[beaner293]

Diagnosed in Oct 2009 w/T2. A1c was 11.5 at the time and as of Feb 2010 is down to 6.4. (Janumet 50/50 bid) Fasting glucose is now running 120-137 consistently. I need to lose weight and get tighter control of my levels, but have so many questions.

1. I've read about carb control - anyone found a good low-carb diet to help with diabetes? Results favorable?

2. Anyone heard drawbacks to the stem-cell treatments outside the US? (Dr. Fernandez Vina-Argentina) They seem to offer short-term benefits, but I suspect the jury is out on long-term viability

3. I'd like to see my #'s go lower than 6.4 - too close to 7 for my liking. Any advice, links, tips/tricks? Obviously, getting my weight down will help - but is it realistic to think the #'s will go lower?

 

[Shanny]

Welcome, ****** - happy to meet you. I do pretty low-carb, but I don't follow anybody's specific diet, and I don't actually count carbs (until I look at my totals for the day on the website where I log everything), I just don't eat fast-acting carbs.

Here's a post I made awhile back detailing most of how I manage: http://www.diabetesforum.com/diabetes/2100-new-labs-results.html#post9123

For breakfasts I eat sausage or bacon & eggs (no toast/biscuits/muffins/etc), or I might have a cheese crisp with guacamole (not necessarily breakfast fare, but something I llke). I absolutely don't eat cereal of any kind - hot OR cold - too carby for my meter. There are a coupla low-carb breads I can tolerate in very small portions.

Eating to my meter is what got me here. When increasing my meds didn't effect low enough readings, I started eliminating carbs, and now I'm where I like on about 50-60g of carbs per day. This will vary with each person, but you just about have to test, eat, and test some more, to see which foods send your levels too high.

My diet may seem high in fat to some people, but I have lost significant weight, and am still losing. It's the inclusion of fats in my food plan that allows me to avoid carbs and keep my numbers in my target range of 80-130.

My most recent A1c was 6.3, and I expect I'll go lower, but it isn't a priority with me. A1c is not the ultimate hallmark of diabetes control - it's just one of many indicators. If I can get my 30-day average down round 100, I'll be happy. Right now it's hung up at 109.

Thank you for joining us, ******. Hope you'll come around often - we can all benefit from sharing our stories, ideas, successes and even failures.

take care,

 

[beaner293]

Thanks for the feedback, I know I'm carb-sensitive, just about any bread/cereal, etc will send my #'s skyrocketing (into the 200's). This week, I've applied a self-imposed 20 carbs/day limit (give or take) and actually felt better.

I've tried to eliminate ALL refined sugars from my diet, completely eliminated sugar-sodas and use splenda/stevia as a sweetener in my tea. I'm only 39, 3 young kids so I want to be around for the long-haul.

Welcome, ****** - happy to meet you. I do pretty low-carb, but I don't follow anybody's specific diet, and I don't actually count carbs (until I look at my totals for the day on the website where I log everything), I just don't eat fast-acting carbs.

Here's a post I made awhile back detailing most of how I manage:

For breakfasts I eat sausage or bacon & eggs (no toast/biscuits/muffins/etc), or I might have a cheese crisp with guacamole (not necessarily breakfast fare, but something I llke). I absolutely don't eat cereal of any kind - hot OR cold - too carby for my meter. There are a coupla low-carb breads I can tolerate in very small portions.

Eating to my meter is what got me here. When increasing my meds didn't effect low enough readings, I started eliminating carbs, and now I'm where I like on about 50-60g of carbs per day. This will vary with each person, but you just about have to test, eat, and test some more, to see which foods send your levels too high.

My diet may seem high in fat to some people, but I have lost significant weight, and am still losing. It's the inclusion of fats in my food plan that allows me to avoid carbs and keep my numbers in my target range of 80-130.

My most recent A1c was 6.3, and I expect I'll go lower, but it isn't a priority with me. A1c is not the ultimate hallmark of diabetes control - it's just one of many indicators. If I can get my 30-day average down round 100, I'll be happy. Right now it's hung up at 109.

Thank you for joining us, ******. Hope you'll come around often - we can all benefit from sharing our stories, ideas, successes and even failures.

take care,

 

[Shanny]

You will be, too! You have every reason to get a handle on this and maintain control for at least the NEXT 39 years . . . heheh!

The funny thing about eliminating the refined & fast-acting carbs from my diet was that before very long I wasn't missing them. I think carbs have a sneaky way of stimulating cravings for MORE carbs . . . once we go without for a little while, those cravings subside. I've even stopped using milk, since it's high in lactose. Cream is what I use in my coffee, and diluted cream is what I use for gravies/sauces/puddings/etc. (not half & half though - I dilute the cream with water)

As I said in the linked post I gave you, I DO use specific low-carb tortillas & Dreamfields pasta. So I can still enjoy some of the great Italian & Mexican dishes without any reduction in quality.