[Guest]

My name is Jeff, but most people call me "Newman" because of my last name and the character from the Seinfeld series by that name. I am married with no kids, 51 years old as of last week and have been diagnosed with Type II diabetes since November of 2006. I am a high school English teacher and work part-time at night at a junior college, teacher retirees and housewives how to use Microsoft Office products.

Both my parents have diabetes, but I was diagnosed at a much younger age. My father passed away in 1995 due to heart failure and complications with his diabetes. My mother is still alive, living in Des Plaines, IL (where I am originally from). My mother also has trouble with her diabetes, heart disease, and other complications that have her needed 24 assistance.

As for my dealing with my diabetes; I definitely need help. I am not on Insulin, but take high dosages of Metformin and Glipizide, twice a day. I am terrible at remembering to test my blood, but I am good at watching what I eat. I need to exercise, that is one of my biggest issues.

I look forward to reading about others and taking part in discussion on the various topics. Please feel free to dialog with me. And just because I am an English teacher, I will not attempt to correct anybody's spelling or grammar.

Take care, NEWMAN!

 

[Jchase]

Hi! I'm new too. Havent been diagnosed with anything but I know it's a matter of time before my body turns against me. In the short time looking around I have found more information and ideas that any one dr has been able to tell me. The support here is unbelievable too. Welcome

 

[Shanny]

Hello & welcome, Newman. Thank you for joining us, and thanks for the assurance that you won't be proofreading our posts.

We all gain strength from one another & I hope you'll find the same . . . maybe we can persuade you to do a fasting test just once a day to begin with, and when you get that locked in, add in a few postprandial tests too, eh?

Take care & visit us often. We're nothing if not chatty - I think you'll get the dialog you seek!

:welcome:

 

[Guest]

Thanks JChase! I can see already that this is the place to get support and to find out new info on helping me cope with this disease. NEWMAN

 

[Guest]

Thanks Shanny! Since my spring break is over, I plan on starting to take my fasting readings in the am each day. What is the best time of day to take the postprandial readings? After my AM dosage or evening dosage? NEWMAN

 

[Shanny]

Thanks Shanny! Since my spring break is over, I plan on starting to take my fasting readings in the am each day. What is the best time of day to take the postprandial readings? After my AM dosage or evening dosage? NEWMAN

Many PWDs (persons with diabetes) practice what is called "eat to your meter". So in order to discover which foods are compatible with our meters, as it were, many of us started out testing just before we eat, then testing one hour after the first bite to see how high the meal raised our glucose levels (the "spike"), and then we would test a third time at the 2-hour interval after that first bite. The third test is meant to find if our levels are dropping back near the pre-meal reading, as is desirable. My own goal was to find which foods sent my readings over 140 (7.7), so those foods could be sharply restricted or eliminated from my menus.

The management of diabetes is all about the food we eat. After a few weeks of testing this way, you'll begin to get an idea of which foods spike you, and/or what size portion you can tolerate, and you may decide to cut back on the testing unless you're eating something new & different. Strips are expensive, after all. But in the beginning it's a good way to get to know your system & how it reacts to the carbs in your diet. You'll find that carbs have the capacity to send you into orbit, protein can raise you a little bit if you eat enough of it, and fats spike you not at all.

The way my own diet has developed is mostly protein and moderate amounts of fat - meaning I don't buy low or nonfat products, but use full fat versions of cheeses, cream, sour cream, cream cheese, cottage cheese, mayonnaise, etc., and use them in normal amounts. I eat almost no fruit, apart from tomatoes & avocados. I eat only the highest fiber vegetables for the roughage they provide (fortunately I really like artichokes, asparagus, cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, spinach, et.al. ).

Simply avoiding processed foods will have a good effect for you, but the more carbs you can live without, the quicker your blood sugar will come into control.

A friend of mine puts it this way: "You have a dangerous disease. The complications can be very devastating. Simply taking your meds or your insulin to keep your sugars down is not good enough. A healthy diet and regular exercise are vital. Aim for a healthy body and mind; don't simply rely on pills and needles."

 

[jwags]

Welcome Newman to DF. I remember when I was dx'd 4 years ago my doctor acted as this was no big deal, even though my fasting was 240. I asked him about testing and he told me it was optional for Type 2's. When I started to educate myself about diabetes I found something very different. As diabetics we are at much higher risks for all sorts of diseases especially if we don't control our bgs. The only way to do that is to test and test often. I started testing a ton and now that I know my reaction to food I only test at the time of day that I usually spike. I arrange my diet to minimize these spikes. It didn't happen overnight but now my bgs run in the normal range most of the day. I just turned 60 last summer and expect to live another 40 years. I feel healthier now than I have in 30 years. It is possible to get normal bgs, but it takes a little work and lots of testing. I'm glad you found us and again welcome.

 

[breezeonby]

My name is Jeff, but most people call me "Newman" because of my last name and the character from the Seinfeld series by that name. I am married with no kids, 51 years old as of last week and have been diagnosed with Type II diabetes since November of 2006. I am a high school English teacher and work part-time at night at a junior college, teacher retirees and housewives how to use Microsoft Office products.

Both my parents have diabetes, but I was diagnosed at a much younger age. My father passed away in 1995 due to heart failure and complications with his diabetes. My mother is still alive, living in Des Plaines, IL (where I am originally from). My mother also has trouble with her diabetes, heart disease, and other complications that have her needed 24 assistance.

As for my dealing with my diabetes; I definitely need help. I am not on Insulin, but take high dosages of Metformin and Glipizide, twice a day. I am terrible at remembering to test my blood, but I am good at watching what I eat. I need to exercise, that is one of my biggest issues.

I look forward to reading about others and taking part in discussion on the various topics. Please feel free to dialog with me. And just because I am an English teacher, I will not attempt to correct anybody's spelling or grammar.

Take care, NEWMAN!

Hello and welcome Newman! There is a wealth of information on here so get comfortable and start reading! :couch2: Read what interests you and if you can't find a topic that you are looking for, do a search. I hope that you have time to visit often and take care!

 

[Guest]

welcome Newman I agree with others to watch amount of carbs you eat. I'm going to add to that and recommend you get to know the Glycemic Index (GI) for the carbs you do eat. The lower the better. You want to keep your BGL's stable. I noticed you're on 2 medications already, so you would need to be careful not to suddenly drop your carb intake and then risk having hypos. I did have hypos before I went on insulin, especially when I was on glipizide and similar drugs. Talk to your doctor too as this is important, you may need to have your dosage adjusted if you reduce carb intake substantially. There's also many other things that impact your BGLs... not just diet and exercise. Considering you're working 2 jobs there, I'm sure you've either experienced or are experiencing stress, lack of sleep, etc. All these things can raise your BGLs (occasionally they could drop too low too). Eg. once I had tested at 5 mmoL and then I received bad news half an hour later... I tested after the phone call giving me bad news and my BGLs had shot up to 14 mmoL because I was upset. So when Shanny talks about testing... I would also encourage you to test your BGLs when you notice any difference in your body (pain, stress, tired, sick, etc) and see how it affects you. You then get a good idea on what impacts your BGLs personally. Bear in mind we are all so different and what affects some, doesn't affect others... what works for some, doesn't work for others. Keep us posted on how you're doing.