[John13]

sugar levels have been around 5.0-10.0 daily
and i get a lot of exercise daily
Consistent diet,mostly veggies and a little fruit to keep levels balanced.

Retinopathy gets better and worse and now my IOP is elevated in my left eye.I have been getting blurriness for a few months before I had an eye pressure test reveal it was double then what it should be.
I was given eye drops and it seems like it is stable but there seems to be a loss of clarity.
I'm worried this might be permanent nerve damage or perhaps a cataract developing.

I took a leave of absence from work and have stopped driving
It was getting hard to see things properly

My doctor said he will help me get my A1C down(it was 9.6)

I have always struggled to manage my diabetes
Its always high and now my health is deteriorating as a result

I dont understand how people can derive such low a1c levels
I can barely get it down past 8 even when I try really hard

I take insulin and am type 1
I dont have a pump or CGM,I cant afford it.

Anyone that has experience with retinopathy and or glaucoma and perhaps things that helped improve your condition I would appreciate any advice

Anything people are doing with standard finger pricks and injections to improve a1c levels???

HOW do i Get it under 7???

 

[CMartin]

Please tell about your diet. How many carbs you eat daily ?

 

[mbuster]

Hello John13, not sure if you have done any reading in Bloodsugar 101, a site written by a type 2 MODY individual, it contains a section about damage that can occur due to high blood sugar and though written from a type 2 perspective, I am not sure that the same high blood sugar levels could also affect any one of us. If your BG is spending more time closer to the 10 than it is the 5, that may be what is happening. I think if you could make changes to have it spend more time in the lower half of the range, your situation will not get worse and it is likely doing so over time will allow some of the damage to begin to heal over time.

You may want to reference the writings of Dr. Richard Bernstein in Diabetes Solution who also offers advice on eating as well as managing type 1 or of Gary Scheiner's Think Like a Pancreas or John Walsh's Using Insulin to help you tighten up the range of your daily BG numbers. It could be that just an adjustment to how you are dosing your insulin could help tremendously, but reducing the things that directly cause a rise in BG won't hurt either. A lot of attention paid to your BG levels will need to be done to ensure you are tightening the range and not just lowering both ends of it.

 

[itissteve]

Hello, John.

CMartin raises an important question. If your diet is, as you wrote, "mostly veggies and a little fruit to keep levels balanced", you are eating a relatively-high-carbohydrate diet which will cause high blood glucose spikes which you (as a Type 1 diabetic) will have to counter with (high) doses of insulin. It might make sense to move to a diet much lower in carbohydrates so you don't have to counteract their effect in your body so strongly.

The type of insulin you're using may matter, too (basal versus bolus). There are many Type 1 diabetics among the members here who might be able to tell you how they address the blood-glucose management challenges you're facing. Please tell us more; we'd like to help.

 

[rsfletcher]

sugar levels have been around 5.0-10.0 daily
and i get a lot of exercise daily
Consistent diet,mostly veggies and a little fruit to keep levels balanced.

Hi John13, I'm a type 1 also and over the years had my own struggles. Like you my sugar levels range between 5.0 - 10.0 daily however that's usually 2 hours after eating or first thing in the morning. Not sure when you're testing but BG levels can be deceiving of overall control if your only testing before meal times.

Over time I mapped out my entire BG profile for the day and recorded what times in the day I would hit the highest - it's those times of day that I test myself now (2 hours after eating).

As well - I'm not a doctor just a Type1 - your insulin types are also very important. I'm on a long lasting - Lantus and a fast acting humulog - humulog is for counter acting my food intake - if I don't eat I don't give a shot etc. So I hope your on a similar insulin regime. It helps.

As for food - it's easy for me - I'm a meat eater - I also eat a lot of nuts and as for vegetables they are usually of the green leaf variety like spinach swiss chard - I also eat raw broccoli - I'm not as strict as some here but I try to limit high carb vegetables that can cause big upward swings in your BG levels.

As for the retinopathy - sorry to hear about that - the only thing I can say which is what my ophthalmologist always tells me - make sure your Blood Pressure is under control,

Lot's of experienced smart people on these forums John so don't hesitate to ask.

 

[ulf]

Hi John13, I won't get down the technical/medical path and I just want to give an alternate solution that gave me heaps of help when my diabetes was worsening. I resorted to the Buddhist breath meditation (there are heaps of tuturials in Youtube) and just accepted this disease with loving kindness. This worked miracles for me and my condition has improved for the better since (blood chemistry has been near normal since I started this). Just make peace with the disease and exhale the negatives, pain, and stress during your meditation. Just forget the pains of the past, the uncertainty of the future and just concentrate on the present moment --- thank your good karma that you are still alive. Just think positively and always remember "this too, shall pass". Just my two cents worth. Peace and Advanced Happy New Year!

 

[div2live]

John13...I am a 68 year old male with type 2 diabetic, I have been diabetic for around 15 years. I do not have Retinopathy which can be caused by diabetes. My eye doctor watches me for it very closely and so far none has shown up.

I did have high pressures in my eyes. My doctor said this is not caused by being diabetic. He told me they had two ways to control it. One was with drops and one involved a Laser surgery on the eyes. Fortunately, my health insurance covered the laser surgery. It will last for a few years, then they can do the surgery once more. Then I will have to use drops. The laser surgery worked well and that was four years ago, so eventually I too will be on the drops.

Since I am a type 2, I hesitate to offer any comments on meds or other options as type 1's have some unique issues that I am not informed on.

I do take some medications, but I will say that my primary control of blood sugar is by eating low carb all the time. I try to stay below 100g carbs per day. I supplement my lack of carbs by eating lots of fats. Keeps my feeling full and has not hurt my Cholesterol. I also lost 70lbs over the last 3years by eating this Low Carb High Fat model....it saved my life....Good Luck to you...