posted
I ask because I was diagnosed on December 15th. I'm currently taking metformin and giving myself insulin injections once a day. MY biggest problems are the needles (I hate needles) and wading through all the information on what is and isn't healthy for diabetics to eat.
Posts: 4569 | Registered: Dec 2003
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quote:Originally posted by Derrell: I ask because I was diagnosed on December 15th. I'm currently taking metformin and giving myself insulin injections once a day. MY biggest problems are the needles (I hate needles) and wading through all the information on what is and isn't healthy for diabetics to eat.
Type one diabetic for 26 years.
More and smaller meals/snacks are better then a few large ones.
Not much to do about the needle fear, but don't be skipping insulin injections. You might fear needles, I have a feeling you'll dislike being blind or missing limbs more then that. Perhaps ask about an insulin pump.
Get yourself a routine, and stick to it as best you can. Sleep well, eat at the same times each day, exercise regularly, etc.
Once you're on insulin, (I'm assuming that you're a type 2 who now needs to be on insulin) it becomes a bit of a balancing act between insulin and carbs. You CAN have a piece of cake at your friend's birthday party, as a treat, for example, but you need to be aware that it is going to spike your sugar level and adjust your insulin intake accordingly. I know my body and how it reacts to carbs and insulin, so I can usually do this on the fly. If you're new, you're going to be needing to check your sugars regularly.
On that, check your sugars regularly. You'll feel better in mind and body once they're maintained correctly, and the only way you can come up with the routine to do that is to check what the levels are and adjust accordingly.
As for food, just eat healthily. I know that sounds a little simple, but it's really it. Low fat, low sugars, high fiber, lots of leafy green veg and the stuff you'd be told to eat if you had high cholestoral or if you were fat. Be aware that simple sugars like chocolate will spike your sugar quickly, but for a short period of time. A plate of pasta isn't really less dangerous, though, as it will take an hour or two to start spiking your sugar, but as a complex carbohydrate it takes hours for your body to process and so might well end up doing more damage then the chocolate, if appropriate insulin isn't taken. The damage is done not just by simple sugars, but complex ones. Remember that.
I'm in a bit of a rush and have to go. This is stuff off the top of my head. Any questions, feel free to ask.
ETA - Exercise. Just a little bit at first, if it's all you can do, but exercise. You have a metabolic disorder, trouble with using the food you eat properly. Exercising helps with this. A lot.
Posts: 572 | Registered: Jun 2013
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posted
I'm not skipping injections. I do fear the possible complications more than the needles. I've given up sugared sodas and am watching my intake of sugar, carbs, and salt. I carry glucose tablets in casee my sugar gets low. I'm making small changes instead of trying to make large, drastic changes. I'm trying to eat meals at the same time every day and get into a routine. Thanks for the reply and I'll probably have questions as I go along.
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posted
Go careful on the fats, as well. You're more at risk for heart disease and stroke now, as well.
Get into the habit of reading the ingredient labels on foods. You might be surprised at which foods have sugar, and how much.
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I've started reading labels. That's one reason I've started watching my salt intake. I don't want to get high blood pressure.
Posts: 4569 | Registered: Dec 2003
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quote:Originally posted by Heisenberg: On that, check your sugars regularly. You'll feel better in mind and body once they're maintained correctly, and the only way you can come up with the routine to do that is to check what the levels are and adjust accordingly.
As for food, just eat healthily. I know that sounds a little simple, but it's really it. Low fat, low sugars, high fiber, lots of leafy green veg and the stuff you'd be told to eat if you had high cholestoral or if you were fat. Be aware that simple sugars like chocolate will spike your sugar quickly, but for a short period of time. A plate of pasta isn't really less dangerous, though, as it will take an hour or two to start spiking your sugar, but as a complex carbohydrate it takes hours for your body to process and so might well end up doing more damage then the chocolate, if appropriate insulin isn't taken. The damage is done not just by simple sugars, but complex ones. Remember that.
As you may know, my father suffered dementia, and died as a complication of diabetes (type 1 from the age of 19).
A few things I think about:
1. Check your blood sugar. My father lost his license later in life for being unnable to control his blood sugar. Looking back, he ought to have lost it a lot sooner. He regularly drove with a sugar level of 60, which is INSANE. But that's what was written in his diary. You should at least keep a diary of your sugar levels.
2. Don't binge on sugar. My father would take massive amounts of insulin, then get low and eat lots of candy. This was a crazy unhealthy cycle he locked himself into for years.
3. Get a good endocrinologist or diabetes specialist, and listen to them. My father refused for years to get an insulin pump, because his endocrinologist didn't force him to do it. But he was not dosing himself properly anymore, and finally my mother made him do it. You have to go to training for it, and you have to prove that you can regulate on your own. But it is worth having.
My father would get low (say 45-55), then, because it was his routine, he would give himself his nightly injection, with the plan of then eating a snack. I know that sounds insane, but that's what he did. Then if he got distracted for 5 minutes on the way to the kitchen, he would end up flopping around on the floor from low blood sugar. These episodes contributed to his mental decline and death.
Of course, my father started injecting insulin after it had basically just been discovered. So there have been a lot of good advances since those days.
4. Say goodbye to the booze. You are diabetic, so don't drink. No beer, no wine. Just don't do it.
Posts: 9912 | Registered: Nov 2005
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I don't drink so that's not a problem. I check my blood sugar first thing in the morning and before I go to bed. I've almost completely cut sugar out of my diet. I still have sweets once in a while, but don't binge. I'm getting good advice from my doctor which I follow carefully.
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My wife has a seizure disorder where she's prescribed a low-GI diet that is slightly more restrictive than a diabetic diet. I've learned to make almost any food low-GI friendly.
Here's a few tips: - Potatoes are bad. 1/2 of a sweet potato (or less) is fine. So, the veggie / sweet potato chips are good, as long as they don't have added flour or corn. - Lentil chips are the best you're gonna get (for chips). - Most rice is bad, but black rice is fine. - Vinegar reduces the GI of stuff. That's why sushi is okay. If you pop a few apple cider vinegar pills, it will lower the glycemic index of your meal (and keep your blood sugar down). - Believe it or not, flour tortilla is usually okay (while corn is bad). I'd recommend vinegar with it, though. - White flour is bad. Whole grain bread is usually okay if it's made with a variety of grains, especially rye. Real sourdough is great. Raising your own sourdough starter is a good way to keep waffles / pancakes / bread / baked goods in your life. - White sugar, evaporated cane juice, super bad. Honey and molasses are okay in moderation. Coconut sugar is fine. Agave is the best. If they have a Winco nearby, you can get it cheap in the bulk section. - A few fruits are okay: raspberries, cherries, plums, mostly. The issue is the type of sugar. All fruits have a mixture of sucrose, glucose, and fructose. Fructose is the only one that's low glycemic, so cherries (high fructose) are fine, even though they're sweet. - Alcohol is fine and doesn't raise your blood sugar, but most alcoholic drinks are bad. Non-sweet hard liquor with 0 calorie mixers are best. Beer is generally bad, as is anything with sugar. Most red wines are fine and most white wines are bad. Port is actually okay (even though it's sweet) and Lindeman fruit lambic beers are fine, because they're sweetened with fructose.
Hmm. That's all I got for now.
Posts: 688 | Registered: Nov 2008
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Best sweeteners: agave, honey, artificial sweeteners, coconut sugar. Best chocolate: Mrs. Cavenaughs, Amberlyn Best bread: sourdough, marbled rye, pumpernickel Best frozen meals: Atkins Quick fast-food choices: Chili at Wendy's, soups and salads at Café Rio, Mexican burritos (no rice), burgers without buns and with sweet potato fries Ingredients to be scared of: rice, potato, sugar, cane-anything, corn syrup
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Although agave has a low glycemic index, it's not good for you. It's still just sugar, and may be particularly bad for diabetics. Google agave insulin resistance.
Posts: 4287 | Registered: Mar 2005
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I admit I do a pretty bad job keeping my blood sugar steady...but as well as type two I also have ibs...so it's really hard for me to eat at times as one of the few things that helps my horrible hell pitt of a gut is fasting.
Posts: 6683 | Registered: Jun 2005
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quote:Originally posted by scifibum: Although agave has a low glycemic index, it's not good for you. It's still just sugar, and may be particularly bad for diabetics. Google agave insulin resistance.
And maybe I'll omit the vaccines while I'm at it?
According to the ADA and WebMD, the only risks to agave are the calories. No, it's not free calories. But yes, it doesn't create a sugar response. All sweets in moderation, right? But it's the conspiracy nuts who're touting the insulin resistance garbage -- not scientists.
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You might be partly right - while there IS in fact scientific evidence for what I was talking about, it might not be relevant to moderate doses of fructose.
Posts: 4287 | Registered: Mar 2005
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In some ways, being a type 1 is better, even if it is more severe.
My body doesn't make insulin, period. All I have to worry about is balancing insulin intake to carb intake.
Posts: 572 | Registered: Jun 2013
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quote:Originally posted by Derrell: I don't drink so that's not a problem. I check my blood sugar first thing in the morning and before I go to bed. I've almost completely cut sugar out of my diet. I still have sweets once in a while, but don't binge. I'm getting good advice from my doctor which I follow carefully.
Listen to your doctor, but diabetics who have trouble controlling their sugar levels check upwards of 5 times a day. Sensors these days can be synced with apps via bluetooth- make sure you keep an accurate diary.
Posts: 9912 | Registered: Nov 2005
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quote:Originally posted by Heisenberg: In some ways, being a type 1 is better, even if it is more severe.
My body doesn't make insulin, period. All I have to worry about is balancing insulin intake to carb intake.
That's simplifying things a lot, especially when you get older. Your body also produces sugars (your liver does), and dumps them into your bloodstream, and stress and sleep issues can cause your glucose and insulin levels to fluctuate a lot.
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