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I need help badly.

10K views 47 replies 20 participants last post by  Shanny 
#1 ·
I've had type two diabetes for around tweleve years. It's been a roller coaster ride and I'll tell you why. I've been on different medicines before and right now I'm on 2000 mg of Metformin a day and 5 mg of Glispizide per day. When I started to take the Glipizide, I started gaining weight. On the Metformin I had lost 60 pounds all together. I was doing well. But my doctor thought I should go on this Glipizide and I've gained 40 of my 60 pounds back. At one time I had my A1C down to five, which is like if you don't have diabetes. So I asked my doctor if I could get off the medicine and start my diet. She discouraged me by saying I would fail and always have diabetes because it runs in my family. So from then it's been down hill, gaining weight, with my diabetes hardly under control. Now I'm wondering, after I've been a diabetic for twelve years, is it ever possible to control it by diet and exercising so I can get off of the medication? The doctor is wanting to increase my dosage of Glipizide, which will only make me gain more. When I gain more, I will need more. The merry go round continues. After tweleve years, like I have been, do you think there is any chance of controlling it by diet and exercising alone?

--Discouraged Diabetic, please reply :confused:
 
#5 ·
When my A1C was down to five, I was eating mostly veggies, so very few carbohydrates. However, that was eleven years ago. I am wondering... Do you think that I can still pull this off, with my current A1C at 7.4, even though I've been on this medication for so long?
 
#6 ·
Many doctors are like that (at least mine and yours are!). They tend to favor meds over lifestyle changes. When I first suggested that I tried to control my blood sugar naturally via diet and exercise (I haven't heard of low carb diet yet), he discouraged it and said that from his experience most of his patients don't have the discipline to go through with it. But thanks to this forum, which opened my eyes to the danger of Glipizide, I started low-carbing and exercising. I ultimately took myself off Glipizide (without even asking my md first), and now he is fine with it because I have the A1c to back it up.
 
#21 ·
My next A1C is due in April and even though I have been pigging out because of the holidays, I'm going to get back on Dr. Bernstein's regimen in a few days and really stick to it so that when I go back to the endo in 4 months, maybe my A1C will closer to 5 (most recent one was 6.3).
 
#8 ·
~~ mylady1993 ~~ Hi and welcome to our community!!

You could not find a more caring and understanding community than we have right here.

I wish we could say that our Doctors and Dietitians know what is best for us, but I think the sad truth is that the "standard of treatment" fails many patients who really try hard to follow the advice given, and then all too often the patient gets blamed.
What you will find in here are many diabetics who have successfully managed to control their diabetes, and you can, too :)

But if you have not already done so, please read Jenny Ruhl's web site -- Blood Sugar 101
She is also a T2 and has access to much of the current research, and summarizes it for us. Most of her advice is based on solid research. There is an entire book's worth of information there, and well worth your time to read as much as you can.
Another great site is Dr. Andreas Eenfelt, the Diet Doctor. I especially recommend his videos; they are very helpful and explain a lot. His site can be found here: LCHF for beginners | DietDoctor.com

I learned a great deal from these two sites. You will get a lot of the help you need from these two sites, as well as from our members here.

Good luck to you, please come back often and share your experiences, questions and concerns. We are here to help :)
 
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#9 · (Edited)
After tweleve years, like I have been, do you think there is any chance of controlling it by diet and exercising alone?

--Discouraged Diabetic, please reply :confused:
It is very likely that you could gain good control of your blood sugars through diet and exercise. I am able to totally control diabetes with diet alone - since I am unable to exercise much. The key is keeping ones consumption of carbohydrates at or below one's ability to metabolize it. There are many here on this forum who do this. Some were initially out-of-control with high BGs, but after some weeks or months eating low carb/high fat (LCHF) they made a dramatic turnaround and now have near normal numbers.

I do not want to give the impression that everyone can achive control through diet alone. Everyone's body is different, so some can do this, and others need meds or insulin. The goal for this community of diabetics is to do what it takes to achieve control and thus avoid complications.

By the way, a LCHF diet will most likely melt off all that extra weight. It has done so for me and others.
 
#11 ·
Metformin is a fairly safe drug, so even if you want to totally eliminate your meds, it might be best to stick with the Metformin for a while until you get your bg under control. At that time you can decide whether you want to keep on taking it or try giving it a go without any meds at all.

It is important to get your bg below 140 and keep it there because that is where the complications can start. To do that, test 1 and 2 hrs. after you take your first bite of food. If either of those readings is 140 or above, cut down the number of carbs you eat at the next meal. It won't be long until you know about how many carbs you can eat per meal and still keep your bg under control.
 
#13 ·
mylady1993 said:
How high was his A1C when his doctor tried to put him on Glip? How is he doing now without it? Thank you for your response. :)
A1c on diagnosis was 11.8 in September. Recent A1c this month is 5.7. He never took the Glip. Only Metformin and LCHF :) His A1c is better than mine in 3 months and I've been at this awhile!

Sent from my iPhone using Diabetes
 
#15 ·
It's not too late. It makes sense that when you went on the Glip you gained weight because it squeezed more insulin out of your pancreas. If you eat a lower carb diet and stop the Glip, monitor your BG, and keep taking the Metformin, you have a very good chance of being able to lower your A1C a lot. The most important part is lowering the carbs. What's a typical day for you meal-wise?
 
#17 ·
Hi MyLady!

I'm sorry to hear what you are going through. I'm kind of there myself. From what you've written, it sounds like your doc immediately put you on meds first when you were diagnosed and didn't encourage plain diet and exercise - is that correct? That could be the problem.

I know that when I was diagnosed nearly two years ago, my doctor didn't give me meds right away and just told me to eat right and exercise for the first couple of months and we'll take it from there. I knew absolutely nothing about diabetes at the time, but thankfully I found this website and from the first night of diagnosis, I found out what I was supposed to eat and how exercise would affect my BS. So I went into action - for the first three months, I ate very low carb, about 30 carbs a day (Dr. Richard Bernstein's diet) - and took long walks in the park for about two hours. When I went back to my doctor, she was amazed. My AIC had dropped from 11.3 down to a near 6 and I had lost 30 pounds. She literally called me her "star patient" and said she had never seen this happen before. I told her fear is a great cure-all. So, YES, it CAN be done with just diet and exercise - as long as you have that fear.

Somewhere along the way, I lost the fear. Things went downhill. I had some personal and financial setbacks, which stressed me out so much I went back to my "normal" way of stress eating, which included Ben & Jerry's for breakfast. I found myself suddenly near homelessness and had to eat high-carb stuff from food banks (pasta, rice and such) and my health and BS spun out of control.

I went to an endo, who put me on meds like Metformin, Januvia, and others that did absolutely nothing for me. I am now on Lantus insulin, which in the beginning gave me great morning numbers (70's and 80'). Then, I fell off the wagon again with these damn holidays and all the food around. For the past two months, I've been waking up in the low 100's (110-130), which isn't as bad as your numbers, but scaring me because I'd been in the "normal" range.

So, basically, I am where you are - I have gained back all the weight I lost - plus more - and my diet is a roller-coaster. HOWEVER, I must say this: I gave myself permission to pig out on Christmas leftovers and today I am paying the price for it. I ate so much junk yesterday that my side is cramping and I feel nauseus. It just IS NOT worth it. I figured I would get it all out of my system and then start new on January 1, back on the Bernstein diet. But I have to learn to set limits - I am a major stress eater with major stress going on, so I have to become more disciplined. I am realizing that I'll give myself permission to eat tasty stuff on Thanksgiving & Christmas, but only for one day and get rid of all the leftovers.

So, New Years Day I do plan to take back my life and my diet and my control over Diabetes instead of letting it control me. You CAN do it with just diet and exercise but it will be a little more difficult if you are on a medication that promotes weight gain. Maybe talk to your endo about just doing Metformin along with diet and exercise. Hopefully, you will see some great results!

:)
 
#24 ·
Hi Moosha
I like your down to earth attitude about things and your honesty.I need a shove some times,I become dishearten after all this time .I know it sounds a little crazy but I don't want to try and fail.I'm afraid after all this time that my pancreas is to damaged to do it on it's on.Is there a time usually when your pancreas can't take over by diet?How many years does that take?
The day after christmas I started eating better but I believe with a little encouragement I could do a lot better.
 
#18 ·
((((Moosha)))) Thanks for full disclosure - I've had problems myself, especially since Thanksgiving when some family problems reared their ugly heads. Stress eating is a real predicament, and the only defense I have is keeping only low-carb food around. But that doesn't help a whole lot since we're also eating out quite a bit during this stressful time. Let's stay in touch & make this new year a true turnaround, okay?
 
#19 ·
Hi Shanny!

It is SOOOO hard to stay on track. I am really hoping to do better in 2013. Things are looking up personally and financially for me, so I would hate to blow it with complications creeping up on me. I'll definitely be around more often to support and be supported!

Moosha :)
 
#22 ·
moosha said:
Hi Mar2a,

I was curious about your comment on protein intake - can you give an example of how much protein you limit yourself to on a daily basis? I was always told that more protein would be better because it would be more filling and prevent over-carbing.

Thanks!
There are a couple protein calculators on the web. But if i remember correctly it averages out to about 1g protein to 1kg lean body mass. So a 150 pound person would need about 75g protein. These are approximations and the actual calculations may be different.

Remember, excess protein gets converted to glucose and may result in a delayed increase in BG so it's best to keep protein to what your body needs.

I think there are links to a couple on this forum.

Sent from my iPhone
 
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#28 ·
Hi Moosha,
Thanks for the blurb, I read it with much interest and at the very bottom of the article, the last paragraph in fact, it had this to say: You CAN Undo the Damage
No matter what your genetic heritage or the environmental insults your genes have survived, you can take steps right now to lower your blood sugar, eliminate the secondary insulin resistance caused by high blood sugars, and start the process that leads back to health. The pages linked here will show you how.

How To Get Your Blood Sugar Under Control

What Can You Eat When You Are Cutting The Carbs?

What is a Normal Blood Sugar

Research Connecting Blood Sugar Level with Organ Damage

The 5% Club: They Normalized Their Blood Sugar and So Can You

I guess that puts me in the 5% club - the whole point of my diet and my arguments above.

My diet sucks. I don't like it at all. I would willingly make a pig of myself if I could, just as some of you have said they did, using Christmas as an excuse.

However, for me, there is one thing I don't want above all else and to achieve that result, I will do whatever I must to keep my Diabetes under strict control, bearing in mind I'm 66 now and although I don't want to live forever and I certainly don't want to ever be reborn and come back, again....lol....I also want to live into my 80's or 90's if I can and I don't want a Diabetes controlled breakdown of my body and snip, snip and chop, chop as my veins fail and gangrene takes over, leaving me as a body in a wheelchair with nothing else to do, but rely on someone else until my Diabetes finishes me off, once and for all - as I see occasionally, from time to time.
It never ceases to amaze me, how easy it was for me to get my Diabetes under control and to lose weight - on my diet, it just happened. I did not cheat myself and I refused all alcohol and I've never smoked and if someone offers me booze, I say no and I'm a Diabetic, but I have it under control (and if that makes me odd man out, so be it)
It never ceases to amaze me how the majority of you will never face the truth of the simplicity of my diet, or now, this article, which you put up for me to read, also echoes my sentiments exactly - but find excuses about why you don't want to change your habits or lifestyle, because they are ingrained in you and too hard, or you don't want to be seen as different in your peer groups.
What a price to pay, in the long term.
This then is my offer to each and every one of you who don't have your diabetes under control as described in the last paragraph of this article, which has nothing to do with me, is not something I was aware of until Moosha put it up, so the blame - if any - is on him......If you have the balls and the belief in your convictions, join me in the 5% club, either with my diet, or the diet described in this article - I dare each and every one of you.
BigBenn
 
#33 ·
Moosha happens to be a her, not a "him", k? And none of us need to be "dared" into being healthy and we don't need your "offer", either, thank you. Please take your hostility elsewhere and stop attacking us who are doing our best in a difficult situation. Sorry we're not all perfect like you apparently are.
 
#29 ·
BigBenn.... not sure why you're coming across as so hostile, many of us here do have our diabetes under control and are here to help those who are struggling, not condemn them for not being in control. And some of us will never have the "balls" but might have the "ovaries", yet having either of those only helps if you know the right steps to take in order to get healthy.
 
#30 ·
bigbenn - intolerance is not friendly, and this forum is one of the few friendly diabetes sites still on-line.

We have a saying here - "your milage may vary" (YMMV). It has been shown time and time again that what may work for one person may or may not work for another. That's why we try to avoid comments that put others down for not doing a thing a certain way.

If you take a look at the signatures of many of the members here you'll find that they are at the same place, or even a better place (lower A1C) than you. Everyone got where they are through their own efforts and through tailoring their diet and meds to meet their own particular needs.
 
#31 ·
OK,
Sorry to everyone who I have offended by coming across intolerant. Good point.
I have had a pretty tough few years, some years back and I dominate the tasks I set myself, because that works for me and probably why I come across the way I do.
I am of the opinion that there are 2 sorts of people, those who lead by example and those who are led and while there are many shades of gray between black and white, I also accept that a push is occasionally more effective than a commiseration....
At days end, I wish I could do the impossible and cure everyone, even if I inherited their Diabetes by result.
In my life I have overcome many physical disabilities which have crippled other people and stopped their full life's potential and Diabetes, for me is just another challenge to overcome, like all of the others before this and in all probability, other challenges as yet unseen and unknown in my future - which I approach in the same determined way, while I have breath and life.
I want results in my life and I use my body as a crash test dummy to find the ways to overcome what otherwise seems impossible and insurmountable to make that adjustment to return me to full health again.
I am pleased that many of you are in the 5% club and share your knowledge with others less fortunate who are not - you have your ways and I have mine.
If nothing else, I have the advantage of my years, a lifetime of achievement in ensuring my ongoing health against all odds and the lifestyle now, to enjoy my life to the fullest and without Diabetes, or perhaps, better said, with my Diabetes under strict control.
BigBenn
 
#32 ·
The newly diagnosed diabetic comes to this forum for help - they are confused and scared. We try to gently lead them toward what we hope is their goal of lowering their BG and preventing complications. And we listen to their questions and answer them the best we can.

Some people are naturally "take charge" type people. Others are unsure of what to do and need to be encouraged and enlightened. One can usually tell by their initial posts what kind of person they are (or somewhere inbetween). It makes sense to go gently at first when making comments.

It also makes sense not to throw the whole bag of tricks at people right off the bat. Many need time to absorbe the first steps and to implement change in their lives. Later they will come back for more information to make it even better.
 
#35 ·
My Lady,
I will make two suggestions:
1) Talk to a Certified Diabetic Dietitian. This will help you a great deal in learning how to manage a proper diet.
2) This one is real important. Take your diabetes treatment away from your MD and find an Endocrinologist. I have nothing against MDs, but they deal with so much and so many that it's hard for them to continue thier diabetes education. An Endo specializes in hormone disorders.
Good Luck
Matt
P.S. my A1C is currently 5.9
 
#36 ·
Matt
I would take your suggestion but don't have enough money to see another doctor.I'm retired and have no Ins. and very little money.So I have to find a way to do it on my own.That's one reason I looked this forum up.By the way I did something the other day and it scared me a little because it had never happen to me before.I got up in the morning and took my blood sugar and it was 130 which is good for me.My daughter came over and we went out to clear the snow off the driveway a long one.I didn't eat before I went out I figured if it started get low the house was close so I would stop and eat.Normally it would have went down but instead it went to 180 I sure didn't understand that.Can you help me understand that?
Kathy/my lady
 
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