The Diabetes Forum Support Community For Diabetics Online banner
Cancel

Diabrarian's Progress Thread

9079 Views 51 Replies 8 Participants Last post by  Shanny, 
Diabrarian
Hi everyone, glad to be here. I was diagnosed last week and attribute it to high sugared diet and weight gain.

Here are my stats:

28 year old male in Toronto, Canada
5'8", 180 lbs, target weight 164
15-20 min exercise/day to begin
Nearsighted with glasses

BS mmol/Ls

500g Metformin 2x daily

First diagnosed Wed. 28th, 27.9 to 20.7 after saline IV to 12.4 after beginning Metformin and healthier meals.

7.4-8.5 range before meals, 8.9-9.8 after meals. Staggered measurements poke test 2-3x daily


Thoughts

Goals
My goals are:
- weight loss, 15 lbs. in 2 years
- graduate school in spring 2011 and get a full time career job
- run a 5K for diabetes in 1-2 years

Motivations
My motivations are:
- my individual condition is manageable
- oral meds only for the current time
-

Fears
My greatest fears are:
- losing my sight to where I cannot be a librarian
- losing my feet to infection and amputation


I know I've had a lot thrown at me in just over a week, but I'm in summer school and can't afford to miss classes if I'm in no immediate danger. That may sound superficial, even naive, but it gives me something to do and takes my mind off the diabetes for a while every day. I find myself thinking about it constantly when not absorbed in studying and don't think I'll get adjusted to it for a while, it just had to happen in the middle of school. I'm extremely "keyed up" and find it hard to relax unless wasting time being distracted on Youtube. Even in the midst of hanging out and laughing with friends I find myself staring at them and thinking miserably that I could have been them if I'd taken better care. I try to have a sense of humour about it but often I find the reality sobering and melancholy in private.

Question

My biggest concern is the blurred vision I've had since I started the Metformin. I'm studying to be a librarian and naturally my greatest fear is vision loss. I am nearsighted and wear glasses but the drug has reversed it, now I'm farsighted and have worse blurriness with the glasses on. I have to take them off to go out, to read, to see the board in class, and to use the computer, which unfortunately as a Masters student I spend a lot of time at.

I've booked an appointment with my optometrist in two Mondays, but have had this "reversed" vision for a week. Perhaps I'm just looking for a little non-medical reassurance so my fears can be allayed while I'm playing the waiting game.

How long can I expect this vision to last? Doc only said I shouldn't worry about retinopathy at this point, but gave no clue as to the expected time to adjust to the drug. My parents even suggested I reschedule the optometrist in a couple of months because the blurriness is expected and there's little she could do in the meantime until I'm fully adjusted and have my regular vision back.

Advice and experience is gladly appreciated!

Thanks,

Alex
See less See more
Reply
Save
Like
1 - 20 of 52 Posts
D
The blurred vision is due to sugar level in eye lagging behind the BGL. as the BGL return to normal so will the your eye sight. It may take a couple of weeks after your BGL have stabilized. but you should be fine.

I dont know why the Md's cant tell us why something is happening, they only say "dont worry youl be fine"

I'd worry and be finer if they told us what and why stuff is happening.
Reply
Save
Like
breezeonby
Diabrarian said:
Hi everyone, glad to be here. I was diagnosed last week and attribute it to high sugared diet and weight gain.

Here are my stats:

28 year old male in Toronto, Canada
5'8", 180 lbs, target weight 164
15-20 min exercise/day to begin
Nearsighted with glasses

BS mmol/Ls

500g Metformin 2x daily

First diagnosed Wed. 28th, 27.9 to 20.7 after saline IV to 12.4 after beginning Metformin and healthier meals.

7.4-8.5 range before meals, 8.9-9.8 after meals. Staggered measurements poke test 2-3x daily


Thoughts

Goals
My goals are:
- weight loss, 15 lbs. in 2 years
- graduate school in spring 2011 and get a full time career job
- run a 5K for diabetes in 1-2 years

Motivations
My motivations are:
- my individual condition is manageable
- oral meds only for the current time
-

Fears
My greatest fears are:
- losing my sight to where I cannot be a librarian
- losing my feet to infection and amputation


I know I've had a lot thrown at me in just over a week, but I'm in summer school and can't afford to miss classes if I'm in no immediate danger. That may sound superficial, even naive, but it gives me something to do and takes my mind off the diabetes for a while every day. I find myself thinking about it constantly when not absorbed in studying and don't think I'll get adjusted to it for a while, it just had to happen in the middle of school. I'm extremely "keyed up" and find it hard to relax unless wasting time being distracted on Youtube. Even in the midst of hanging out and laughing with friends I find myself staring at them and thinking miserably that I could have been them if I'd taken better care. I try to have a sense of humour about it but often I find the reality sobering and melancholy in private.

Question

My biggest concern is the blurred vision I've had since I started the Metformin. I'm studying to be a librarian and naturally my greatest fear is vision loss. I am nearsighted and wear glasses but the drug has reversed it, now I'm farsighted and have worse blurriness with the glasses on. I have to take them off to go out, to read, to see the board in class, and to use the computer, which unfortunately as a Masters student I spend a lot of time at.

I've booked an appointment with my optometrist in two Mondays, but have had this "reversed" vision for a week. Perhaps I'm just looking for a little non-medical reassurance so my fears can be allayed while I'm playing the waiting game.

How long can I expect this vision to last? Doc only said I shouldn't worry about retinopathy at this point, but gave no clue as to the expected time to adjust to the drug. My parents even suggested I reschedule the optometrist in a couple of months because the blurriness is expected and there's little she could do in the meantime until I'm fully adjusted and have my regular vision back.

Advice and experience is gladly appreciated!

Thanks,

Alex
Click to expand...
Welcome to Diabetes Forum Alex! Glad that you joined us, you will be able to learn alot from others on the forum. My vision problems started last year after several years of not testing or treating and the vision problems have just gotten worse. Your vision problems should stabilze when your blood sugar is under better control, close to the 120 range. Keep us posted and let us know how your vision is doing. My biggest fear when I got diabetes was the fear of vision loss. All we can do is keep our diabetes under control.
Reply
Save
Like
Diabrarian
Thanks!

My buildup was largely attributed to excessive pop and fruit juice over the past 5 years. I was told that 5 years are about how long diabetes takes to build up to visible symptoms.

I only started exhibiting true symptoms about two weeks ago, the peeing, the numb fingers, etc. My "normal" prescription vision was perfectly fine until two weeks ago, and I was diagnosed last Monday. It only went a little blurry beyond the usual as part of the symptoms, but the Metformin has completely set it off.

Postponing the optometrist is largely a personal choice, I just wish I had better judgement of what's going on. Can I be confident that this is just a temporary condition until my BS stabilizes and that it's not worth seeing her about at present? If so, I'd rather wait than bother her now. She is in another city and I can't afford to miss school for appointments if it's not an emergency. July is when she can see me next if not the 17th.

Just tested.

Dinner was a McDonald's grilled chicken Caesar salad, a palmful of croutons, no dressing. One Metformin.

2 h later: 6.7 / 120.6
See less See more
Reply
Save
Like
S
Hello & welcome, Alex. Your number one mission right now needs to be get your sugars down and stablized. Your vision and other symptoms will then fall into line. If you are willing to do what it takes to control your blood sugar, your risks of blindness and amputation drop dramatically (and by "dramatically", I mean to nearly nil).

Metformin is a drug that accumulates in your system - it takes days/weeks to reach maximum blood levels so it seems unlikely to me that it is the cause of your blurred vision. I agree with the others that the elevated blood sugar is the culprit.

You may need to reassess your ideas about a healthy diet, because those croutons are what sent your BG to 6.7 . . . it's the carbs that wreck us. Unless you fancy the sweet dressings (and Caesar dressing isn't), salad dressings aren't going to hurt you, so go ahead on. Vinaigrettes are a good choice, and the creamy ones are usually good too - if they aren't sweetened like for cole slaw. Good choice on the grilled chicken. Eat all you like of not breaded meat/poultry/fish, cheese, eggs, nuts, high fiber vegetables like artichokes, asparagus, cabbage, kale, spinach, etc., etc. Limit or avoid "white" foods like rice, pasta, bread, potatoes, anything made with white flour and/or white sugar.

I know this has knocked the pins out from under you, but we're here to tell you, you can get control and you can maintain control. And we'll help you.

take care & hurry back.
See less See more
Reply
Save
Like
Diabrarian
Oh I know not much about a McDonald's meal is healthy, but I hadn't had many carbs during the day. This was only one example. Every meal needs at least some carbs to be close to complete, and four or five croutons isn't much in the long run after a day of mostly fish and vegetables.

Most of my starchy carbs now only come from whole grain bread, a slice at breakfast and two for a sandwich at lunch. The rest of the time it's fruit for carbs. Part of this diet adjustment is recognizing what effects different type of carbs and their amounts have on the system. Brown rice and brown pasta are less frequent than they should be.

My problem is I'm a student without a definitive schedule to find time to cook. I'm not home that often, spent most of the week at school, work or commuting, and I rarely have more than half a day to cook some meals to refrigerate at home when I have to sleep.

The doctors understand that I prefer fast, easy meals that I can throw together in ten minutes or less and eat on the go if needed. We agree that my concern is more out of not putting enough of something in a meal than too much, even carbs. Especially now that I have to watch carbs, I need to manage to get at least some in every meal.

Unless the chicken or fish are grilled or the brown rice or brown pasta cooked, most of my diet is raw, for convenience. Salad, vegetables, fruit, a few nuts. I was never that fond of potatoes, even fries. My weekly "treat" is nothing more innocuous than a can of Coke Zero with a snack, or a cup of sugar-free Jell-o for dessert.

I would much rather throw together a 7-veggie whole wheat pita with spices than spend half an hour cooking a large dish to freeze. A light tofu-veggie stir fry is usually the height of my cooking, no elaboration.

Food was never my biggest problem. The main issue that aggravated the diabetes in the first place was sugar in drinks. Because I don't drink coffee or alcohol, I overdid milk, soy milk, fruit juice, and sugar pop. I wasn't drinking enough clear water a day, instead gulping down bottles of juice at lunch and snacks instead of eating fruit, drinking three or four glasses of Coke when I went to bars, half a carton of milk or juice at breakfast. It all added up. In fact my frequent urinations started the morning after our class year end celebration where I went to town on the punch bowl.

Now that most of that liquid candy poison is gone and most of my fluid intake is water (I drink one Brita filter jug a day plus bottled water out), we suspect the BS will be easier to control. But it's only been a week, things will get better.
See less See more
Reply
Save
Like
S
You did not drink yourself into diabetes, Alex. You may have exacerbated some of your inherent risks by hitting the soda/juice/milk as heavily as you did, but you did not do this to yourself. None of us ate or drank ourselves into diabetes, and if your medical team is promoting this idea, or allowing to you believe this, then they do you a great disservice.

And whether or not your medical team believes it, diabetic patients do not "need" carbs. What they need is glucose, and our bodies can convert protein into glucose.

If you don't already have a meter, then get one. Use it to test your glucose one hour after you've eaten one of those two-slice whole-grain bread sandwiches. Let me know if it's under 180.
Reply
Save
Like
jsntay
Diabrarian said:
Thanks!

My buildup was largely attributed to excessive pop and fruit juice over the past 5 years. I was told that 5 years are about how long diabetes takes to build up to visible symptoms.

I only started exhibiting true symptoms about two weeks ago, the peeing, the numb fingers, etc. My "normal" prescription vision was perfectly fine until two weeks ago, and I was diagnosed last Monday. It only went a little blurry beyond the usual as part of the symptoms, but the Metformin has completely set it off.

Postponing the optometrist is largely a personal choice, I just wish I had better judgement of what's going on. Can I be confident that this is just a temporary condition until my BS stabilizes and that it's not worth seeing her about at present? If so, I'd rather wait than bother her now. She is in another city and I can't afford to miss school for appointments if it's not an emergency. July is when she can see me next if not the 17th.

Just tested.

Dinner was a McDonald's grilled chicken Caesar salad, a palmful of croutons, no dressing. One Metformin.

2 h later: 6.7 / 120.6
Click to expand...
Hi Alex and Welcome!

Taking Metformin and lowering your blood sugar should take care of your eyesight problems, but your eyes still need to be checked to make sure nothing else is going on.
Reply
Save
Like
Diabrarian
Perhaps I should have elaborated more.

This was why I used the word "aggravated" instead of "caused." The sugar in itself was not the culprit, although excessive consumption contributed to the risk. What came of all that sugar was excessive weight gain, and coupled with a sedentary lifestyle with little exercise. I have a belly that I didn't have six years ago and hasn't gone away in six years. I've been in school non-stop for the past twenty years. I go to school, my job is at a computer, I sit a computer to read for school and write reports. Sitting, no exercise, sitting, no exercise, weight, weight, weight. Something had to give. Boom.

I can give you an example right now. I don't take Metformin at lunch. Yesterday for lunch was spicy tuna salad made with fat-free mayo and celery on whole grain with a few grape tomatoes and water. 1 hour later, 7.4 / 133.2
See less See more
Reply
Save
Like
Diabrarian
I might also add (is there a reason I can't edit posts?) that the weight gain should not be regarded as a cause but an aggravation as well. If I had paid attention earlier in my 20s, I might have taken better steps to prevent aggravation.

I also forgot to mention that I'm half white and half Asian. My Chinese father's uncle was the current family's only known diabetic.
Reply
Save
Like
onaughmae
Diabrarian said:
I might also add (is there a reason I can't edit posts?) that the weight gain should not be regarded as a cause but an aggravation as well. If I had paid attention earlier in my 20s, I might have taken better steps to prevent aggravation.

I also forgot to mention that I'm half white and half Asian. My Chinese father's uncle was the current family's only known diabetic.
Click to expand...
Hi there and welcome to the forum. I can appreciate that it is a lot of info to get thrown at ya all at once...we have all been there :) Good job on being motivated to get it all under control. School is important too and its understandable that you have to make allowances for the time needed for school and being able to manage your diabetes also. It is true that as your blood sugar becomes under control that your vision will adjust. I got new contacts 3 months ago that I cant even wear anymore because I see better without them. I had been in a long period of very poor control (completely my fault) and my vision had become so bad that I got a new prescription. Big waste of money for boxes of contacts now that I cannot even use :) Give it some time to adjust and you should be ok to wait until your next appointment.

If you dont already have a meter then I agree that you should get one. Testing is really the best way to tell how how your particular body handles the food that you eat. As far as carbs go, that is absolutely the key to managing your diabetes. We all can take different amounts of carbs. Some of us really have to restrict our carbs to maintain a healthy blood sugar, some can handle more. I am lucky in that I can eat a bit more carbs and tolerate them easier since I am on insulin. Diabetes is very much a "your mileage may vary" type of thing. Testing around meals has shown me what foods I can tolerate in moderation and which ones need never pass my lips again (sad farewell to watermelon for me!).

Let us know how you are doing!
See less See more
Reply
Save
Like
D
Being diabetic fatty food is your friend:eek: it slows theabsorptionn of carbs. Most diabetics cant handle carbs in the morning so skipping the toast might be a good idea. whole grain breadusuallyy has a lot of carbs.

your body converts protein to usable sugar a lot slower than carbs, you dont need carbs.


Read the labels on food packages (do you have them in Canada?)
get to know the Glycemic index of foods.
http://www.mendosa.com/gilists.htm



Food
All foods with carbohydrates (carbs) Raises BGL
especially bad carbs are
almost anything white. White bread, potato, rice, sugar (eating a potato is worse than eating sugar as far as BGL goes.)

Protein, fiber and fat
slows down the rise of BGL.

meds (pills and insulin)
lower BSL

exercise
lowers BSL
See less See more
Reply
Save
Like
Diabrarian
Thanks for your advice everyone.

I should point out that every measurement I've given is from a meter, or as I call it the sweet poker. Doc advised testing "twice a day, sometimes more." I stagger measurements before or after the three meals.

The first order was to get it down to safe level from 11.1 which was the very first test since I bought the poker last week.

Today for example I decided to test before lunch, whereas I normally test before breakfast. It gave 5.3 / 97.2 at 12pm, no metformin.

Lunch was a salmon sandwich on whole grain with celery and a peach.

I worked out and had a rice cake with a slice of melted processed cheese and half an apple for a snack.

Dinner was at 6:30, a bowl of brown rice, vegetables, tofu, and light teriyaki sauce. 1 metformin. 8:30 test was 6.7 / 120.6

Eyesight is gradually improving, still blurry but less than before.

I see doc tomorrow for some more blood test results. My LDH was very high when they did the diabetes test, and I believe I may have hepatitis from a very large post-natal blood transfusion from premature birth. This was in the 80s, before they screened for it.

Apparently heppers are more prone to diabetes.

Ain't life grand?
See less See more
Reply
Save
Like
D
Rice cakes are very Glycemic, even whole wheat bread is pretty Glycemic so is brown rice. All those are not as bad as the white version of the food, but white 11 carbs of bread is more Glycemic than 11 carbs of table sugar. So eating a slightly less Glycemic version of high Glycemic is not that much help. Fruit also tends to be Glycemic.

As for metformin, you said you did not have it with lunch. Metformin can take several weeks to build up in your system and start to do its best work. Its not just for that meal that it works.

Keep a food journal and count the carbs, you will make the connection, and figure out what works for you.

You pancreas is still working some if I ate that same food I'd end up with BG numbers in the 200 -300 range.
Reply
Save
Like
Diabrarian
All right! I've mananged to keep the BS to the 5 range consistently over the past days with regular meals, only going a few points over 6 after meals. Even a treat of half a bagel or half a cup of sugar-free ice cream only set it into the mid 7s-low 8s instead of the 10s where it was when I first started. Doc is pleased and says 6 is the max range to aim for, whatever I'm doing to keep it up.

I have my first appointment with an endo next week. I've been told endos are evil for some reason. Are they like dental hygenists who love inflicting pain on their patients?

I also had an ultrasound done from elevated liver levels, possibly non-alcoholic fatty liver. Blood tests also waiting results for chronic hepatitis.
Reply
Save
Like
onaughmae
Diabrarian said:
All right! I've mananged to keep the BS to the 5 range consistently over the past days with regular meals, only going a few points over 6 after meals. Even a treat of half a bagel or half a cup of sugar-free ice cream only set it into the low 8s instead of the 10s where it was when I first started. Doc is pleased and says 6 is the max range to aim for, whatever I'm doing to keep it up.

I have my first appointment with an endo next week. I've been told endos are evil for some reason. Are they like dental hygenists who love inflicting pain on their patients?

I also had an ultrasound done from elevated liver levels, possibly non-alcoholic fatty liver. Blood tests also waiting results for chronic hepatitis.
Click to expand...

Awesome job there. Endos arent evil at all! I love mine. He is great. Since I have started seeing him and the whole team there (nurse practitioners and CDE's) I am in the best control I have been in years! These people literally saved my life. I wish you the best of luck with yours!

On a side note....I contracted HepC (from one too many tattoos I think) but I was one of the extremely lucky 15% of those affected that cleared the virus on my own. I never required treatment, and I am still status virus undetectable. I count my blessings for it let me tell you. One thing that did help me....my liver enzymes were elevated and I started taking milk thistle. Ask your doc about it. My liver enzymes went back to normal and continue to stay that way. I still take it everyday :) I know a lot of heppers that take it daily.

Let us know how it goes!
See less See more
Reply
Save
Like
S
Nice work, Alex! Good luck with that endocrinologist - I don't think you'll need any garlic or a silver bullet . . . ;) My regular doc years ago was one and a really great doc. I had started with him when he was an internist, then he later specialized and went into diabetes care, but I was already his patient despite being non-diabetic in those days, and I stayed with him until he moved to another state.

Diabrarian said:
All right! I've mananged to keep the BS to the 5 range consistently over the past days with regular meals, only going a few points over 6 after meals. Even a treat of half a bagel or half a cup of sugar-free ice cream only set it into the mid 7s-low 8s instead of the 10s where it was when I first started. Doc is pleased and says 6 is the max range to aim for, whatever I'm doing to keep it up.

I have my first appointment with an endo next week. I've been told endos are evil for some reason. Are they like dental hygenists who love inflicting pain on their patients?

I also had an ultrasound done from elevated liver levels, possibly non-alcoholic fatty liver. Blood tests also waiting results for chronic hepatitis.
Click to expand...
Reply
Save
Like
Diabrarian
Yeah, unfortunately I doubt this will go away. I was born 3 months premature, in the 80s when saving someone that early was way more difficult. I required massive transfusions, along with 5 other infants that time from the same quantity. One of them was diagnosed with HIV at 7 years old. I've been tested regularly since becoming sexually active and thankfully never had it and still don't. It really sucks that some populations just happened to be part of that time in history when screenings weren't as thorough.

Never done drugs or tattoos, so chances are if I do have HepC, I've been living with it for 28 years, which would explain why my LDH is way over.

Apparently heppers also have higher risk to develop diabetes, which along with the weight didn't help.

I'm just thankful all of this was caught at a good age that I can get fitter and healthier without much resistance from my body.
See less See more
Reply
Save
Like
onaughmae
Diabrarian said:
Yeah, unfortunately I doubt this will go away. I was born 3 months premature, in the 80s when saving someone that early was way more difficult. I required massive transfusions, along with 5 other infants that time from the same quantity. One of them was diagnosed with HIV at 7 years old. I've been tested regularly since becoming sexually active and thankfully never had it and still don't. It really sucks that some populations just happened to be part of that time in history when screenings weren't as thorough.

Never done drugs or tattoos, so chances are if I do have HepC, I've been living with it for 28 years, which would explain why my LDH is way over.

Apparently heppers also have higher risk to develop diabetes, which along with the weight didn't help.

I'm just thankful all of this was caught at a good age that I can get fitter and healthier without much resistance from my body.
Click to expand...
Absolutely it is a sad thing. My sister contracted HepC through blood transfusions in the 80's with surgery. Its a terrible thing to combat if you dont catch it before you get really sick. The good thing is, it is a slow progressing disease so chances are you caught it before too much damage was done. Its true there is a correlation between hepC and diabetes. There is a lot of info online about it to read.

I am glad to see you did so well being that premature during that time. Neonatal medicine has come a long way since then. I am a NICU nurse. Its so amazing what these little guys survive, amazes me everyday!
Reply
Save
Like
Diabrarian
Well more good news! Blood tests came back negative, I haven't got any hepatitis. The ultrasound revealed cholesterol gallstones instead, which only requires surgical extraction. Other than that, it's just diabetes, metformin is helping keep glucose in check, and the improved diet and exercise will naturally lower cholesterol without the need to go on pills for a long time. Killing two birds with one...gallstone.
Reply
Save
Like
1 - 20 of 52 Posts
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
The Diabetes Forum Support Community For Diabetics Online
A forum community dedicated to people living with Diabetes. Come join the discussion about treatment, nutrition, news, reviews, accessories, classifieds, and more!
Full Forum Listing
Explore Our Forums
Off Topic Lounge General Diabetes Discussions New Member Introductions Diabetes Diet and Nutrition Diabetes Treatment
Top