease of departmentalitis"

Diabetes is most definitely a disease. The leading cause of blindness and amputation in this country.

Diet and exercise are key components in the treatment. It can't be stopped but the progress and debilitating effects can be mitigated.

[snuffy]

IIRC, it was 2005 when I was diagnosed with type 2.

In my case, hypoglycemia was my precursor or warning sign. Blood sugar would crash about 2 hours after breakfast. All it would take is a chunk of candy or even a slice of pizza to bring me out of it. After about 4 years of that, I got hooked up with the VA for my health care. My first blood panel showed an A1-C of 8.7! At first, all I took or it was metformin. Along with no sugar, and watching carbs. It was successful at first, but it gets progressively worse.

Exercise and weight loss is key to lessening the blood sugar levels. In my case, with my lousy back and worse knees, I can't walk much. At present, I take insulin once daily. NPH insulin is a mix of fast acting and slow release insulin. Problem is, I'm running out of room on the 100 unit syringes.

I got hydrocortizone shot's in both knees a couple of months ago. Now I can walk a bit more. A years membership at planet fitness I got just before 1-1-14 allowed me to use a treadmill until my lower back went out. I'm just now getting to where I can stand for more than 10 minutes, I'll get back on the exercises soon. Doc says if I could loose 30 pounds, I could cut my insulin in half. Another 20 pounds could eliminate it completely.

[dpunch]

I too have diabetes. You are right that the most important thing is counting those carbs. I am a type one diabetic that was diagnosed 31 years ago and have been in good control for the last year. I learned to do my own research on my disease. The last doctor I had was not very good. I ended up in ICU for 2 weeks after a minor accident. Now I have a doctor that specializes in diabetes. This has been a great help to me. Just look up all the information you can find along with following your diet and exercise.