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Permalink Reply by Gerriann Tobkin on November 23, 2009 at 1:34pm

John...the thunder you are hearing is the sound of my applause! Well said...

I don't want to take more medicines if I can help it. More importantly...I want to keep my kidneys...my feet...and my vision...for the rest of my life.

I believe every moment spent over 140 (I have these just like everyone else) works against these modest and reasonable goals.

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Permalink Reply by Paul Curwen on November 23, 2009 at 2:06pm

Hi John,

Thanks again for your informative and helpful response. I'm still learning so every bit of information does help. I'm trying to get a menu together that works for me while keeping my numbers within those important margins of 120-140, 1hour after a meal.

Cereal is now out for me because they all seem to spike at about 160-180, 1 hour after and then back to 93 2 hours after. I will be doing one more test tomorrow with oatmeal as I've read some good reviews about its benefits and I just want to test if my body can handle it... I'll let you know how it went...

As far as giving up beer is concerned I don't think I will be doing that just yet. I have tested myself before, during and after having a few beers (always light beer) and I have never been higher (actually always lower, good numbers) so until I notice a change that is one of the pleasures I will hold onto for now ;)

I also love chocolate and have tested with a piece of dark chocolate (65% cocoa) I noticed my BS actually went down after (on more than one occasion), has anyone else had the same effect?

I know I'm rambling a little here but just want to talk about some of the things I'm noticing about my numbers. Friday was my daughters 12th birthday and we went out for super. I had a caesar salad to start and then a burger and yes, fries... I was only going to have a couple but ended up eating about half of them. I only had half of the whole wheat bun also. When we got home I tested myself at the hour mark and I thought I would be over the top but I was 130. Its amazing that 1 cup of Special K with 1 cup of soy milk sends me to about 175 but the burger and fries 130...

I'm learning and will continue to test, test and test... Thanks for all your comments... Paul

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Permalink Reply by Gerriann Tobkin on November 23, 2009 at 2:13pm

Paul...have you tried the Special K Protein Plus? I loved Oatmeal and ate it every morning. It is one of the foods I had to give up. Good luck...I hope it works for you.

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Permalink Reply by John Brush on November 23, 2009 at 7:11pm

>I know I'm rambling a little here

That's what we are here for :-)

> I had a Caesar salad to start and then a burger and yes, fries... I was only going to have a couple but >ended up eating about half of them. I only had half of the whole wheat bun also. When we got home I >tested myself at the hour mark and I thought I would be over the top but I was 130. Its amazing that 1 cup >of Special K with 1 cup of soy milk sends me to about 175 but the burger and fries 130...

You may have done this, and simply not mentioned it, but what was your BG level before the dinner, and before the Special K? If you don't know where you were, you don't know what the food did to your BG levels. I know in my case, sometimes, my BG isn't where I think it is due to stress, or failure to exercise enough, so its not possible to compare two different meals, unless you can say how many points each one added to your BG level. Plus, time of day can have an effect as well.

So many things to learn and remember, my brain is about to burst and I have only been at this since July :-) I am learning to make notes not only of my levels, but of "how many points does this meal add to my numbers, at what time of day?" because as I think I said somewhere around here, if I test before dinner, and I am say, 85, I intend to eat and get full, whereas if I am higher than that, I will have to take a few things out of the menu, or risk spiking over 140, so basically, its more a matter of (making this part up) my dinner will push my numbers up 35 points, so where am I, and do I have that much headroom at the moment? Most would call that "eating to your meter" Seems the logical way to go, to me.

I also think that in my case, and maybe yours as well, the partial whole wheat roll slows down the release of the carbs/sugars into your system which can help you stay low, just takes longer to get all the way back to normal.

Hope that makes sense. The actual numbers vary for everyone, but knowing what a granola bar will add, can tell you if you can have a granola bar or not. If I have one in the AM, wow, I am in trouble. Late in the day, I can get away with it as a snack.

Rambling mode off. Sounds like you are doing really well with this. Persevere.

And someone please tell me about oatmeal? What are you eating? Instant, or some concoction that you have to whip up? I never ate it in my life but I can tell by looking at the boxes in the store, its not for me due to carbs, but maybe I am overlooking something or some brand?

John

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Permalink Reply by Gerriann Tobkin on November 23, 2009 at 7:43pm

John...I've eaten instant as well as the old fashioned kind that you have to completely cook that comes in the round box. As I stated in other posts, it sent my bs really high and because it is high-fiber, my bs stayed high for 3 or 4 hours.

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Permalink Reply by Paul Curwen on November 24, 2009 at 4:33am

Hi John,

I didn't think about the numbers before (too concerned about the spikes) so I went back and had a look. The Special K was 75 and went to 167 = 100 spike and the burger was 64 and went to 133 = 69 spike. I think I'm a little discouraged now? Is a spike of 69 ok? Even though it was still under 140? Or, should I be shooting for much lower than that?

I guess eating mostly vegetables is just something I'm going to have to get used to because they are one of few things that don't spike my numbers :(

maybe I should be going for a 1/2 hour brisk walk right after breakfast? Here is a quick question. If I did eat the cereal in the AM and then went for a 1/2 hour brisk walk right after and took my reading at 1 hour and it was 120 (ish) would this be ok?

I'll get the hang of it... Its still only been 3 months for me...Thanks for your comment, Paul

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Permalink Reply by Frank the Lege on November 25, 2009 at 1:11pm

Maybe your body is more sensitive to carbs first thing in the morning/

Mine is and I avoid carbs as much as I can.

Frank

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Permalink Reply by Frank the Lege on November 25, 2009 at 1:06pm

I agree with what you say John. It all comes down to listening to our own bodies.

The two hour test recommendation was because often people's bg RISES after the one hour test. That certainly has been my case.

In the beginning I tested one, two and three hours after and found for me that two hours is the best. So that is right for me and obvioulsy it is right for you to do it one hour after.

So the doctor shouldn't have said that it should be done ONLY two hours after and I shouldn't have quoted that doctor without qualification.

It's a bit embarrassing for me as I'm always going on about the mistaken one size fits all attitude!

I'm very distrustful of doctors and all the other members of that rag tag army called the medical profession.

Frank

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Permalink Reply by Gerriann Tobkin on November 23, 2009 at 2:08pm

For me...In the beginning I ate high-fiber because generally speaking high-fiber is what is best for good health. Unfortunately for me, high fiber just meant it took longer for the carbs to burn out of my system and usually left me with high BS for longer periods of times.
What works for me may not work for others (hence all the disclaimers).

For managing my diabetes...high-fiber from grains or lentils doesn't work...I look for fiber elsewhere...lots of low carb vegies and Whole Foods sells Psyllium Husks Capsules. Psyllium is the same thing in products like Metamucil. The instructions say you can take up to 4 capsules per day. I can't imagine what that would be like...I take one (500 mg) every morning with my vitamin.

Hey Paul...have you tried taking cinnamon? I have read that it acts like a natural blood sugar regulator. I take 500 mg every day and can't tell if it helps or not because I already have tight control. I think of it as just another tool.

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Permalink Reply by Paul Curwen on November 23, 2009 at 2:16pm

Hi Gerriann,

I haven't tried the cinnamon yet but have also read about its benefits but not sure how much you would need to take for it to have effect?

Have you heard of Glucotor2? I have read a few things about it but not sure... Its supposed to be all natural and includes things like bitter melon which is supposed to be good for controlling BS? I'm not looking for a "cure" as I know that doesn't exist but if there are products out which may help I might be willing to give it a try once...

Thanks, Paul

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Permalink Reply by Gerriann Tobkin on November 23, 2009 at 3:07pm

I have heard of it but didn't know anything about it. I just googled it and read a few of the hits that came up. Since my pancreas is functioning normally and my main problem is that I am insulin resistant, it appears that the ingredient in Glucator2 that would help me the most is the cinnamon.

Any supplements that I might take are secondary to my two main tools which are diet and exercise. I was very overweight at dx. I now weigh exactly what I think is perfect. I too had trouble stopping the weight loss and struggled with adding calories that wouldn't push my BS or cholesterol up.

I changed my diet...again...and I changed my level of exercise. It worked and I am no longer loosing weight.

On a different note...when I was first dx, my dr said that I should aim for a 115 to 130 bs level one hour after eating and that is exactly what I did until I educated myself. I believe that because the range that I was aiming for was high, I routinely found myself with numbers higher than 140. After all that I have learned about diabetes, my body and what specific foods will do to me I have a hard time understanding why a person who's disease is in the early stages should not aim for non-diabetic levels. My goal is non-diabetic levels and for me that means very tight control through carefully monitored carb intake.

For whatever it is worth...I think you are doing exactly what you should be doing...conducting tests to see how your body and bs reacts to specific foods. I believe this information is required before knowledgeable decisions can be made when developing a health (life) plan that gives control back to us rather than letting the D control us. The only suggestion that I would offer is to change your goal range...shoot for non-diabetic levels. I say this because I believe if your disease is in the early stages and you have no other underlying health conditions, aiming for non-diabetic levels may help to make sure your disease is not a degenerative disease...effectively preventing the life altering conditions that diabetes causes.

Warm Regards and Good Luck!

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Permalink Reply by Paul Curwen on November 23, 2009 at 5:41pm

Hi Gerriann,

Thank you for your comments... I think I am slowly starting to understand what is happening with the different foods I am eating (after many finger pricks) but I still think I have a lot to learn about diabetes.

When you say you are aiming for non-diabetic numbers 1 hour after a meal what would that be? I thought if it was approx. 120-130, 1-2 hours after then that is a non-diabetic number? I could be wrong?

Thanks again, Paul

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