Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by albertacowpoke on June 22, 2011 at 10:28am

The targets given by the Canadian Diabetic Association are:
A1C - 7.0% or lower - for non diabetic 6.0%
Fasting glucose 4.0 to 7.0
2 hours after eating 5.0 to 10.0

http://www.diabetes.ca/files/BloodGlucoseMgmt.pdf

Permalink Reply by Peetie on June 22, 2011 at 10:46am

Thanks albertacowpoke! That was quick. I have this on my old chart and was told that the numbers had changed. I'm almost there! Thanks so much.

Permalink Reply by albertacowpoke on June 22, 2011 at 11:13am

You're very welcome. I set my own targets to 4.0 -7.0 for fasting and 5.0 - 8.0 after meals. I have been successful with diet and exercise. My latest A1C was at 6.5. It was at 8.5 early February.

Permalink Reply by Peetie on June 22, 2011 at 11:31am

Congrats! :)

Permalink Reply by Sandy on June 22, 2011 at 1:04pm

Hi Peetie. I have just spent 8 months trying to get a handle on my blood sugars. I was way outa wack and constantly felt like I had been run over by a truck. Here is what really really saved me. . .I started to do very physical exercise 3 one hours a week. Hummm some improvement. Then I went to 5 times a week and saw the numbers move. I still need to be very conscious of my diet and I deal with weird readings (too high or too low) when I am emotional. For me diet alone did very little but adding activity changed everything. Have you ever thought of joining Weight Watchers. Not so for a diet (but you will lose weight) but the diet includes fruit, veggies and all healthy portion sizes. My reading are so right-on that I have given up half my insulin shots as I just dont need them. I hope this might help you a little. Its a hard battle alone.

Permalink Reply by albertacowpoke on June 22, 2011 at 1:30pm

Sandy good for you, I was at 8.5 in February and a bit overweight. I wrote about it on hubpages. I did the same thing by combining exercise with watching meal portions more than anything.
Here is a link to my story if you're interested. My A1C just came in at 6.5

Controlling Diabetes - A Personal Story

The follow up just recently was
Today I saw the Results of my Efforts in Fighting Type 2 Diabetes

Permalink Reply by Peetie on June 22, 2011 at 6:51pm

Thanks Sandy! It's really encouraging to hear a success story. I'm supply teaching right now so I'm just trying to hang in there til the summer. I have never tried Weight Watchers. Think I will check it out once school is out!

Permalink Reply by Crashette on June 22, 2011 at 10:45pm

Hey Peetie,
I too struggled with AM readings, I was taking metformin 500 mg 1 tablet with every meal. for a total of 1500mg
But those frustrating AM # can drive you mental. My Dr said you can take max 5 metformin a day! ( check with your dr please ! ) but the trick was taking 2 tablets at bedtime, 1 after breakfast and 1 after dinner.
Worked like a charm for me, and I didn't eat much of anything before bed.
It seems its all just a big experiment on yourself to find what foods you can, or can't and what meds, get it figured out for a while and then it changes again. Up down up down !

good luck

Permalink Reply by Peetie on June 23, 2011 at 3:26pm

Thanks Crashette! Good to hear you have been able to find the meds that work for you. I've taken Metformin for 3 years and just can't seem to get over the side effects. Tips from this group have helped and still I had to cut it back from 2/day to 1 1/2 per day. It is interesting that you take it after breakfast. I find that, as long as I eat breakfast, the sugars will go back to target range. Do your sugars stay high after breakfast?

Permalink Reply by Crashette on June 23, 2011 at 10:35pm

Hey Peetie, Sorry if I mislead you in anyway... I did take Metformin for 2 years, and yes my sugars stayed high after breakfast because I decided I want to enjoy my Spec K and banana for breakfast. Diabetic or not I can't let IT take everything I like to eat away from me. So the 1 tab after breakfast helped . As did the before bed 2 tablets.
I gave up metformin 2 weeks ago dispite my 6.2 A1c done at the begining of June. I was tired of the GI issues. ( 2 years of.... well you know uggh )
So decided to start on insulin, since my beta cells would be wiped out eventually why postpone. So a new challange come my way with figuring insulin out. Im just taking levemir at bedtime, and discovered that it works best a night if injected in the love handle area. So Im currently choosing my food choices wisely as I was warned until I figured out the appropiate dose my numbers would be a little high.
The good news,..... with in 3 days of no Metformin situation GI Normal !!! it's now been 2 weeks of normal. No more worries on the next trip to vegas if I can make it to my room in time.... across the huge casino floor and up 28 floors to the last room way at the end of the long long hallway !!! Gotta laugh at that !
So the thing is I put up with the side effects for 2 years cause it kept my BG in range because for me it didn't matter if I took 2 tabs or 4 the GI issues were the same. But numbers were stable on the higher dose... a trade off.


We are all a little different at how things work for us, it's just all a big science project on yourself.
I hope my info helps you.

Permalink Reply by Peetie on June 24, 2011 at 1:55pm

Hi,
Thanks Crashette. This is helpful. While the protocol for Type 2 seems to be meds only first then meds + insulin, many in this patient community are thrilled with insulin only. I'm glad you have found this new freedom. It's my dream!
Let me know how you manage.

Permalink Reply by Peetie on June 24, 2011 at 2:06pm

Whoops! I just read your profile and I saw that you have LADA. I don't really know anyone who has that. I guess that accounts for the differences in the drug actions and protocol. Now the GI issues..... I think we are the same. :)