I’ve had it for a week or so now, and I really like it. It’s not the most heavy-duty thing out there, but it’s adequate. It’s pretty easy to use - you put the food on it, and if it’s something in the database, you just look up the 3 digit number and type it in and voila, you have carb/fiber/calories right there.
The database includes just about every kind of raw food I can think of - veggies, fruits, meats, grains, etc.
For packaged foods, you stick the thing on the scale, hit the “mode” button, hit the “serving” button and type in the grams per serving from the nutrition label on the scale, hit the “nutr” button and type in the nutrition # you want (for me, that’s carbs) from the nutrition label, then hit the “=” button to see the results. Pretty intuitive.
I especially like it when I’ve figured out the # carbs for a recipe based on the whole recipe. Like you make a pot of soup - make a note of the # of carbs. Then you can weigh the whole batch and calc the # of carbs per serving. Very accurate. Appeals to the engineer in me.
Well I had my appointment. He says there is nothing “pre” about it, I have diabetes.
He gave me a bunch of information and we talked for a good 20 minutes. He is a great doc.
He wants me to drop the Glucotrol the ER doc put me on and start Metformin. He wants me to consider Bietta. He is confident if I watch my diet and exercise and lose some lbs. that I probably will not need insulin.
I have labwork scheduled for the morning and a follow up in one month. In the mean time he is putting me in touch with a diabetes group through Bon Secours who can help me adjust my lifestyle.
Sounds well and good…right?
He gave me a glucometer and my first reading was 150. Blech.
Heh, I’ve been diagnosed for 2 months now and I consider 150 a GOOD reading. Not perfect, but a lot better than the 250s & 300s I got my first month!
And it all sounds well & good! Metformin does a lot for most people. And even if you do end up on insulin, I can tell you from experience, it ain’t no big thing. One shot a day has done so much for me that I’m firmly on the Insulin bandwagon.
But great that you have a chance to control it through diet and exercise. Better news than I got - “you’re doing everything right diet & exercise wise, so let’s go straight to drugs & Insulin.”
Have fun with your meter. I actually think it’s quite fun to have a nifty little high tech device to track stuff with.
I am now on a heavy-duty 30-day antifungal prescription for the yeast infection that will not die. When I saw my GP about it, she said that yes, uncontrolled blood sugar can be a factor, but didn’t think that the 125-135 fasting numbers I’ve been seeing are “uncontrolled.” I also mentioned the excessively bleeding gums that my dentist noticed at my last appointment. She shrugged it off. Sigh. She did agree to send a referral over to the endocrinologist I found, although she warned me that a lot of times they need an official diagnosis of diabetes before they agree to see someone, and I’ve never been officially diagnosed. Partially because my numbers are so borderline.
It is distressing to me, feeling like my blood sugar is probably too high, but getting the response from the medical community that I should quit worrying about it because it’s not “that high.”
I’ve been diagnosed for eight years. My doctor tells me that the Hemoglobin A1c (which gives a three-month average) is more important than daily ups and downs. Also that losing even some weight helps.
What he really stressed was controlling my blood pressure; the risk for diabetics with hypertension is kidney damage.
Nope, no solid symptoms at all. Would have never guessed I was diabetic at all.
At best, I sometimes think I was maybe peeing a bit much, and maybe having some lethargic days that I don’t get any more. But that could very much be in my head. It wasn’t enough that I or anyone else noticed it at the time, so <shrug> who knows?
Of course, a meter doesn’t have the accuracy that a lab test will. But if you’re seeing above 125 with your meter, I’d be screaming at my doc to do a fasting blood test.
Yeah, I’m currently waiting for the endo referral to come through, which would take about a week even without a giant massive snowstorm that closed the whole county down. If I don’t hear anything by Monday, I’m making some calls to light some fires under people.
Ketosis, which is what causes the weight loss on a low carb diet, is not the same as ketoacidosis, which is very dangerous. It’s not an issue for me though, I don’t go into ketosis, no matter how low carb I go. I haven’t had any problems with electrolyte loss, or dehydration, because I drink a lot of water. Not enough, probably, because I hate water, but I drink a lot more than I used to. I have yearly tests on my kidneys, including sonogram, and they’re fine. Since my ty numbers are fine, all the saturated fat that I eat doesn’t seem to be causing a problem.
My blood pressure numbers and blood sugar numbers are more important to me than balance. My doctor and endocrinologist support me, so I’m not too worried about it.
Absolutely. The boredom and limited options are the biggest obstacles.
That doesn’t have to be a problem. People of normal weight who just want to lower their blood pressure/sugar numbers have a lot more options than someone like me, who needs to lower their numbers AND lose weight. I also have the physiological disadvantage of NOT being able to go into ketosis. I could eat nothing but steak and eggs every day for a year and not get into ketosis, which makes my weight loss much slower and more gradual. I don’t know why, since I stay away from just about everything that might contribute (maltodextrin, vitamins with corn starch, things like that). I say “just about” because I’ve been hypothyroid for about 15 years and take synthroid, which could contribute, but I’m not going to stop taking synthroid, that’s for sure. It’s frustrating, but I can deal with with a 1-3 pound per month weight loss. It’s slow, but it’s in the right direction. I’ve lost 43 pounds total, so I’m doing ok.
But, anyway, back to the quote, I would think that most people could eat a LOT more variety than I can and still stay fairly low carb.
But yeah, oh god is it boring. It’s worth it to me though. I had decades of eating any and everything I ever could possibly want, enjoyed the hell out of it, and look what it did to me. At least what I do eat on low carb, I thoroughly enjoy. I LOVE steak! Better (for me) to be on a diet where I actually do like what I eat than have to be on a diet that makes me miserable and I hate most of the foods.
And, all said and done, as I said earlier, since low carb is keeping my blood pressure low and steady, my blood sugar numbers low and steady, and I’m slowly losing weight, I’ll take the tradeoff of boredom. I don’t count calories (since I don’t eat that much), or fat grams (since I cut off extra fat from my steaks), or have to watch my salt intake (since I’m no longer eating prepared foods with massive amounts of sodium), or stay away from real butter (I eat a fraction of the butter I used to anyway). Perks. I’ll take 'em where I can get 'em.
I’ll defer to you since I don’t know much about the Glycemic Index or Load. I don’t eat carrots just on the general principle that they convert to sugar in the bloodstream, as do onions. Maybe normal low carbers could eat small amounts of them.
That’s exactly what helped me. If I’d just mindlessly followed the plan the diabetic clinic laid out for me, I’d be in real trouble now, the way they pushed rye bread and brown rice and “heart healthy” cereals and other nasty-tasting shit. All seemingly “good for you” but those foods, which I spent a lot of money on and hated like crazy, did nothing but cause my numbers to go up. The people running the clinic were well-meaning, but I think they were just too set in their ways.
I disagree with all of that, because I know what works for me and I think a lot of the “must have carbs” meme comes from propaganda put out by companies producing carb-laden products, but I can only speak for myself. If I “need” carbs, I get them from the salads and berries I eat. I don’t need or want any more than that. Ok, I want more, but that’s just because I miss french fries and chocolate ice cream and Hostess cupcakes and Dove bars. I figure I had enough of all that in my pre-diabetic life, but I do miss them.
Anyway, I totally respect Equi’s take on the whole thing. If there’s something I’ve learned about diabetes, it’s that we all have to choose what’s important for us. For me, I’d rather take a few drugs and be able to eat somewhat normally (but still low-carb) diet. For Equi, she found a different way that works for her.
I’m gonna take a flyer and guess that not many people can choose to eat badly, not exercise, and not take drugs, but that’s true even if you’re not diabetic.
Just to clarify - the diet Joslin and others talk about isn’t getting carbs from junk food or other “advertised” food. It’s all pretty much your basic whole grains, fruit, nuts, starchy vegetables cooked simply, etc.
Ah, ok, I understand. I didn’t delve, and wasn’t trying to paint them specifically with the propaganda brush, but I’m sure that’s what it seemed like, so my apologies to Joslin.
Just based on what you say above, my diet isn’t all that alien, except for grains. I don’t eat any grains at all. As for fruits, I only eat berries (strawberries, blueberries, blackberries and raspberries) and melons (cantaloupe and honeydew) in small amounts. The only nuts I eat are Macadamia Nuts and sunflower seeds, but then, those are the only nuts I like anyway. For veggies, though corn, carrots and potatos (sigh, sniff) are poison in my mind, I eat salads (romaine and arugula, mainly), greens (spinach, mainly), green beans, celery, black olives (I don’t like green olives), green and red peppers, mushrooms, cucumbers, radishes, bean and other sprouts, broccoli and cauliflower (mostly raw, but occasionally steamed). Onions (raw) in tiny amounts, just enough to flavor and crunch. I also eat pickles and dill pickle relish. I sometimes eat tomatoes and avocado in very small amounts. So, it’s not like I always only eat steak and sausage and bacon and cheeseburgers.
Here’s a question…is it possible I may have swung too far in the other direction? I took my blood sugar for the first time in 6+ months today first thing this morning and it was 77. Historically (well, such as the history was), my sugar was higher in the morning than in the afternoon. Is it possible I’ve let me sugar get too low? I’m not on any meds, just diet and exercise.
Read that. It will help. As will a book called ‘The Rosedale Diet’ (shitty name. Fantastic information)
Diabetes (well type II, anyway) is completely treatable and even reversible in most cases. The trick is to treat the cause of the disease, (in this case, insulin signaling) rather than the symptom (blood sugar). Diabetes is not a problem of blood sugar. It’s a problem of the inability to properly hear insulin (and the lesser-known but far more significant hormone) leptin. Once you bring these back down to normal levels, your A1c, glucose, triglycerides and many other biological markers go back to normal levels as well. I can go into MUCH more detail if you like, but it would be a long post and it’s 3am here right now. The important thing for you or anyone with T-II Diabetes is that it CAN be cured! You can get off medications and be perfectly healthy for a long long time. I’ve seen happen it many many times and I’m blown away with each case. I really must sleep now. If you’re intrigued, I’ll post more tomorrow. Nighty night!
My blood sugar this morning was 126 and this evening was 110. Pretty good. I really hope I can reverse the T II, and don’t need to be on medicine long term.
This afternoon I felt really lightheaded, almost to the point of passing out. It is my 2nd day on Metformin. I tested my blood and it was in the 120s so I should not have felt bad. I am going to call my doc Monday and tell him.
There is not a cure for type II diabetes, with the possible exception of certain types of weight-loss surgery, and even that seems debatable. Yes, some diabetics (not all) can certainly control their diet and fitness to the point that they do not need medication in order to keep their blood sugar in good control. This does not mean that they are no longer diabetic. If they were no longer diabetic, they could go on the all-sugar-pops diet and still have normal blood sugar numbers.
I know I’m somewhat cynical on this topic, but frankly, when I hear someone touting a cure for diabetes, it usually means that they are selling something. Typically a book, or a series of seminars, or a miracle food product, or a bottle of pills, or something like that.
A Spoonful of Awesome is correct that if you get your blood sugar into the normal range, your health will improve. There is no question that it’s a worthy goal for any diabetic person to have. What is not correct is that 1) there is a cure, or that 2) every diabetic person can achieve tight control without the aid of oral medication and/or insulin. Hearing those claims makes me dubious about the legitimacy of the other information presented in the book he mentions. Although, I’ll keep an open mind, as I haven’t read it myself.
My evening sugar yesterday was 79, so I’d say I guess I’m doing the right thing diabetes-wise My main concern was that morning 77 was too low given my history, and perhaps I’d gone hypoglycemic. I had another (different) blood test at the lab yesterday morning and asked what the proper range was and they said they had 76 as the low end. The later test just shows that it’s well-controlled, which is really what I expected, given my A1c of 5.6 around 6 months ago.
I think MsWhatsit has it, in that it’s unlikely to be “curable.” In my case, with the weight loss and exercise, it’s almost like constantly fighting off a cold that’s coming on; if I give it a chance, it’s going to be right back. I’m probably fortunate genetically (about time!), in that once I lost some weight and started exercising, all my blood levels were excellent. Not everyone has that “luxury.”
The only real symptom I noticed prior to my diagnosis was increased urinary frequency. So, while I wish I could say I really felt better after all this weight loss, exercise and sugar-straightening, I really don’t. While it’s nice to not have to use a CPAP machine to sleep and to not sweat so easily, but instead now I really have swung all the way in the other direction in that I’m freezing all the time, and have actually developed Raynaud’s phenomenon.
The Rosedale diet is just another extremely low carb diet. As mentioned before in this thread, it works well for controlling blood sugars for some people. But it’s not a cure. Diabetes can be controlled; it can’t be cured (yet).
I am unfortunately one of the people where diet & exercise isn’t going to get me in the right ranges (I was already eating relatively healthily and exercising before I was diagnosed). Early in my diagnosis, I ate next to no carbs, and I rarely saw my sugars get under 200. It took insulin to get them down farther.
And heck, even if I could get 'em down in the right range by restricting carbs, I’d rather take some drugs and be able to eat a bit more normally. I’m not talking pasta and sugar and all those unhealthy foods - I just want a healthy, balanced diet. The idea of never eating my mother’s chicken dumpling soup or a bowl of steel cut oats again makes me very, very sad. Sure, I could do it if I had to, but why choose that route when there’s safe, proven drugs that allow a near-normal lifestyle?
Not perfect, but a lot better than the 250s & 300s I got my first month!
My main concern was that morning 77 was too low given my history, and perhaps I’d gone hypoglycemic. I had another (different) blood test at the lab yesterday morning and asked what the proper range was and they said they had 76 as the low end. The later test just shows that it’s well-controlled, which is really what I expected, given my A1c of 5.6 around 6 months ago.