Could someone direct me to the Diabetic Dopers Club?

Man, what a day.

I’d been having some…er, urination problems for a long time – years, in fact – but nothing I’d taken too seriously. I finally talked to my doctor about it last week since I was in for something else at the same time. She referred me to a urologist and had me take a blood test related to my prostate. No biggie.

So today, she calls me out of the blue and does the good news/bad news routine. “Well, there’s nothing wrong with you prostate; the test came back just fine. However, your blood sugar was 3xx” (I can’t remember if she said 320-something or 360-something) “which is way off-base. Did you fast before the test?” I told her I had not, but she said my blood sugar was still entirely too high, even for having just had a meal.

“Sweetie, I think you have diabetes. Do you have a family history?”

I tell her that two close relatives had it.

“Uh huh. I already know that you have problems being tired a lot.”

True.

“Do you urinate frequently?”

sigh Yes, all the time.

“Are you often thirsty?”

I go through water and soda like there’s no tomorrow.

“Yeah, I’m starting you on glucosamine. Now. You’re taking a blood test tomorrow after fasting, and then you’re coming in to see me.”


OK, so this isn’t a huge shock to me, I suppose. As I said, it runs in my family. And when I was a bit younger and used to down a lot of soda, I often had the symptoms of…can’t think of the name of it…where you get jittery if you haven’t eaten. Anyhow, despite the fact that it’s no huge surprise, I’m still in a bit of shock. I’m 33 years old, and I’ve eaten nothing but crap all of my life. And all of a sudden, soda and pancakes (my favorite food in the world) have essentially been ripped away from me. The afternoon has been very surreal for me.

So I’m sitting here, about seven hours after having learned this, and I’m just wondering, what do I do? I know that I’ll probably see a nutritionist to help with my diet once I’ve been confirmed as diabetic (and told what type and all that). But I’d like to hear from other Dopers about how you found out and how hard it was for you to adjust your lifestyle.

I know it’s not like life’s over for me or anything. One of the benefits, actually, is that I’ll have no choice but to become a much healthier person than I am now. And it’s not like I’ll never eat bad stuff ever again. It’s just…different.

Anyway, please share your stories. I’m not necessarily looking for specific advice, but if you have it, it’s welcome. I will see my doctor again on Thursday or Friday, and I’m sure I’ll learn much more then. But when you have the Dope at your fingertips, why wait? :slight_smile:

Thanks, folks.

Relax.

You’ll take the oral drug a while, get a free glucose meter and become fanatic about checking your blood, eating right, and getting friendly with a pair of walking/running/cross training shoes, and after a little while notice your glucose is getting under control.

You’ll feel better, get into better shape, be less tired, pee a LOT less and wake up with more energy. You won’t need that afternoon nap and you know ahat? (they don’t tell you this) - You’ll sleep better.

In a few months, friends and family will tell all about how Uncle so and so died because he let himself go, and you’ll say “not me”.

KEEP WITH IT.

It’s your life, and it’s so freaking easy to save. Make that your motivation.

Learn what a carbohydrate is, and what’s a good carb, and what’s a bad carb. Have some pancakes once in a while. Sugar free syrup. Tastes like crap the first time, you get used to it.Once in a bit,

Carbs won’t kill you, in fact you NEED them. Someone says Atkins, punch them.

Repeat after me: Diet soda blows. By that I mean it’s not BAD, but it makes you crave carbs. Have a Diet Coke and you need a Snickers or a microwave popcorn. You will be amazed how fast you get used to unsweetened drinks. Anything but unsweetened iced tea or water (plus beer on occasion, ok whos’ perfect here, raise your hands…thought so… ) tastes like pure sugar to me now.

Fruit. Veggies. Big, fat, unprocessed grains. Milk, it has moderate carbs, but it’s dairy and the trade off is worth it for the recommended amount.

I mentioned exercise, right? Join a gym. Walk the treadmill, do the stair machine - hell, lift some weights - that burns lots-o-carbs. Plus muscle speeds your meabolism as compared to fat.

Three hundred something is pretty flipping high. Get better, and tell us how you’re doing. There are a crapload more of us here than you you think. Every doctor and nutritionist will tell you a support group is a good thing.

Let us know what’s up. So long as it’s not your A1-C.

MBG 362 fasting in 1999, this morning, woke up at 92.

You rock, if for no other reason than to bring this here.

Nothing much to add except, “Fantastic supportive post Mr. Bus Guy!” :smiley:

I wish you the best in reaching your goals Asimovian! Let us know if it works out!

Atkins. It’s kept my blood sugar normalized and my blood pressure normal for a year and a half. My A1C number is now the same as someone who’s never had diabetes, and a month after I started Atkins my doctor took me off the blood pressure medicine I’d been on for several years. Punch me if you want, if it makes you feel better about yourself.

It works for me and that’s all I care about.

Didn’t know we had a club, but I’m in.

I was just diagnosed last December & it sucked. Started thinking about all the stuff I couldn’t eat anymore and got all bummed. But it turned out not to really be that bad. There’s a lot more options for low carb & sugarless stuff than there used to be, and some of it is pretty good.

Just last week, gave some low fat/ sugarless ice cream a try, and it was really good.

I also second exercise, and third it too. I’ve also got multiple sclerosis, but I find that regular exercise makes me feel soooo much better. More energy.

Thanks, all of you. Like I said, I knew it wasn’t the end of the world, but it’s still good to have it confirmed by others. :slight_smile:

I actually just got back into going to the gym, so I’ll be looking forward to my exercise even more now. It’s going to be a little harder for me getting around to eating normally because I consume a few more calories than the average person on a daily basis, but I’ll get it figured out. My wife is EXTREMELY supportive, and we’re just going to make it work.

There’s a part of me that still doesn’t quite believe I’m diabetic since that test wasn’t done before fasting, but I’m obviously borderline enough that a change in my eating habits is going to benefit me no matter which side of the fence I’m on.

Hell, anybody would benefit from a change in diet - there is entirely too much garbage food in the world. Though I admit I am one of those who is convinced that high fructose corn syrup is the work of the devil =) and I for one wouldnt mind seeing it banned as a commercial ingredient. Sugar works just fine as a sweetener and texturizing agent.

I also tend towards the atkins end of the diabetic nutrition scale. I tend to go for the lower carb veggies mainly because I happen to adore celery as a snack, and love stuff like cauliflower, broccoli, radishes, cucumbers as snacks throughout the day.

I was diagnosed with a blood sugar level about twice what you had, years ago, and spent days in the hospital I cannot describe, as I was unconscious. You’ll notice that I am not currently dead, and in the interim I’ve gotten married and am now much happier.

Alas, I too was diagnosed with diabetes.

Once I told my mother, she emailed me back with a whole list of folks in my family who have had it. (Did I say we were not close? Family medical history has always been a mystery to me)

I got the news from my doc via email about a month ago. His following phonecall from the email was “are you SURE you’re okay?” Nice. He gave me the usual test kit (free) some meds which caused a severe allergic reaction causing me to go the the ER, and then said he wanted to “wait and see”. Again, nice.

My usual blood sugar level is around 250-400, depending upon when I test (pre-meals, post mucho sodas). He says I might be one of these people who “just run high”. Right. Sheesh.

I would appreciate any feedback from other diabetic dopers, as I am still in, what my doc calls, the “honeymoon” phase, and I am not getting a lot of good news about this.

I think I need a new doc.

Genetic factors: I am hispanic, overweight, and it runs in the family. Nice hand of cards to be dealt. Oh, and I have epilepsy as well. Started having “episodes” about 7 years ago. Also runs in the family.

Sorry to sound as if I am boo-hooing, but I recently made contact with a friend back in the day who was diagnosed with leukimea, so my problems are not as much as a big pile of dogfarts compared to his.

Take it with a grain of salt.

Look forward to hearing from you guys.

Look up Dr. Ronald Rosedale and/or check out the book “The Rosedale Diet”. Hands down the most knowledgeable diabetes doctor in the country. The book is aimed at a wide audience (assumably at the request of the publisher) but it is primarily meant for diabetics. Through diet, you can increase your sensitivity to insulin and greatly improve your glucose, HbA1c, and (most importantly) Leptin levels, thus eliminating or greatly reducing any outside insulin you’ll need. In essence, Diabetes is a very manageable, if not curable disease.

Also, Atkins had the right idea, but encouraged far too much protein which is why so many people had trouble with it. People, ESPECIALLY diabetics do not need carbs. Your body was designed to burn fat as a primary energy source and a diet consisting of carbohydrates prevents that. The proper diet uses fats (mostly good fats) as the primary ingredient, with a (and this is key) moderate protein intake. This is determined by your body composition and activity level. Exercise also helps a lot, even if it’s nothing more than a half hour walk a day.

Diagnosed five years ago as Type II…

The first three years, I managed with oral meds and diet. The past two years have been managed with diet and exercise.

I still test every morning and call my nurse practitioner if I have two days running over 150, but I’m still usually between 100 and 120 fasting without meds. I do take cinnamon capsules morning and evening. I believe that it does help with the sugar metabolism. YMMV (and check with your doctor before starting anything like this).
I tend toward a higher protein version of South Beach, walk 1-4 miles a day and do aqua aerobics a couple of times a week. I drink unsweetened iced tea, a diet soda once in a while, water and an occasional whiskey and water or a glass of wine (rewards when everything’s running well). I don’t get into what I can’t eat so much as enjoying what I can. Celebrations and the like, I allow myself a bite of someone else’s dessert and even occasionaly even split an oatmeal raisin cookie with a family member.

Just remember, if you manage your diabetes, you can avoid some of the long term effects of the disease.

Sending you good thoughts, Asimovian

Thanks again for the kind thoughts, everyone.

So, I’ve been on Glucophage since Monday night, and it has truly kicked my ass. I had to stay home from work today because my insides were so messed up. It’s just like having the stomach flu. I saw my doctor today, and she’s switched me to an extended release version of the medication to see if that’s gentler on me.

She also, obviously, confirmed the diabetes diagnosis. She gave me the results of my blood test – apparently my A1-C was at 11.7. So I’ve got a diabetes diet class I need to go to, and I get a blood sugar tester and all that fun stuff. They pricked me while I was in the office, and I was relieved to find out that it really wasn’t that bad. We’ll see if I have an easier or harder time pricking myself. Hey, at least I don’t have to give myself shots, right? And she said it would be many years, if ever, before I needed insulin.

So, something something first day blah blah rest of my life something something. :wink: Off I go!

{{Asimovian}}

I am not diabetic but it is a disease that has quickly become a very important part of my life since my boyfriend is diabetic. I have learned a lot about diabetes in the past few months and, while it doesn’t seem fun, it also isn’t the death sentence it once was. This year since the disease has been brought to my attention I am donating to the JDRF Walk for the Cure. I hope you are able to get everything under control ASAP Asimovian!