[SerotoninSurfer]

I've just be dx'd a few days ago, and my daylong class about diabetes, nutrition etc. is a month away. Can anyone shed some light on some things for me? I'm trying to get "the big picture".

As i understand it, the primary symptom if diabetes is high/uncontrollable blood sugar. Does diabetes itself cause the other problems (neuropathy, kidney issues, eye problems, etc.) or is it the high BG?

What I am trying to understand is that if I manage to keep my BG down to normal, is damage still occurring to me from diabetes itself? Or is the damage slowly creeping up only when the blood sugar gets high? I understand keeping BG down is no walk in the park, but I'm one of those analytical folks who needs to understand how things thing ticks.

I learned the hard way yesterday that all carbs, even non-sugars, will spike my BG. I have a crazy day yesterday and fell back into my munching habits throughout a 14 hour workday. My BG was 220 that night, the highest I've measured since this started (usually 140). My doc wants to get it down using diet so we are going to see howit goes for a month. I dropped 8 lbs and 60pts of Tri-G in 3 weeks initially, so he knows I am serious about this.

The scariest thing is that I felt no different with the higher BG than I usually do. without my meter, I would never have known. Now i see why they call it "a silent killer" along with high BP.

Surfer

 

[diabetes86]

for most people keeping BG in the "normal" range will prevent or slow down the onset of complications.

That said, most of us T2 over produce insulin due to insulin resistance. Hi insulin levels in the blood produce problems.

My A1C has not bean over 7.2 (that high only 2 times) and after 11 years I am getting neropathy in my legs.

 

[Shanny]

Obviously there are no guarantees, but you are far less likely to incur complications such as you mentioned if you keep your blood sugar in a normal range—normal being 70-110. Yes, it is the high blood sugar that does the damage. There are excellent explanations of these things at Blood Sugar 101, and being the analytical type, you'll enjoy that she cites the research & studies which back up her statements.

And yes again - carbs come in all shapes & sizes. In an effort to save you time learning the hard way, I can tell you that bread, potatoes, pasta, cereal grains (wheat, corn, oats, rice, etc.. and whole grains), fruit & milk are some of the worst offenders. We just have to keep our meters busy testing how different foods affect us. Some can tolerate a small potato but beans send them over the moon. Others can eat a small slice of low-carb bread, but potato sends THEM over the moon.

When you get to your class, be prepared - they're going to tell you that carbs are a necessary part of your diet. And you have our permission to tell them that's a pile of horsefeathers!

 

[slide]

when my sugars are high , my heart beat is heavy, i,ve noticed, and the wife says my face appears flushed and red.
you r right there is no sure tell way to know when ya high are sugars , without a meter

 

[jwags]

Welcome to our forum. I wish I could tell you exactly where damage occurs, but no one knows. Damage and complications usually comes from extended bgs, above 140. When your bgs are high the sugar or glycation sticks to the individual blood molecules. This glycation then begins to clog arteries and cause heart disease, kidney disease and neuropathy. If the vessels in the eyes are affected then it could lead to eye problems or blindness. The general rule of thumb is the lower you can keep bgs the better. A normal non diabetic is usually 70-100 or thereabouts. To stay in that range without medication is very hard for most of us. I have chosen ot use 2550 mg of metformin. If you are spiking to over 200 you might want to ask doctor about medication. Even though I am thin diet and exercise didn't work for me.

Also most of us when we were first dx'd had very high bgs and our bodies became use to the higher numbers. As we lowered our bgs closer to 100 then we had symptoms, but this is normal.

 

[SerotoninSurfer]

Thanks!

Obviously there are no guarantees, but you are far less likely to incur complications such as you mentioned if you keep your blood sugar in a normal range—normal being 70-110. Yes, it is the high blood sugar that does the damage. There are excellent explanations of these things at Blood Sugar 101, and being the analytical type, you'll enjoy that she cites the research & studies which back up her statements.

And yes again - carbs come in all shapes & sizes. In an effort to save you time learning the hard way, I can tell you that bread, potatoes, pasta, cereal grains (wheat, corn, oats, rice, etc.. and whole grains), fruit & milk are some of the worst offenders. We just have to keep our meters busy testing how different foods affect us. Some can tolerate a small potato but beans send them over the moon. Others can eat a small slice of low-carb bread, but potato sends THEM over the moon.

When you get to your class, be prepared - they're going to tell you that carbs are a necessary part of your diet. And you have our permission to tell them that's a pile of horsefeathers!

That 101 site is great, thanks! I saw my opthamalogist today and there are no signs of damage, and even my glaucoma pressures were low. It appears I was DX'd very early (avg BG 135-140) thank God. My previous physical 18 months ago had everything normal... and now everything is broke!