Diabetes Type 2 Support Group
Type 2 Diabetes is a condition in which the body either does not produce enough insulin or does not make efficient use of it. Insulin is a hormone needed to convert food into glucose, a sugar that the body uses for energy. Without enough insulin, glucose can accumulate in the blood, and can cause serious health problems such as heart disease and strokes and organ damage...
I am new to this support group. I have been a member of the myasthenia group for quite some time but since the myasthenia medication caused me to get diabetes I thought that it would be a good idea to join your group. I made such good friends from the mg support group and am looking forward to making new friends here.
I was diagnosed about 1 1/2 years ago. I had a routine blood test by my primary care doctor and they hospitalized me because my blood sugar was over 600. I was in the hospital for a week while they worked on lowering the count. I am currently taking metformin, januvia, and insulin injections.
I now try to keep my count in the 80's to 90's range. I know normal is between 80 and 140 but I start freaking out if it gets to 100. My diet consists of 1 egg, 1/2 slice of bread, and a small glass of milk for breakfast. For lunch I usually have 1/2 of a sandwich and dinner usually consists of a salad made with lettuce, strawberries, blackberries, kiwi fruit, granny smith apple, carrots, and anything else I might have in the fridge. I drink only caffeine free diet pepsi, crystal light, sometimes milk and oj (depending on my blood sugar count).
Unfortunately, this week I went off of that regimen and just watching the carb count but my numbers went up to 120-140. I now know that I can't eat homemade egg rolls, cup-a-soup, box cereal (even though they were the healthy brands), spaghetti and other pastas. The point is that we each have to try different fooods to see what we can and can't eat.
I was diagnosed about 1 1/2 years ago. I had a routine blood test by my primary care doctor and they hospitalized me because my blood sugar was over 600. I was in the hospital for a week while they worked on lowering the count. I am currently taking metformin, januvia, and insulin injections.
I now try to keep my count in the 80's to 90's range. I know normal is between 80 and 140 but I start freaking out if it gets to 100. My diet consists of 1 egg, 1/2 slice of bread, and a small glass of milk for breakfast. For lunch I usually have 1/2 of a sandwich and dinner usually consists of a salad made with lettuce, strawberries, blackberries, kiwi fruit, granny smith apple, carrots, and anything else I might have in the fridge. I drink only caffeine free diet pepsi, crystal light, sometimes milk and oj (depending on my blood sugar count).
Unfortunately, this week I went off of that regimen and just watching the carb count but my numbers went up to 120-140. I now know that I can't eat homemade egg rolls, cup-a-soup, box cereal (even though they were the healthy brands), spaghetti and other pastas. The point is that we each have to try different fooods to see what we can and can't eat.
I was in the hospital as well with a BS of 600, but was only there for 3 days before my BS was low enough for me to come home. They had me on Metfornin 850 mg, twice a day, Glimepiride 2 MG 3 pills a day, and Lantus 15 units once a day at bedtime. After I got home my BS dropped too low 3 or 4 times a week, so I called my doctor. She changed my Metformin to 500 mg twice a day, and changed the number of Glimepiride to 2 pills a day, she left the Lantus as it was. So my BS still goes low once in a while, but basically in the 89-110 range, and only a couple of times has it gone to above 130 since the changes were made. I could be wrong, but I think for me it is mostly still too low, and I will talk to the doctor about this, but she is going to do my 2nd A1C anyway when I go back, so I will wait and see what happens. My first A1C was 11, I am anxious to see what the next one will be.
You can cheerios, etc, carbs are not that high, eat dreamfields pasta, very diabetic friendly, stay away from fried but you can have baked or broiled. Eat a sweet potato instead of the white, and use the light versions of breads, and leave the white alone. the starches are different in these foods and will keep the numbers higher longer.
Yes you can have fruits, pick the smaller sizes, plenty of veggies but do watch carrots, corn since they have a lot of sugars. Don't worry about doing "sugar free" thinking you are safe, when these items tend to have more carbs
Think carbs (after all they are sugar) learn to read labels, watch portion sizes, and it is ok to eat about 30-45 carbs per meal and about 15-20 for a snack. And don't forget exercise in one form or another . Monitor your blood 2 hours after a meal
You will do fine, even at numbers in the 120 - 140 range after a meal
talk to us often, come visit often
Up until a month ago I didn;t know anything about having to count carbs. I had to go to an all-day clinic that my neurologist (for my myasthenia) has occassionally. During that clinic each patient had to meet with specialists in a lot of different ares (physical therapy, respiratory specialist, dietician, etc). It was only then that I was told by the dietician that what I needed to watch was not the sugars but the carbs. She told me that I shouldn't exceed 100 per day and ideally divided eaaqually between the 3 meals. I used to watch my sugars very closely by dinking only diet drinks such as diet pepsi and crystal light. I now look at all labels looking for the carb numbers.
I eat a lot of fresh fruit (strawberries, blackberries, and kiwi fruit) both as an evening snack and in my salads. I like to eat grapes but I know that I need to keep the amount I eat down to a small quantity (they told me at the hospital to eat no more than 17 grapes). I used to love to eat a couple of cartons of yogurt as an evening snack until I discovered that they were raising my bs to high and looked at the carb count on the label. That's when I switched to the fresh fruit. I still splurge once in a while when my bs is in the low 80's.
80's to 90's is good for your morning fasting bs level, but low for an after meal level. It's more normal for the after meal level to be at 120 to 130.
It is true that if you don't eat enough then your body goes into starvation mode and that causes problems of it's own. I got a kidney stone from overreacting to my diagnoses and going on a diet that was not healthy.
Beware of diet foods and artificial sweeteners, especially aspartame, and they affect us negatively also. i'd rather use a bit of honey with my exchange, or stevia.
It took a while but when I cut out sugar, salt, and most processed foods I became more sensitive to sublte tastes and savory foods.
I was recently diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes at the end of January. My blood sugar levels were off the chart at 842 and my A1c was a 15. That being said, I'm much better and am still learning all this. At first, I was probably overly strict on myself, but have taken all things into moderation.
For a healthy blood sugar, I heard you should be under 125 before the first meal and 180 after eating. Try to avoid going too low too and becoming a Hypoglycemic which is when your blood sugar drops below 70.
Don't worry, you're doing fine. 140 is not bad and yes, there will be times when your blood sugar is either too high or too low. Every diabetic experiences off results, so try not to overly fret on it. Keep up the good work!