Diabetic needing help

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Permalink Reply by Dori S on November 4, 2009 at 2:31pm

Hi Joe. Welcome and I'm sorry you are having such a hard time. You cam eto the right place. You will find information, and much more important - support. You are doing the right thing by deciding to take control. You need to do some research and find a doctor that you feel comfortable with and trust. Then go see him/her regularly. You need to learn about what you should and should not eat and follow it. You need to check your BG. You need to take your meds! In return you will feel better and be in control of the situation (though a lot of us will tell you it is harder to be in control of the numbers on the meters). You do not say whether you are a T1 or T2. DIet and exercise are key elements you want to get under control.

Have you tried water with lemon or lime juice in it? What about iced tea?

Only you can find what will motivate you - for some of us it is seeing our children/grandchildren grow up, it is doing the activities we love, etc. One of the realizations you need to come to is that this is "life", it is downright hard at times and can be stressful, frustrating, a lot to take on and in at times, and you get tired of it. But this is life. This has to come first because otherwise you might not be around to deal with the rest of what life throws at you.

Always remember - we crawled before we walked and we walked before we ran. Take things in baby steps and it is not so overwhelming. Pick one thing to improve this week, then next week add a new component. You can do it and we are all here for you when you need it.

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Permalink Reply by Joe on November 4, 2009 at 3:37pm

Thank you Dori, Water with lemon/lime juice in it is okay for awhile, and i love tea, but its not very convenient at work. Also i do not know for sure if i am T1 or T2. Doctor said last time he thinks i'm still producing some insulin because if iw asnt i'd be dead by now. My biggest problem i guess is snacking. I cant really eat hard veggies and nuts and such as the diabetes has really messed up my teeth so hard things hurt. I think i'll try to figure out something to start on this week.

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Permalink Reply by Joe on November 4, 2009 at 6:32pm

Planning is the best thing you can do

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Permalink Reply by Joe on November 5, 2009 at 7:30am

Well, Today i brought my lunch to work instead of going out.. brough a turkey sandwich, with some cottage cheese and tomatoes... probably not the lowest carb lunch there is, but i figure it's better than the burger and fries i'd get otherwise.

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Permalink Reply by Kelly Rawlings on November 4, 2009 at 3:48pm

There's a lot to learn about living well with diabetes--whatever your type. It's great you're motivated to start taking control.

Don't let all the stuff to learn intimidate you.

Start with one small, specific thing you want to change and tomorrow, do it: Test your blood sugar on waking or purchase unexpired testing strips or fill a prescription or take a walk.

Each small change and success makes the future ones easier to do and handle.

Studies have shown that telling someone your goal is a great motivator in actually doing it. So feel free to post here and we'll cheer you on!

If you have type 2, it's important to maintain the health of your insulin-producing cells while they still function. Taking control of your blood sugars can help do that. Now's an excellent time to start. Best wishes.

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Permalink Reply by Don Kelly on November 4, 2009 at 3:58pm

Hey Joe welcome ! This is a great support place. I've lurked and got some great advice and yacked with some and gotten some great help !
I agree the best way to start is baby steps. I did that when I wanted to get better control. Started with one ting at a time, then added something else... I started by testing before each meal, then the next week I added a short walk, the added eating one snack a day, then..... you get the idea !
Do go see an ENDO, my PCP did great but he said he was in over his head, my A1C was looking good but I had so many peaks and lows... First thing the endo did was get my levels into a place where they looked something like a line instead of a mountain range. Good luck and you've taken the first step by asking for help !

Let us know how you are doing... keep in touch !

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Permalink Reply by Joe on November 4, 2009 at 4:59pm

Yes, my PcP prescribed the insulin. and as far as my last A1C, i think it was well.. this is kinda sad to admit and makes me cringe just thinking about it.. was i think 11 or 12..

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Permalink Reply by Mikey Irish on November 5, 2009 at 10:17am

No worries Joe. Mine was 14.2 I think in July. Basically the same as you. Knew I had it...didnt do anything as far as taking care of it...lots and lots of soda. Then I got a whamee of a complication. I'm flying straight now. I'm hoping my a1c is 7 or 8 ish Monday when I hit the Doctor. Blood Pressure should be wayyyy down too....should be.

But after that complication, I decided its time to do it. I know how. When I was first diagnosed, I was great....for about 6 months.

You can do it bro. You aint alone. Ya ever need an ear or some advice, hit me up. Been there. And just a minor this and that sort of adjustment from day to day make huge improvements when they are added up.

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Permalink Reply by Cassie Kile on November 4, 2009 at 5:27pm

Hey Joe. This stuff is hard isn't it?? :) I guess if it were easy we wouldn't need this website and I wouldn't have met so many wonderful people, so maybe some good things come out of it too huh? Do yourself a favor and try to spend some extra time here, especially while you're trying to figure all of this out. This site has been such a valuable tool for me and I hope it will be for you too.

That being said, on to your question. I hear so many people on here talking about how much their endo's suck! It's so unfortunate that it's so common. Mine is so-so. I don't really have an opinion either way. The only time I ever was really happy with my "diabetes team" was when I started on the pump a few months ago. I went to place in my area that specializes in diabetes education. There I met sooo many helpful people--diabetes educators, nurse practitioners, etc. I'm not sure if this sort of place exists where you are but it might be a good idea for you to ask around. My insurance covered it for me but I don't know how it works for everyone else. I really think having the knowledge helped set me on the right track. It's a powerful weapon!

The pump also lifted my spirits dramatically. Again, not sure if that's an option for you at this point but it's just a thought. If the pills weren't working, and the shots suck (sorry, my words, not yours :) ) then maybe it's something you could look into.

And hey, don't forget you can be diabetic AND happy! :) If you don't believe me, check out my friend Bill aka 1HappyDiabetic. This is his page. He makes hilarious videos and always puts a smile on my face!

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Permalink Reply by Dori S on November 5, 2009 at 7:54am

One of the things to keep in mind is that everyone's body/system isindividualized so that what works for one may not work for another. The best way to figure out what works for you is by testing and trial and error. By testing frequently after eating for a while you will start to figure out how many carbs you can eat without going high. I find that if I have enough protein with the carbs I can manage around 35-50 a meal.

Some softer things to snack on that you may want to try is cheese sticks - sargento makes a light string cheese that is only 50 calories a stick if weight is an issue you are working on, sugar free jello, sugar free pudding - if you are into chocolate jello has out a SF chocolate mousse that is very good, lunchables has out a mini turkey and mozzerella that is lower card and only 130 calories so makes a great light lunch or snack, bumble bee tuna has prepackeged, premixed fat free tuna salad with a couple of crackers.

Sometimes I "think" I want a snack and it's actually because I am bored or something not really hungry so for those occassions when I "just want something" I keep different flavors of diet soda (orange, rootbeer, cherry coke, etc.) and different flavors of herbal teas on hand.

Get yourself a couple of the stainless steel water bottles, make some iced tea up the night before and take some bottles of tea to work with you or try to get some of the snapple diet teas - the peach is pretty good.

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Permalink Reply by Joe on November 5, 2009 at 9:47am

Thanks for the advice, i will look into these things.. and yes i'm sure some of my hunger comes from bordom.. but that is a challenge for another day lol.. I have started a blog here.. and put up an actual picture of me.. the 5 bad habbits discussion made me feel semi normal.. so.. things are looking up.. except all this stuff i have to do at work and would rather read this site all day.. heh.. anyways, i would appreciate it if you guys would follow my blog.. lemme know what you think.. i am going to commit to updating it at least once a day.. except next week will miss tuesday for sure as i'll be in the hospital with my wife for her brain surgery..

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Permalink Reply by Daniel Stamey on November 8, 2009 at 8:45pm

Hi Joe. Having a good doctor, whether a specialist or in my case, a great family doctor, is very important, not just for getting good advice but getting encouragement. I'm very fortunate to have a doctor who listens to me and sends me great responses to when I email him my reports from my meter. Also, even though he could have put me on meds, he told me he believed I could get things under control with diet, exercise and supplements. That really helped me knowing I had such support and encouragement.

Second, for me, having symptoms that scared the hell out of me was another huge motivator for me. Even though I didn't realize it at the time, prior to my diagnosis, I had the frequent urination and unending thirst, I had the rapid weight loss that I couldn't explain, I had the tiredness and exhaustion that I couldn't explain and last but the most scary symptom was having blurry eyesight. I thought I was just getting old (I'm 48) and my eyes were just going bad due to old age but it was definitely the diabetes. Up to that point, I had always had perfect vision. I think the thought of losing my eyesight really scared me.

I don't know if you've had any of the complications, but if or when you do, I think you will find the motivation you need to stick with the plan to control your BGs. I hope you get that motivation long before any complications.

There is some great advice in this thread so I won't repeat them but I will say that some of the best advice we can give you is to test, test and test some more! And learn to eat to your meter. That way you can determine what you can and can't eat and build your list of foods that you can enjoy that won't cause big spikes. I would like to recommend that you check out this website: bloodsugar101.com for some excellent information to get your BGs under control and to learn exactly what under control means.

Hang in there and I hope you can make the adjustments you need to live a long and healthy life!

Dan

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