Another “fuck this disease” thread; this time: diabetes edition.

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
1

Basically, this is just to vent. Too mild for the pit, I suppose.

I was diagnosed with the dreaded diabetes a bit over a year ago. At the time I was in school full-time and my fasting blood sugars weren’t too bad—rarely over 120. I can’t say I was surprised: I’m 6’2 and weigh ~350lbs, and have been overweight most of my life. Being a student my diet consisted or ramen and coffee. I’m 35. My first A1C last March was 6.6, so the doc started me on Metformin and sent me to some diabetic counseling. I don’t know if they helped much, most of what they told me I already knew from working in the medical field: eat lots of veggies, avoid simple carbs, and when you do eat (complex) carbs keep them in check. My fasting blood sugars have been slowly rising, the past several weeks they’ve been in the 150-170 range.

I started graduate school in January and the work has been, to put it lightly, daunting. I still struggle with my portion control and finding good sources of carbs (bad carbs are cheap, which may explain the origin of my predicament). My diabetic educator told me that stress can wreak havoc on blood sugar levels, sending them north when otherwise they would be steady. I don’t know if that has been the cause of my higher readings or not. Eating healthy has been the biggest struggle. There are some things that they didn’t cover and that I haven’t talked to my doc about yet, like the recommended amount of protein consumption and whether or not it’s safe to exercise after fasting (no fresh carbs in the system for fuel, which I understand can lead to increased risk of kidney damage? Maybe.).

I already have some diabetic neuropathy in my feet. I saw a podiatrist and he said the blood flow remains good but with decreased sensation I’m at risk for a foot injuries that I may be unaware of. I try to inspect my feet and ankles twice a day for any sign of skin problems.

I’ve also been trying to increase my daily exercise regimen, but it’s been difficult with school and working part-time while raising kids and volunteering. I finally sat down and created an exercise chart so I can track my daily walks. My goal is to get up to walking 10k a day; I’m not sure how realistic that is. Right now I’m at about 4k/day, but making steady progress. So that’s good.

I’ve had bad bouts of anxiety before, usually medical related (I spent nearly 15 years watching people die, that is likely the biggest factor in all this). At one point I was in therapy to learn CBT techniques to combat it, and right now I’m dealing with a lot of those “OMG I’M GOING TO DIE TOMORROW” feelings that are returning in full force. Some in my family feel it may be PTSD from this. Several times the anxiety I suffered from was unfounded, this time there is a real concrete diagnosis. Although my last A1C (November) was 5.8, and the diabetic educator (not my PCP, mind) said “that essentially means you’re in remission!” Yeah… with the fasting CBG readings I’m getting I’m surely not.

Anyway, I feel like I’m gingerly stepping through a minefield, or playing a deadly game where the rules are constantly changing. I hate it. I’m afraid that I’ll go blind or end up on dialysis or have my feet chopped off or all 3.

Anyway, fuck this disease, and the anxiety that seems to be part of my genetic nightmare. Now that I got that off my chest (and actually, I feel a bit better!), I guess it’s back to writing book-length term papers.

Thanks for reading.

2

Daily walks are one of the best things you can do for yourself. Gets your lungs working, your heart working, your metabolic rate up, etc. I know that it really helps with my blood sugar, cholesterol, and blood pressure numbers, and I sleep better when I’m rigorous about it.

3

I don’t understand how you can be in remission, diabetes generally gets worse with age. Hopefully you can keep it under control with lifestyle and cheap medications for the next decade or two though.

No idea what to tell you. Is diabetes in your genetics? 35 is kind of young to get type II.

4

Lancia, welcome to the club. I’ve been diabetic for nearly 30 years. I have to inject myself with two different kinds of insulin, three times a day. I have diabetic neuropathy and peripheral vascular disease. I cannot walk without a great deal of pain, but I can’t take painkillers because of their effect on my kidneys. And whenever something goes wrong, like a minor virus or infection, it takes forever to heal.

I wish I had words of encouragement to give you, but even if you do everything right, it will continue to get worse. But stay as healthy as you can, as long as you can, and enjoy the life you have as long as you have it. You’re not alone.

5

Jesus, that sucks. Seriously?! 6 injections per day? How do you do that? Are all the injections in the same place(s)?

6

From the standpoint of getting normal blood sugar values without needing medication yes a very few people can achieve that, for awhile, with enormous self-discipline if it’s Type II triggered by excess weight and they both lose the weight and keep it off…

… but they’re still diabetic, will still start showing symptoms again if their weight goes up or they have poor quality diet or the like, and will probably eventually start showing symptoms down the road no matter what they do.

My spouse’s diabetes went into “remission” last year… after he lost 80 pounds and almost stopped eating entirely, but frankly, if I had to choose I’d pick diabetes over the cancer that dropped his weight and reduced to nothing his diabetes symptoms.

Which is not to trivialize severe diabetic problems like renal failure and/or amputation, just that some diabetes can be managed long-term with high quality of life.

Regarding the OP: after I was laid off in 2007 I struggled to keep my diabetic spouse on a high-quality diet. I wound up growing a lot of our vegetables, but even so, on our very limited budget it was tough. He struggled with managing the disease for years. I know it’s tough, but long term it’s worth it. Keep trying to make positive changes.

7

Not anymore.

“type 2 diabetes has grown from less than 5 percent in 1994 to about 20 percent of all newly diagnosed cases of the disease among youth in more recent years.”

link
mmm

8

I combine the insulins in the same syringe, so it’s only three injections of a very full syringe. When the time comes to increase the dosages, I’ll have to use larger syringes, or go to six needles a day.

I inject myself in my sides, trying to stay away from sites where scar tissue has been created. In time, it’s gotten harder to avoid those places.

And I absolutely HATE they way syringes are designed. It’s like the designers gave absolutely no thought to how they’d be used.

9

My grandfather had a dry-erase chart hanging on the inside of his bathroom door with a stylized person on it with grid marks laid out on the thighs and sides and stomach, and he’d x off the spots as he injected himself. I still see that chart in my nightmares sometimes, and it’s been 25 years ago now.

10

Great job on the walking! I’m envious of your ability to get 4k in all the time with such a busy life.

I’m 38 and was diagnosed about a year ago, a few months shy of 37. I’d been on Metformin already for years because of insulin resistance, so it was kind of shitty to learn that DESPITE the Metformin therapy I still had an A1c over 7. Grr.

I don’t have any neuropathy, thank goodness. I can see where a diagnosis of that would ratchet up the seriousness of diabetes really quickly and make one anxious. For now for me I’m a little too lassiez faire about things but neuropathy would really bring on the “oh shit” about it.

I’m here to talk to if you want. I have a friend IRL who’s a Type 1 (25 years now) and another who is diabetic due to other medical issues that ruined her pancreas (so, skinny little thing but has to take insulin and pills and watch her diet) and even though our situations aren’t exactly the same it is nice to talk to them about things. All 3 of us have different needs as a diabetes patient but we all have similar diet frustrations and there’s some sort of kinship in knowing what low bloodsugar feels like.

Keep on keeping on. This is your life now!

11

Sorry to hijack, but I am curious - what about syringe design could be done better?
mmm

12

It is perfectly possible for the diabetes (the underlying cause/mechanism) to be worse or steady but with the hyperglucemia (the sugar readings, in his case the long-term one) being better. That’s the aim of “managing diabetes through diet”.

My mother was put on insulin some 2 years ago. Her reaction at the time was “hooray, I don’t have to diet anymore! I can eat anything I want!” For the last 6 months she’s had to inject insulin only rarely: the intestinal surgery she had in October has finally led her to stop eating a ton of sweets a day, so her sugar numbers are good even though her pancreas and liver are unlikely to be working better. She’s also within normal weight ranges for the first time in 50 years.

Just compare a syringe with an autoinjector. The syringe is made thinking of injecting another person, so you’re pushing away; used for self-injections you’re pushing in. If you’re self-injecting, you need to hold steady while doing a movement that for most injection sites is pretty awkward; the result is likely to be that the plunger won’t work well and you end up having to realign and re-push.

13

It’s the filling stage that’s the problem. When you’re holding the vial of insulin with one hand, you only have one hand with which to pull back the plunger. There are two “wings” sticking out of the sides of the syringe, that you have to push against with two fingers. But the syringe has a habit of twisting around, so the wings slip through your fingers and you can lose your grip. It would be a HUGE help if the wings went all the way around, forming a wide collar, so you could continue pushing against it even if there’s twisting.

I don’t know how people with diminished hand coordination do it at all.

14

While the vial is on the needle, do you still have to hold it? Or at least can you support it against a wall / corner so that you can draw the syringe with two hands?

My wife is type 1. She wears an insulin pump and a CGM, continuous glucose monitor. She loves them both, they are much better than the former ways she would manage her BG, blood glucose. The CGM is especially great because it is Bluetooth tethered to her smart phone and she can read her BG on her phone. Much fewer finger sticks. And her smart phone connects to mine so I get her BG levels and know immediately how she is doing. Right now, 4:15am and she’s asleep next to me, and I know she’s at 142 and steady.

These are especially great because 3 weeks ago I was out of town and at 3:30 in the morning my phone alarm sounded because her BG was low. I’m 150 miles away, and she’s home alone. I called home, no answer. Called and called, home phone, cell phone, no answer, while I watched her BG keep dropping. I finally called 9-1-1 remotely. They got to her and treated her, and she was recovering while I’m on the phone with the paramedics. I raced home like a mad man and met her in the E.R., but by then she was fine.

I have no idea what would have happened to her if the paramedics hadn’t gotten to her.

So yeah, insulin pump and CGM, both are great devices and worth checking out to see if they can help anyone with diabetes.

15

Diagnosed as diabetic at 33. This was following a severe illness that took part of my pancreas and left me ‘insulin resistant’.
I spent several years looking for ‘that one thing’ that would make it all better, and like everyone said, there isn’t ‘that one thing’. I agree complex carbs are cheap and tasty, its hard to pass them up sometimes. Exercise is also great, but hard to work in sometimes. I am not in remission, but I have learned over the years how to get my sugars and A1C under control and am still working it down, little by little.
Once I gave up looking for the magic pill or easy way out, I started making little changes. I still eat carbs on occasion, but plan it out ahead of time and make it into an event of sorts. I look forward to spaghetti night like it was the superbowl now! When I do eat and want a second helping of potatoes or something that is bad for me, I eat an extra helping of veggies instead.
Exercise is tough for me as I am stuck behind a desk most of the day, but I do what I can. If I need to use the bathroom, I go to a different floor and use the steps. I quit looking for the close parking spot and automatically park at the end of the lot. It was little changes like that, that started ticking my sugars and A1C down. It wasn’t huge drops, but my doctor is OK with me dropping it little by little, as long as its down each time I go see him.
I also learned to not deprive myself when craving something. If I want ice cream, I eat a small serving earlier in the day so I have more time to work it off and will try to do some extra steps that day after eating it. I found if I ignored the cravings, they would sneak up on me and in a moment of weakness, I would end up eating too much of it when I had a weak moment.

I don’t know if any of this will help you or not, but the biggest thing to take away is to quit looking for the miracle and do what works for you. Be open and honest with the diabetes coach and your doctor and they will also help you find alternatives. Good luck and stay strong.

16

I was up to about 280 in 2000 and blood glucose was heading north. I did lost 30 lb, then gained ten and the glucose went to 8.1 (= about 146 the way the Merkins measure it) and started on Metformin. Magic drug. The glucose dropped below 7 and I lost 20 lb without dieting. A known side effect. Then I took myself in hand and lost another 40 lb. I am hovering around 200 lb, my blood glucose is around 5.5 and A1c is around 5.8%. Still, I am suffering the effects of peripheral neuropathy. No fun.

Curiously, people with diabetes controlled by metformin seem to be living longer than the average guy without diabetes. No explanation is known and, as always, YMMV.

17

Metformin helps you lose weight? Didnt work for me.

Why cant they make it easier to check your sugars? My finger tips are very sensitive so instant pain to check the blood. I cant see to get a good blood supply in my forearm

I need more struggles in my life! :smack::dubious:

18

I’ve tried solutions like that. They created more problems. We need better-designed syringes.

The problem with Metformin is that eventually it’s not enough. You have to inject insulin, which causes you to GAIN weight.

And I wish there were a cure for diabetic neuropathy. The only thing that helps for me is high dosages of Gabapentin. Of course, with side effects.

19

In absolute terms, type 2 diabetes is still rare among children.

1 case per 2,000 people isn’t really an epidemic, especially considering that by age 75 almost 25% of people are diabetic, at least in Canada (500 per 2,000). Like most diseases that we ascribe to lifestyle, type 2 diabetes is fundamentally a disease of age (poor lifestyle just aggravates it).

I don’t know what the median age is to be diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, but by age 35-39 about 2.6% of people are diagnosed, which is about 1 in 38. So I guess it is less rare in your 30s than I thought.

20

Does benfotiamine (fat soluble vitamin B1) not do anything?

http://www.podiatrytoday.com/blogged/can-benfotiamine-provide-relief-patients-painful-peripheral-neuropathy