[jennibee]

Hi, my name is Jenn.
I was diagnosed with diabetes in August this year. Resistant to the idea, sure my fasting BS of 191 was a fluke, I decided to stop eating to fix it! Really it was just the last straw in this battle food and I have had the last four years. In 2007 my gallbladder was removed and since then I have also been diagnosed with IBS. Very few days since then have I had normal digestion. I teach, and every day after lunch, no matter what I ate, and I tried so many different things, I had to leave my classroom due to "issues". (I'd explain further but the details are just gross!) So with that horror show and now diabetes to battle I just decided food is not my friend and eating is my enemy.
I cut out everything from my diet that wasn't raw fruits and vegetables, pistachios, meat, seafood, cheese, pretzels and popcorn. I eat half a cereal bar for breakfast, a piece of fruit and pretzels for lunch, and protein and veggies for dinner. My digestion has improved, still not 100% normal, but I'll take it.

My fasting BS dropped to between 130-160. So three months of this and back to the doctor. He put me on 500mg of metformin.
My fasting BS are now between 110-128. But any other time I am in the 80's and low 100's 2hrs after dinner.

I really think my high fasting numbers have to do with something going on while I sleep, because I wake up almost every night with my heart racing. One morning last week I was up to 156! I have a low heart rate and I think I either have episodes of sleep apnea, low blood pressure or bradycardia while I sleep and my body is responding to it. But who knows. I was sure I was not diabetic, but my doctor insists I am. I go back to the doctor in two weeks and I am sure he will up my metformin dose. He sure wants to put me on as many pills as he can. I try to remind him I'm only 39 (although I will deny that if you ask!) and have (hopefully) lots of years ahead of me for pills, but he keeps prescribing them now!
So that's a little bit of my story so far. I type, like I talk, too much, so if I have bored you all I apologize.

Right now I just want my fasting BS down, and to know if its ok to squeeze to get a good blood drop, because I am not a bleeder.

 

[Patdart]

Welcome, Jennibee! We've all been more or less to the place you are. I, too have sleep apnea and it can cause a scary fast heartbeat and the surge of cortisol does cause a high fasting. You should ask you doctor to order a sleep study to see about this...or have you ever been told you snore? In any case, ask about your sleep study.

Your doctor is doing the best he can to take care of you...if you are diabetic, you should be on the amount of metaformin you need, especially as young as you are. A low carb/high fat diet should help you and perhaps help you avoid complications in the future.

Have heart, read our archives, talk to us, and read www.Bloodsugar101 and come back and talk to us. The only dumb question is one not asked. We know where you are and welcome you. Life is Great!

Food is NOT your enemy...just the carbs you eat. Half of a bar would raise mine. Can you boil a few eggs for b'fast on the run?

 

[silvertiger]

Welcome!

I know what you mean about meds, I only take the ones I really need. My research found that the earlier Metformin was started, the better the prognosis. If you slowly increase the dose and can handle any unpleasant gas issues that may arise, it really is a great drug.

You may have the Dawn Phenomenon, like I do. Google it and search these forums, each person's way of fighting it varies.

 

[Shanny]

Hello & welcome, Jenn, thank you for joining us. :wave:

I agree with your doc that you ARE diabetic, but I don't see any numbers here that warrant any high-powered (and expensive!) drugs beyond metformin. Met does a terrific job of modifying insulin resistance (the hallmark of type 2 diabetes), and if you aren't having any side effects from it, I think increasing it is the next practical step. It's been around forever & is very safe & reliable.

I have obstructive sleep apnea too, and have used CPAP for many years. I'm not sure I could even fall asleep now without having my mask strapped on - it's kinda my security blanket. I agree with Pat that your doc should prescribe a sleep study for you.

In fact I agree with everything Pat said - if you can eliminate more carbs from your diet, you may see more improvement in your digestion. Grains are often the villain . . . wheat, oats, rice, corn . . . all the cereal grains. Trouble is, these are the things that are incorporated into nearly every food item you SEE in the stores . . . sweeteners, thickeners, stabilizers . . . all derived from grain and added to everything under the sun. It's one of the reasons so many of us have sworn off processed foods - there's just no telling what might be in it.

I talk too much too, so I'm going to wind down here & hope you can visit often & we can help you get some of these issues figured out.

Take care & hurry back!

 

[jwags]

Welcome to DF. Diabetes can be a pain sometimes, especially when you have other conditions going on. It took me quite a while to figure what I can eat safely. I was a vegetarian before diabetes and ate very healthy. I couldn't figure out how eating that way gave me diabetes, but it did. So now I have gone back to eating meat and eggs and cheese. I also take Metformin and have had to raise it several times before I saw bgs closer to 100. But any time I get a cold or if I am under stress my bgs tend to creep up. The feeling you explain in the morning sounds like a dumping of hormones like adrenaline early in the morning. Many times I wake up with similar feelings. Many diabetics suffer from something called Dawn Phenomenom or DP. Our body produces these hormones and then they signal liver to change stored glycogen into glucose.

 

[Patdart]

I can feel DP happening. I sleep well most nights, but if I wake to go to the bathroom I sometimes test and find myself always 80-90, but then when I go back to bed and sleep to my normal wake time, when I'm in the dreamy period before full waking, I lie there cool and suddenly my body is beginning to get hot, heart races, everything changes...I toss the covers off for a bit then get cool again, but I'm AWAKE and it's time to get up and test and take my thyroid. Then I have to wait 30 minutes before I can eat one bite of food. I don't know how others deal with that who have to take thyroid and wait. It's a bit of problem for it I get involved with daily stuff, it can be a bit longer 'til I stop and remember I have to take my other morning meds and eat something.

Anyway, are the rest of you aware of the morning dump? Or am I strange?

How do you handle your thyroid and 30 minute wait?

 

[jwags]

I can feel DP happening. I sleep well most nights, but if I wake to go to the bathroom I sometimes test and find myself always 80-90, but then when I go back to bed and sleep to my normal wake time, when I'm in the dreamy period before full waking, I lie there cool and suddenly my body is beginning to get hot, heart races, everything changes...I toss the covers off for a bit then get cool again, but I'm AWAKE and it's time to get up and test and take my thyroid. Then I have to wait 30 minutes before I can eat one bite of food. I don't know how others deal with that who have to take thyroid and wait. It's a bit of problem for it I get involved with daily stuff, it can be a bit longer 'til I stop and remember I have to take my other morning meds and eat something.

Anyway, are the rest of you aware of the morning dump? Or am I strange?

How do you handle your thyroid and 30 minute wait?

I think my DP happens at different times. Sometimes if I wake up an hour or two earlier I will catch an 83. But if I wait until 6:30 or 7 it will be 100 or higher. Sometimes I feel the adrenaline rush, sometimes I don't. For awhile I even kept a snack by my bed so I could eat it at 3:30 when I went to the bathroom. I thought if I fed my liver it wouldn't dump. I also experimented with timing of medication. I would take my first metformin around 3:30 am. None of these things really worked. I try to eat when I first wake up but quite frankly I am not hungry. Probably because my liver has already dumped glucose. But my DP will continue unless I eat a pretty big breakfast which I can't do. So no matter what by 9 am my bgs are usually 15-30 points higher than I wake up. I don't take any Thyroid meds so I don't have to deal with that, at least not yet.


Jen, where in Ohio do you live?

 

[Strawberry]

Jenn

Welcome and I hope your next visit with the doctor is a better one. You might consider asking your doctor for Metformin ER. I used to take the 'regular' Metformin and then I read that Metformin ER seems to cause less "issues" for many people. I asked my doctor for the extended release version and I'm really glad I did.

 

[jennibee]

Have heart, read our archives, talk to us, and read Bloodsugar101 and come back and talk to us. The only dumb question is one not asked. We know where you are and welcome you. Life is Great!

Food is NOT your enemy...just the carbs you eat. Half of a bar would raise mine. Can you boil a few eggs for b'fast on the run?

Bloodsugar101 was one of the first places I found when I was first diagnosed. Fortunately, I was already pretty familiar with the ins and outs of diabetes; I used to do medical billing for DME and we were constantly educated regarding DM. Plus, when I worked as a chemist one of the new drugs we started developing was to treat retinopathy, so I jsut needed more details on where I need to be to stay healthy. I have to say losing my vision has always been one of my biggest fears, and I always prayed I would never have it. That's why I have been watching my carbs for a long time already. But, haha jokes on me
Oh and the cereal bar doesn't raise my BS, its a Special K protein cereal bar so maybe that makes a difference.

In fact I agree with everything Pat said - if you can eliminate more carbs from your diet, you may see more improvement in your digestion. Grains are often the villain . . . wheat, oats, rice, corn . . . all the cereal grains. Trouble is, these are the things that are incorporated into nearly every food item you SEE in the stores . . . sweeteners, thickeners, stabilizers . . . all derived from grain and added to everything under the sun. It's one of the reasons so many of us have sworn off processed foods - there's just no telling what might be in it.

That's why we stopped with processed foods a long time ago!! I always laugh when I go to the grocery store. The only reason I go up and down all the aisles is to get some extra walking in,lol!! Mostly I stopped about 10 years ago because of all the sodium they add to processed foods. Its really ridiculous and so unnecessary!

I think my DP happens at different times. Sometimes if I wake up an hour or two earlier I will catch an 83. But if I wait until 6:30 or 7 it will be 100 or higher. Sometimes I feel the adrenaline rush, sometimes I don't. For awhile I even kept a snack by my bed so I could eat it at 3:30 when I went to the bathroom. I thought if I fed my liver it wouldn't dump. I also experimented with timing of medication. I would take my first metformin around 3:30 am. None of these things really worked. I try to eat when I first wake up but quite frankly I am not hungry. Probably because my liver has already dumped glucose. But my DP will continue unless I eat a pretty big breakfast which I can't do. So no matter what by 9 am my bgs are usually 15-30 points higher than I wake up. I don't take any Thyroid meds so I don't have to deal with that, at least not yet.


Jen, where in Ohio do you live?

I also experimented with taking met at different times, the 156 was the morning after I took the met later in the evening!! Crazy!! But I was pretty happy with my readings last night (86) and this morning. A 103!! The lowest I've been in 4 months!! Started my day great.

oh, and I live near Youngstown, Povertyville USA

Jenn

Welcome and I hope your next visit with the doctor is a better one. You might consider asking your doctor for Metformin ER. I used to take the 'regular' Metformin and then I read that Metformin ER seems to cause less "issues" for many people. I asked my doctor for the extended release version and I'm really glad I did.

That is an idea, thanks for the suggestion!! Right now I get my met for free at Giant Eagle, but if my morning numbers don't come down maybe the extended release will help.

Thanks everyone for the warm welcome!! I haven't told anyone besides my parents and one friend that I have diabetes, so its been kind of frustrating not having anyone to talk to.

 

[jwags]

Isn't Giant Eagle great. I get my metformin for free, too. I am trying to convince my husband to get his doctor to switch him off Actos and back to metformin. It would save us so much money. It seems like you are doing a pretty good job with finding out what spikes you. The one thing I have learned in the past 5 years is we are all different and we all need to experiment to find what works for us. I am not too familiar with Youngstown. I know they suffered from the Steel Mills closing many years ago. We have cities in our county that are in the same boat. We drive by the signs for Youngstown when we drive to see my Son and DIL in Pittsburg.

 

[ThoseBackPages]

Hi Jenn. Welcome to the machine. i hate food as well and have to force myself to eat three times a day

 

[naynay]

Hey Jenn...welcome from another fellow Ohioan! Welcome also to the forum. I also do medical billing, and have been diabetic since way back when I was pregnant with my first daughter (she'll be 20 in March!), so I am quite familiar with all the nutritional stuff that has been fed down diabetics throats for the last umpteen thousand years. Been there done that, none of it worked. On and off insulin, drugs, supplements, diets, you name it I tried it. It wasn't until I found this wonderful forum that I learned how to truly help my diabetes and other problems, and so far I'm improving so much more than I ever did in the past.

I'm glad you have joined us here; it sounds like you will be a welcome addition to the extremely knowledgeable people already here.

Grab a cup of joe and settle in.

 

[aimster1mo]

Right now I just want my fasting BS down, and to know if its ok to squeeze to get a good blood drop, because I am not a bleeder.

Hi Jenni and welcome!
Yanno the thing about squeezing, they say not to but if I don't I won't get enough blood to test with and I'm not real keen on sticking myself deeper trying to get it. Also, every nurse that has ever tested my sugar squeezes. So for me......right or wrong......I'm going to give a little squeeze.

 

[Linda4531]

Wow, Jenni! I wish I had that problem!

Mine is the exact opposite - I love food way too much! (Fast food to be specific.) Nice to have you here and hope to talk to you soon!

 

[Patdart]

Linda, as soon as you begin low carb/high fat you will lose your hunger almost totally and you'll feel a whole lot better! Honest *****! Your body will go into ketosis and it is a very effective appetite suppressant that's natural. I used Atkins and Bernstein for ammunition and encouragement.

Good luck,

 

[NiceLuckyLady]

I have to squeeze to get a good drop of blood too.

 

[jennibee]

Hi Jenni and welcome!
Yanno the thing about squeezing, they say not to but if I don't I won't get enough blood to test with and I'm not real keen on sticking myself deeper trying to get it. Also, every nurse that has ever tested my sugar squeezes. So for me......right or wrong......I'm going to give a little squeeze.

Me, too, even though my doctor said not to. I have my setting all the way up and I push down as hard as I can and it hurts like a beep but I only get a speck unless I squeeze!

So went to the doctor on Monday and he was really happy with how I am doing. I showed him my morning numbers: 103 at 6:45am and 114 at 9:55am. The lab result at 10:40 was 124. So I keep going up in the morning unless I am active at school.
Anyway, he was good with what my numbers have been and scheduled me for 6 weeks instead of 4, and left my metformin alone for now.
And yesterday I had an 84 out of bed!! I almost cried