Re: Diabetic newbie
- From: Vicki Beausoleil <VBeausoleil@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Thu, 28 Jul 2005 22:48:27 -0400
Jennifer wrote:
>
> Robert Dion wrote:
>
> > Hi everyone!
> >
> > 2 weeks ago went to the clinic and they found that my urine showed a high
> > count of sugar. Sure enough, my BG showed 15.1
> > Probably been diabetic for some years now, without knowing it. So this past
> > Monday, they took some blood and urine samples. My appointment with the doc
> > is this coming Monday.Needless to say I haven't been sleeping and eating
> > much (probably a good thing). So nervous, not about the Diabetes because I
> > have some friends and they kept me up to date with their treatments and I
> > know I can cope with it. It's the other results that I'm worried about,
> > especially the kidneys.
> >
> > My head has been caught in a nervous maelstrom with apocalytic scenarios,
> > imagine I've been even looking at some kidney disease sites!
> >
> > Anyways, be seeing you.
> >
> > Robert Dion
>
> Hi Robert...
>
> Welcome to the group... and I'm very sorry you had to join.
>
> We all understand that first shock of diagnosis... A big load of stuff
> has been poured onto your head today.
> Feel crappy. Feel sad.
> Feel angry. Cry. Scream.
> Punch a pillow.
>
> Then take a DEEEEEEP breath. You're not going to keel over today.
>
> I promise... you have it within
> your power to grasp every concept that surrounds this situation. You can
> and will learn what you need to know. You will be able to choose a healthy
> path that will be good for your body and mind. Millions of people live
> with this disease. Many of them live LONG lives with few complications.
> Why not you? You can, without a doubt, do this. Not all at once. Not
> today. But you can.
>
> This is the advice I give all newbies....
>
> There is so much to absorb... you don't have to rush into anything. Begin
> by using your best weapon in this war, your meter. You won't keel over
> today, you have time to experiment, test, learn, test and figure out just
> how your body and this disease are getting along. The most important
> thing you can do to learn about yourself and diabetes is test test test.
>
> More than most anything, what you eat will affect your diabetes and
> your blood glucose numbers.
>
> And more than anything you eat, carbs will affect your diabetes and
> your blood glucose numbers.
>
> So, the most important information you can begin to compile about
> yourself, is how your body handles carbs.
>
> This sounds like you would need a low carb food plan right?
>
> You don't... what you need to uncover is YOUR Personalized Carb Number.
>
> Which actually works better for most everyone. Because low to one
> person is wildly high to another, but waaaaay too low for someone
> else.
>
> Is low carb less than 30g a day? Is it anything less than the
> Pyramid reccomendations?
>
> Finding your Personalized Carb Number is easy.
>
> Here's how you can figure out your own Personalized Carb Number.
>
> The single biggest question a diabetic has to answer is:
>
> What do I eat?
>
> Unfortunately, the answer is pretty confusing.
>
> What confounds us all is the fact that different diabetics can get great
> results on wildly different food plans. Some of us here achieve
> great blood glucose control eating a high complex carbohydrate diet.
> Others find that anything over 75 - 100g of carbs a day is too
> much. Still others are somewhere in between.
>
> At the beginning all of us felt frustrated. We wanted to be handed
> THE way to eat, to ensure our continued health. But we all
> learned that there is no one way. Each of us had to find our own path,
> using the experience of those that went before, but still having
> to discover for ourselves how OUR bodies and this disease were coexisting.
>
> Ask questions, but remember each of us discovered on our own what works best
> for us. You can use our experiences as jumping off points, but eventually
> you'll work up a successful plan that is yours alone.
>
> What you are looking to discover is how different foods affect you. As I'm
> sure you've read, carbohydrates (sugars, wheat, rice... the things our
> Grandmas called "starches") raise blood sugars the most rapidly. Protein
> and fat do raise them, but not as high and much more slowly... so if you're
> a T2, generally the insulin your body still makes may take care of the rise.
>
> You might want to try some experiments.
>
> First: Eat whatever you've been
> currently eating... but write it all down.
> Test yourself at the following times:
>
> Upon waking (fasting)
> 1 hour after each meal
> 2 hours after each meal
> At bedtime
>
> That means 8 x each day. What you will discover by this is how long
> after a meal your highest reading comes... and how fast you return to
> "normal". Also, you may see that a meal that included bread, fruit or
> other carbs gives you a higher reading.
>
> Then for the next few days, try to curb your carbs. Eliminate breads,
> cereals, rices, beans, any wheat products, potato, corn, fruit... get all
> your carbs from veggies. Test at the same schedule above.
>
> If you try this for a few days, you may find some pretty damn good
> readings. It's worth a few days to discover.
>
> Eventually you can slowly add back carbs until you see them affecting your
> meter.
>
> The thing about this disease... though we share much in common and we
> need to
> follow certain guidelines... in the end, each of our bodies dictate our
> treatment and our success.
>
> The closer we get to non-diabetic numbers, the greater chance we have of
> avoiding horrible complications. The key here is AIM... I know that
> everyone is at a different point in their disease... and it is progressive.
> But, if we aim for the best numbers and do our best, we give ourselves the
> best shot at heath we've got.
> That's all we can do.
>
> Here's my opinion on what numbers to aim for, they are non-diabetic numbers.
>
> FBG under 100
> One hour after meals under 140
> Two hours after meals under 120
>
> or for those in the mmol parts of the world:
>
> Fasting Under 6
> One hour after meals Under 8
> Two hours after meals Under 6.5
>
> Recent studies have indicated that the most important numbers are your
> "after meal" numbers. They may be the most indicative of future
> complications, especially heart problems.
>
> Listen to your doctor, but you are the leader of your diabetic
> care team. While his /her advice is learned, it is not absolute. You
> will end up knowing much more about your body and how it's handling
> diabetes than your doctor will. Your meter is your best weapon.
>
> Just remember, we're not in a race or a competition with anyone but
> ourselves... Play around with your food plan... TEST TEST TEST. Learn what
> foods cause spikes, what foods cause cravings... Use your body as a science
> experiment.
>
> You'll read about a lot of different ways people use to control their
> diabetes... Many are diametrically opposed. After awhile you'll learn that
> there is no one size fits all around here. Take some time to experiment
> and you'll soon discover the plan that works for you.
>
> Best of luck!
>
> Jennifer
Salut Robert!
This is the number one piece of advice for those new to this. Jennifer
and many, many others have been where you are now and done the science
experiments and we know from where we speak. It will be a steep learning
curve for you in the weeks/months to come, but learning the experiences
of others who came before is one of the most beautiful parts of
'support'.
Muffaletto and palm both suffer from the same affliction: cranial anal
inversion. They both have their heads up their asses. Chung is nothing
but a basket case, as you've already seen.
Here's some advice that may hit closer to home. Ask your doctor for a
referral to an endocrinologist. You'll likely be refused, but ask
anyway. Also see an ophthalmologist anually. You may have noticed or are
now noticing changes to you eyesight. High glucose levels causes the
pressure in the eyes to rise. It'll sort itself out in a couple of
months, provided you get your Bg (blood glucose) levels down. Don't
change the prescription for your glasses, if you wear them, until your
Bgs are stable and closer to normal.
Get a referral for retinal photography. It's very important. You'll have
to pay, but insurance reimburses. Laboratoires RD does it, and their
number is (866 or 514)344-2692. You don't *need* a referral, but
insurance may not cover it without one.
I'm not sure if it's a good thing or a bad thing, but diabetes is one of
those thing where it's 99% up to YOU whether you succeed or not. The
doctors basically sit on the sidelines and cheer us on and write the
occasional prescription. (This stolen from OldAl, but I don't think he'd
mind).
OldAl is one of our goldmines of information. There's many others -
Quentin, whose specialty is food and nutrient management and we're
waiting for his book to come out, should he decide to write it, OldAl,
who is highly knowledgeable in both Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes because
he's been treated as both, Jennifer, who reminds us that not one diet
suits everyone and *you* have to find out what works for you, Jenny, who
has a fantastic website with up-to-date information on carbohydrates and
fats in diet. There are many others, it's that power in numbers thing.
You'll know who to ignore after reading the group for a while.
As for me, don't let the surname fool you. It's my husband's. Ask me why
I wear a baseball cap most of the time and I'll tell you it's to hide
the corners. ;-)
Keep reading here, you'll be healthier for it.
Oh, and to convert from mmol/l to mg/dl (the American scale), multiply
by 18. 5.5 mmol/l is 99 mg/dl.
Vicki in
Gatineau
T1, pumping
.
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