Diabetes Talking

Question:

Folks, I am starting again for the umpteenth time and am having problems.  I just found out that I am diabetic (ha1c 9.0) so I am taking glucovance morning/evening.  I am moving to low carb again and could use some support and some advice especially from those who are diabetic.  Not necessarily a group I wanted to join but now I’m a lifer. keith 535/501/230

Response:

 :). Hi Keith. Can I ask you, do you have a doctor who’s supportive of your eating plan? c Patience makes lighter what sorrow may not heal –Horace, Odes 15

Response:

I’m type 2 diagnosed July of 1998. LC has helped immensely in controlling my BG, but YMMV. I’ve been on medication twice, for a total of about a year, but that was during my periods of denial. I do between 30-50 carbs a day and have been off medication again since late November of 2001. Check out alt.support.diabetes. There is lots of good advice there. Best of luck to you. Cheri

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -Folks, I am starting again for the umpteenth time and am having problems.  I just found out that I am diabetic (ha1c 9.0) so I am taking glucovance morning/evening.  I am moving to low carb again and could use some support and some advice especially from those who are diabetic.  Not necessarily a group I wanted to join but now I’m a lifer. keith 535/501/230

Response:

Hello Keith: Ditto. You may find that those numbers on your glucose meter are extremely motivating when it comes to sticking with this WOE (Way of Eating). Not as in "Oh woe is me," but in a positive way. The diagnosis is devastating until you’ve worn it for a little while, but there’s nothing like getting those numbers down on a consistent basis. Learning low carb is a huge step in bringing both the sugar and the weight under control. I know, it’s a novel concept—under control—but this time it’s about quality of life, so don’t run shrieking into the night at the very idea of it. Have your temper tantrums. You’re going to want to do that. Letting go of sugar and all its kin sounds impossible, but stick with these folks here on this NG and you’ll never know a day’s deprivation as long as you carry on. We eat. Man, do we ever! Without guilt, without fakery, and without being sick and tired all the time. See if you can wrap your mind around this and accept what’s going on. There’s no wiggle room on blood sugar. It has the power to steal too much of what we value in our lives. Then kick its ass. Peace, Mary Ellen Type II 1/10/02 Ha1C 5.0 down from 9.0 297/269/175…oh, whenever…

Response:

Folks, I am starting again for the umpteenth time and am having problems.  I just found out that I am diabetic (ha1c 9.0) so I am taking glucovance morning/evening.  I am moving to low carb again and could use some support and some advice especially from those who are diabetic.  Not necessarily a group I wanted to join but now I’m a lifer.

You couldn’t have come to a better place. Many folks on the list are diabetic and have done amazingly well on low-carb. Others of us have lost health problems along with our weight. Good luck on your journey! Lynne

Response:

| Folks, | | I am starting again for the umpteenth time and am having problems.  I | just found out that I am diabetic (ha1c 9.0) so I am taking glucovance | morning/evening.  I am moving to low carb again and could use some | support and some advice especially from those who are diabetic.  Not | necessarily a group I wanted to join but now I’m a lifer. | | keith | 535/501/230 Hi Keith, I am diabetic type 2 also.  I started out with a bg of 480, I don’t even remember what my Ha1c was at the time probably around 8 or 9.  I have found that low carb is the ONLY way to go.  I’ve tried following the ADA diet and low carb at 80 carbs a day, but that just doesn’t bring down the bg’s and weight like staying around 30 carbs a day does. I’m still on medication, but it’s not as much as I was on. I have found that it takes time to get those bg’s down when you are first dxd. Don’t get discouraged that they don’t come down at a rapid pace at the beginning.  Your body has to have time to adjust.  You have probably had high bg’s for a long time and didn’t know it.  They won’t come down right away. They will gradually come down as your body adjusts to your new diet and the medication. What problems exactly are you having?  Maybe if you told us the problems we could help you better.  Believe me I know what it’s like to be carb crazy.  I have found several things that help immensly with that problem so If that’s one of your problems I may have some help for you to try. Don’t give up, give in or feel defeated.  It’s possible to live a fairly good long life with controlled bg’s. and low carb doesn’t mean you can’t have good food any more. — *Liz* 362/362/200 Diabetic Ha1c 6 on low carb No particular lo carb diet but try to keep between 15 carbs per meal. (I was at 20 per meal but decided to go down to 15.  It’s working out better) All outgoing e-mail scanned by Norton Anti-Virus2002 and is determined to be virus free. To reply via email, remove ‘-removethis-’ from my address.

Response:

. Hi Keith. Can I ask you, do you have a doctor who’s supportive of your eating plan?

Not at the moment.  I gave a copy of the book to my dr and he didn’t read but basically said no way.  I have searched for a doctor in Abilene, TX who would understand but there is none and the closest is three hours or more from here. keith

Response:

What problems exactly are you having?  Maybe if you told us the problems we could help you better.  Believe me I know what it’s like to be carb crazy.  I have found several things that help immensly with that problem so If that’s one of your problems I may have some help for you to try.

I can do the diet one day and then the next day my body craves sugar so badly that I mess up really, really bad.  I just went to sams and bought sucralose fruit flavored waters to help.  I also guess part of it is denial. keith 535/501/230

Response:

Not at the moment.  I gave a copy of the book to my dr and he didn’t read but basically said no way.  

I know the feeling. I had a doctor who told me to avoid LC like the plague and go on Weight Watchers and take Meridia. That was six months ago and I had already gained an additional 40 pounds when I started lowcarbing again. The reason I ask you is because I worry about net chatterers giving advice to people with health problems. LC is usually totally safe and you should do it! But in a perfect world you’d have someone who could monitor your bloodwork and other vitals while you lost weight. Read the books about lcing that you bought at the store or got at the library. People vary their plans so widely after they’ve got the hang of it that what they’re doing might be totally wrong for you. But the plans as they are written  in the books work like a charm and have helped millions of people; that’s a fact. I hope you keep looking for a sympathetic health professional; even a nurse practitioner. In meantime, welcome and good luck! What plan are you doing, by the way? c Patience makes lighter what sorrow may not heal –Horace, Odes 15

Response:

| I can do the diet one day and then the next day my body craves sugar | so badly that I mess up really, really bad.  I just went to sams and | bought sucralose fruit flavored waters to help.  I also guess part of | it is denial. | | keith | 535/501/230 Keith, first thing you do is go to iherb.com and order you some powdered L-Glutamine. The pure powder, not the capsules. I buy the Source Naturals, but I hear Jarrow is good also.  Take 1/2 tsp in a small amount of  water and drink it before you eat a meal. It works best on an empty stomach.You can also just let it dissolve in your mouth if you can handle the taste.  It will absorb quickly.  You know that is how they tell us at the diabetic classes to use the glucose tablets. I also rub some on the inside of my mouth on my cheeks. You might need a whole tsp, you just have to try and see how much you need.  You can’t over dose on it, it’s a natural amino acid.  I take about 4000mg a day of it, even more if I drink a protein drink. I can’t live without the stuff.  It takes most all that sugar craving away. What it doesn’t I can handle. I used to HAVE to have sugar free candy after I ate my supper and since I’ve been using the L-Glut, I haven’t bought even one bag of it.  It’s been about two weeks now since I have had a piece of candy. After you get through the two week induction, if you think you need sweets, there are a couple of really good low carb treats you can make at home.  I just made a big pan of brownies the other day and they are only 4 carbs per brownie. It’s a fairly good sized one too. I freeze most of them so If I want to eat more than I should, I have to unfreeze them first.  There are ways to get around the cravings so you don’t give up and decide it’s not worth trying.  I’m slowly learning that I can substitute low carb treats and still loose weight and keep my bg down.  It’s really possible. Really. :^) The biggest thing you have to do is decide that you need to loose weight to save your limbs, your eyesight and your life.  If you don’t loose weight and get your blood sugars down and going in the right direction, you are definitely going to loose your limbs, your eyesight and your life much earlier than you should have to.   I just heard something the other day on the diabetic list that I never knew before and was followed up by a personal experience. There was a guy on the list that had been doing really good for 10 years since his dx.  Lost weight, excersised kept his blood sugars good and now he has to go on insulin. My husband came home that same night and told me the same story about a guy he works with.  I went and read on a diabetes site that says all diabetics, in about 10 years, if they take care of themselves, end up on insulin because your beta cells just give out.  Now, the reason I write all this is to say, if you don’t loose the weight, and get your bg in control you are going to be meeting the needle long before your 10 years is up, IF you have 10 years. It’s all up to you. You have to make the choice, just like I had to make the choice and others with us. Do we want to be as healthy as we can be, or do we just want to stay sick and get sicker and go blind and die before we should?  I want to be as healthy as I can, so I’m going to give it my best shot.  I hope you do to. — *Liz* 362/362/200 Diabetic Ha1c 6 on low carb No particular lo carb diet but try to keep between 15 and 20 carbs per meal. All outgoing e-mail scanned by Norton Anti-Virus2002 and is determined to be virus free. To reply via email, remove ‘-removethis-’ from my address.

Response:

have you tried l-glutamine for the sugar cravings?  works for me and many of the others who post here. jonalisa

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – What problems exactly are you having?  Maybe if you told us the problems we could help you better.  Believe me I know what it’s like to be carb crazy.  I have found several things that help immensly with that problem so If that’s one of your problems I may have some help for you to try. I can do the diet one day and then the next day my body craves sugar so badly that I mess up really, really bad.  I just went to sams and bought sucralose fruit flavored waters to help.  I also guess part of it is denial. keith 535/501/230

Response:

Liz, Thanks for the advice and encouragment.  I have started and feel more cofident that I can do it — i like my limbs. keith

Response:

| | Liz, | | Thanks for the advice and encouragment.  I have started and feel more | cofident that I can do it — i like my limbs. | | keith Great Keith, I’m glad to hear that!  Me too, and that’s why I’m really going to stick with this and try to find replacements in the numerous recipes that many low carbers before us have offered for all the foods I’m giving up.  I’m also going to keep in mind what I am working for and against. — *Liz* 362/362/200 Diabetic Ha1c 6 on low carb No particular lo carb diet but try to keep to 15 or less carbs per meal . All outgoing e-mail scanned by Norton Anti-Virus2002 and is determined to be virus free. To reply via email, remove ‘-removethis-’ from my address.

Response:

Not at the moment.  I gave a copy of the book to my dr and he didn’t read but basically said no way.  

My doctor is still monitoring my blood and general health.  I am hoping that there will be significant changes and he will be curios and we can start the ‘read the book’ thing over.  I go back Tuesday for my first HbA1c since diagnosis (and I will post the results.)  I am doing Atkins and am in induction.  I am doing well and have lost 11lbs since Monday (though haven’t weighed myself today, saturday). I feel good and most of the fluid that is retained in my ankles is gone. keith

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