Update on Blood Sugar

[beejayw1]

This is an update to several posts on this board, (and thanks for the good information!)

I'd been feeling moderately lousy for several months. Tired, draggy. Sometimes I'd 'crash' after eating badly. My eyesight was deteriorating rather faster than I thought it should be, too, and I often felt thirsty.

So after thinking things through I lowered my carbs and way-upped my proteins and started tracking what I was eating and how I was feeling afterward. I became convinced I was hypoglycemic (borderline, probably) and got a meter and those little strips and tracked those for a week along with what I was eating.

I came back from Vacation Saturday and went to the doctor Monday and gave him the information. We talked. I had a blood test that measures your average blood sugar. 70 - 110 is considered normal, per my doctor. Two consecutive readings of 126 (per my doctor) equals diabetic. (Some other folks think anything over 110, but those are other folks.)

So.... Yesterday I got a phone call from my doctor. "You aren't hypoglycemic. Your blood sugar is 115. 126 is diabetic; you're in the pre-diabetic range."

Uh huh. 115. At my age. :( And this after eating high protein and low carbs. Thank goodness for the high protein and low carbs! I wonder what it would have been if I hadn't done that. And that explains why I felt rotten an hour after eating that pumpkin spice muffin.

(sidetracking a little here) Stuff happens. This is not tragic by a long shot, and knowing why I felt so lousy for so long makes a difference, I have to say. A definite mood-lifter. But this is also a wakeup call and I'd better get cracking.

I've lost weight and kept it off pretty well (mid 150's down from 181) but my exercising has been nonexistent. So from today (I will try to swing it) half an hour at least at Gold's Gym near me.

I guess I'll be losing more weight.

I also signed on the the American Diabetic Association website and will be following their advice. I also made an appointment with an ophthalmologist.

[lhall]

Diana,

Oh My. At least you are aware of your body and how you feel. Good thing you caught this early and are concerned enough about your health to take steps correct the problem now.

Leigh

p.s. I thought of you this morning when I made my breakfast. Toast with Apple Butter. :D I'm getting ready to make some more too. YUM!

[DmOrtega]

Thanks for sharing this with us. Diabetes is becoming more and more common and anything we can do to stop it is a help. Keep up the efforts, it is well worth it.

[greysangel]

Diana;

Have you read the "Schwartzbein Principle"? I would highly recommend it :)

So happy that you started reversing these effects early on...the eating is much harder that the exercise to get under control so I would say you are in great shape!

JeAnne

[lindrusso]

Sorry to hear about your news, but good for you for taking action and taking control, Diana!

Unlike the dolt you may have heard me mention who was in the hospital next to my DH because of chest pains. He was diabetic, overweight and sitting there drinking a Pepsi (NOT diet) and eating Doritos. In the hospital, in front of the doctors and nurses! :rolleyes:

I don't know a whole lot about Type II diabetes, but I do know that a lot of the control rests in your hands. You've caught it early and maybe you'll be able to stave it off completely by taking action now.

It's not tragic, but it will be an adjustment and something to take seriously. Sounds like you're educating yourself and doing everything you can.

Good luck and best of health to you! :)

Alysha

[zippy478]

Glad to hear that you are getting to the root of the issue and working towards making the situation better.

A couple people I know complain about the same things. Your post about the way you are taking charge of your health is motivational and I plan on talking to some of my friends about it in terms of what they should do.

Thanks so much!

[beejayw1]

Originally posted by zippy478
A couple people I know complain about the same things. Your post about the way you are taking charge of your health is motivational and I plan on talking to some of my friends about it in terms of what they should do.

If they're complaining about the symptoms I had - worsening vision, draggy, whatever - they definitely need to be checked out, especially if they're over 30.

This is a very useful site:

http://www.diabetes.org
It's the American Diabetes association, and there is some good info on there. Especially, check the upper left corner of the page.

Pre-Diabetes, which is what I have, is in this link:

http://www.diabetes.org/info/pre-diabetes.jsp

I do suggest they check it out. There's so much that can be done if you catch it in time.

[avariell]

I have no idea what other kind of symptoms you might have, but a similar blood sugar result was one of my first indicators that I have Poly Cystic Ovarian Syndrome... something worth looking into...

oops I forgot! one more thing :)

don't feel too bad about the "at my age" thing-- i was 19 when I first got those blood tests back... and at some point you have to accept that there are certain health related issues that are somewhat out of your control unless you have help controlling them...

good luck!

[wallycat]

I just have one quick question because though it "seems' obvious, you didn't include the info Diana.
Was your 115 result with a FASTING glucose check or was it a random check...this makes a HUGE difference in your diagnosis.

I'm so glad you are doing all the right things.
A recent study I just saw indicated that for those with pre-diabetes, exercise included in your life-style could (in most, but not all people) prevent diabetes from ever occuring...even if they never dropped weight.
(as an aside, some people are genetically predisposed to get this yucky disease and so you can do all the "right things" and still possibly end up being diagnosed. tHis is NOT YOUR FAULT...we try to do all we can for ourselves that is in our power; as was posted, some stuff is just out of our control.)

GOod luck and thanks for sharing your story!

[beejayw1]

Originally posted by wallycat
I just have one quick question because though it "seems' obvious, you didn't include the info Diana.
Was your 115 result with a FASTING glucose check or was it a random check...this makes a HUGE difference in your diagnosis.

Actually, he took two separate blood tests (not using the meter, which I used for a week) that together give the 'average' blood glucose level. I believe they were the glycosolated hemoglobin and the serum fructosamine tests. (But don't quote me. The names make me dizzy) Fasting doesn't make a difference with these tests, though they were taken around 5:15 and I had eaten around noon.

It sure explains why I felt horrible about an hour after eating a pumpkin spice muffin, and, again, after eating about 1 1/2 C pasta.

This sort of stuff appears to run in my family (found out late; we tend to be offensively healthy otherwise) and I plan to do what I can to keep healthy.

While I'm thinking of it, I wanted to thank you for all your feedback and information. Your pointers were excellent, and while I'm not hypoglycemic the treatment for both is very similar, and your info contributed to keeping my vacation a pleasant one.

So thanks and give Wally the Cat a scritch for me!

[wallycat]

Diana, I'm a bit rushed today but quickly am in shock at what you are telling me here...

Glyco-hemoglobin results are NOT recorded in the hundreds...
it should be 7 or below for non-diabetics.
You cannot "average" someone's glucose in "hopes" of getting an accurate number.
He either did a random check, which means any time and you may have eaten, and then it needs to be less than 200...or he did a FASTING test..that means no guessing, no assuming, no rounding off...NO FOOD for at least 9-12 hours and get checked...THAT number should be less than 110 and at 115 is pre-diabetic.
I will re-read the post here 'cause I have to run, but HOPE TO GOD I am reading this WRONG!!!!!!!!!!!!

[wallycat]

Diana, I will PM you :)

[DocAgocs]

Diana, it gets confusing, doesn't it? I don't know if you are interested in herbal medicine or not but an herb called Gymnema has been used for thousands of years in Ayurvedic medicine for controlling blood sugar in hyperglycemics/diabetics. It can be a valuable part of treatment and the studies on it have been extremely favorable. I just finished writing a synopsis of the literature for a patient. It's a Word document, so if you want me to mail it to you, just PM me your email address and I'll send it as an attachment. The bottom line is that Gymnema seems to:

1) Help the body produce more endogenous insulin by regenerating the pancreatic cells that perform this duty.
2) Lower levels of glycosalated hemoglobin and lower blood sugar in general.
3) Lower the amount of insulin or hyperglycemic medication needed.

Definitely worth looking into.

Good luck figuring things out in the meantime. I have a patient who came in really upset one day. His PSA (an antigen test that may indicate prostate cancer) was through the roof. His MD was out of town on vacation and a staff member in his office delivered the bad news. I told him not to try to take it easy until he can talk to his MD and get the full story. Well, it turns out that somewhere along the way a decimal point got misplaced and his PSA was well within normal limits! Not that that's what is going on for you, but the numbers game is tricky!