Wellness

[Imadickens]

I love all the suggestions and support you all give! This is exactly what I wanted! I had hoped to see my doctor this afternoon at 2:20 but I awoke feeling shaky again. I did try to eat a better breakfast, as per many suggestions here. I ate a cup of rice crispier with a tad of sugar, and half and half! I know the crispier and sugar aren't great, but they aren't Frosted Flakes with a donut chaser!😉 We haven't gotten to the grocery lately, and had these.  Then, at 12:00 it hit me again! I'd been feeling shaky for the past 24 hours, highly unusual for me. By 12:15 I was so "sick" I barely was able to dial my phone! I called dh who was going to doc with me (we usually get appts together) and told him how I felt. He called doc whose nurse told dh they were busy and would not be able to see us early and would likely be later than appointment times! She suggested going to ER! Now, I'm not one to mind when an emergency goes in ahead of me, but this doc knows I've been dealing with many issues and dh told them how bad I felt. I wanted to see him as he had my latest blood work results and I wondered about my A1c level and my thyroid results!  I was very disappointed that they didn't tell me to come right in and I would be seen. Now, I was shaky, nauseous, all of my pains were worse, I was weak, and feeling "out of it"! When my dh got home I could not have gotten myself out of a burning house! So, off to ER we went!

On the way I noticed discomfort in my chest, like I had been punched in the upper left side of chest. I also had pains going up my neck and into my left arm. Naturally, they did an EKG. 

I want ant to stop here and say I've been in that place twice before. The first time I spent 3 nights in CCU with IV antibiotics for what they thought was pericarditis. The second time I was there five nights as my heart enzymes were abnormal. When I had the Stress Test it was perfectly normal, and one of my other docs believed the problem was my sternum.(can't remember what it was called)

Back to today, during the EKG I began to feel like I was disconnected from my body. I was woosy, trembly, and felt sicker than I have in a long time. I told all the medical personnel about all my issues. They only focused on the heart! I kept telling them , hoping they would be able to tell me why I get these episodes where I feel desperately ill. No dice. All blood came back normal. It wasn't my blood sugar. I now think it's my thyroid. It's been all over the place in the last three years. My new doc doesn't believe in changing my dose every time  so I'm on .200 mg, the most I've ever been on. For twenty years I was on .120 no change at all. I have a multi-nodular goiter. At one time there was a 2cm nodule. I had been told anything over 1cm should be biopsied. They didn't, giving me some odd reason. At the next test it was no longer there.

so, I'm thinking, after much research, I'm on too high a dose, which is why I'm so shaky, hot, "out of it", etc.  

Now, back to diabetes...I had half a turkey sand on whole wheat with tomatoes and lettuce for lunch. At dinner, my dd got me a ham sand and Caeser salad. I ate half the sand. For snack I had a packet of graham crackers twice while I was there ( nearly 7 hours on stretcher in hall! Full house in ER today!). I'm loving the meal suggestions along with the snack ideas and support groups and literature! My other question is about testing my blood. How often should I? What should my numbers be, and when? Like, fasting, 2 hrs after eating, etc. I know numbers are individual, but a general guideline would be great! Thanks for all the support!

[Leeny]

@Imadickens

You test your blood 1st thng in the morning before you eat. An ideal number is below 100, that doesn't mean yours will be.

Either test 2 hrs. before you eat or 2 hrs. after you eat.  Again numbers vary, but ideal numbers should not be over 150. It could take some time to get your numbers regulated so don't get discouraged.

Did you ever ask yourself if the metformin could be part of your problem?

These are things you need to ask your doctor. I hope your current doctor is well knowledged in diabetes.

Another thing that I've wondered is if your A1C wasn't over 7.0, why did they start you on metformin right away. I would have thought they would have tried diet and exercise for approx. 3 months.  I know when mine was above 6 that is what my Dr. suggested and since then it's been in normal range. I never took any meds for this. 

I hope all the best for you and I think once you get to a diabetic class they will be extrememly helpful to you. Take care.

[Imadickens]

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@Leeny wrote:

@Imadickens

You test your blood 1st thng in the morning before you eat. An ideal number is below 100, that doesn't mean yours will be.

Either test 2 hrs. before you eat or 2 hrs. after you eat.  Again numbers vary, but ideal numbers should not be over 150. It could take some time to get your numbers regulated so don't get discouraged.

Did you ever ask yourself if the metformin could be part of your problem?

These are things you need to ask your doctor. I hope your current doctor is well knowledged in diabetes.

Another thing that I've wondered is if your A1C wasn't over 7.0, why did they start you on metformin right away. I would have thought they would have tried diet and exercise for approx. 3 months.  I know when mine was above 6 that is what my Dr. suggested and since then it's been in normal range. I never took any meds for this. 

I hope all the best for you and I think once you get to a diabetic class they will be extrememly helpful to you. Take care.

---

Thanks for the info! As for starting Met.  I think he transposed my numbers! He told me my result was 6.7 hike reading it from the report. Later he insisted it was 7.6! I argued the point with him so he looked it up and I was right. His answer to that was that 7.0 is just a guide and just because a hypothetical person had 6.9 or 5.6 their whole life doesn't mean that wasn't their baseline number! I didn't argue with that. After today, I'm looking for a new doctor! I'm also looking for a good endo!

[Moonchilde]

@willdob3, the scientific concensus is that it's largely genetic but certainly not completely. On the diabetes forum I once frequented, many said they "staved off" higher numbers and/or medication use with diet and exercise for some years, but eventually that stopped being effective and they needed more. I know there are those who disagree, but diabetes is a progressive disease. Sometimes it can be held steady for a very long time, other times not so. I consider myself lucky, 7 or so years in, to still be under control with my original meds.

I have tried the herbals which claim to lower blood sugar - cinnamon, turmeric, garcinia, etc. They never did anything for me. And losing 65 lbs. didn't improve my BG numbers or my blood pressure, so although these things work for many, they don't work for all.

Interestingly, I just started taking l-arginine and alpha-lipoic acid for neuropathy and felt the effects within 48 hrs. So it's not like nothing works for me, just not everything ;-)

[Moonchilde]

@Imadickens, have you ever considered that you might be having anxiety attacks? And the more anxious you become over your symptoms, the more symptoms you will have - especially as you say EKG and blood work came back normal. Anxiety attacks masquerade as many things to many people.

Cereal is good. Cheerios are good. When you go to the store next, read the boxes of your favorites and only consider those with 20-25 gm of carbs per serving. Milk adds a few more carbs.  Anything with fiber in it is good - fiber in cereal, bread, fruit. 

For most (but not all) diabetics, the general rule of thumb is to subtract grams of fiber from grams of carbs, because fiber counteracts carbs. So for example, if a serving of food contains 37 grams of carbs but 6 grams of fiber, the effect on your body would be as if the item contained 31 grams/serving. Some say it should be every 2 grams of fiber instead of 1 gram, but the principle is the same.

I buy a high fiber whole wheat bread that has about 17 carbs per slice, so a sandwich (2 slices) would be at least 34 grams of carbs - not good. But each slice has 6 grams of fiber, so the effect on my body is as if I was eating 22 grams - not so bad, especially if you had turkey or ham which have no carbs. Tomatoes are healthy for most people, but sweet. 

Something non-diabetics rarely understand is that what is obviously "healthy" for non-diabetics is NOT always healthy for diabetics. Orange juice - healthy to the max, a slam-dunk, yes? Not for diabetics. No Jamba Juice for us. Juice has 2-3 times the sugar of just eating the fruit. 

Protein bars and meal-replacement bars - sooo healthy -not. There are much more satisfying ways for diabetics to get carbs.

[Moonchilde]

Baseline recommended testing times:

- Upon getting up in the a.m. before you eat or drink anything.

- Two hours after you eat a meal. Sooner doesn't catch the peak and much after 2 hrs and it's on the wane.

- Four hours after you eat a meal if you want an idea of 'fasting.'

- Bedtime if you want.

When I was diagnosed it was - shouldn't be above 120 in the a.m. and shouldn't be above 140 two hrs after eating - but the "normals" seem to change from doctor to doctor these days so YMMV with what you are told.

It will take you awhile to get there, don't obsess, just try for these numbers or better. Many people find that eating a small snack of 15 grams of carbs or less just before bedtime gives them better a.m. numbers.

A snack that is 15-16 grams of carbs or less is considered a "freebie" in that it should have no effect on the BG of *most* diabetics.  This isn't true of all, but most. So a handful of nuts, some cheese and a *few* crackers won't rock the boat.

[Imadickens]

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@Moonchilde wrote:

@Imadickens, have you ever considered that you might be having anxiety attacks? And the more anxious you become over your symptoms, the more symptoms you will have - especially as you say EKG and blood work came back normal. Anxiety attacks masquerade as many things to many people.

Cereal is good. Cheerios are good. When you go to the store next, read the boxes of your favorites and only consider those with 20-25 gm of carbs per serving. Milk adds a few more carbs.  Anything with fiber in it is good - fiber in cereal, bread, fruit. 

For most (but not all) diabetics, the general rule of thumb is to subtract grams of fiber from grams of carbs, because fiber counteracts carbs. So for example, if a serving of food contains 37 grams of carbs but 6 grams of fiber, the effect on your body would be as if the item contained 31 grams/serving. Some say it should be every 2 grams of fiber instead of 1 gram, but the principle is the same.

I buy a high fiber whole wheat bread that has about 17 carbs per slice, so a sandwich (2 slices) would be at least 34 grams of carbs - not good. But each slice has 6 grams of fiber, so the effect on my body is as if I was eating 22 grams - not so bad, especially if you had turkey or ham which have no carbs. Tomatoes are healthy for most people, but sweet. 

Something non-diabetics rarely understand is that what is obviously "healthy" for non-diabetics is NOT always healthy for diabetics. Orange juice - healthy to the max, a slam-dunk, yes? Not for diabetics. No Jamba Juice for us. Juice has 2-3 times the sugar of just eating the fruit. 

Protein bars and meal-replacement bars - sooo healthy -not. There are much more satisfying ways for diabetics to get carbs.

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Great ideas and info on fiber! Unfortunately , (can't think I'd ever you this word like this!) I'm sure it's not anxiety! If it were it could be managed. I've had Anxiety before, OCD, and panic attacks which turned into a phobia! When these episodes begin I'm either getting ready to go do something fun or, today, was finishing reading the paper, phone rang and when I got up to answer, bam! Plus, it almost always happens between 11:00 a.m. and noon! I really appreciate your ideas, but I'm nearly 99.9% sure it's not! Of course, I learned a long time ago, never to say 100%! 🙄

[Imadickens]

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@Moonchilde wrote:

@willdob3, the scientific concensus is that it's largely genetic but certainly not completely. On the diabetes forum I once frequented, many said they "staved off" higher numbers and/or medication use with diet and exercise for some years, but eventually that stopped being effective and they needed more. I know there are those who disagree, but diabetes is a progressive disease. Sometimes it can be held steady for a very long time, other times not so. I consider myself lucky, 7 or so years in, to still be under control with my original meds.

I have tried the herbals which claim to lower blood sugar - cinnamon, turmeric, garcinia, etc. They never did anything for me. And losing 65 lbs. didn't improve my BG numbers or my blood pressure, so although these things work for many, they don't work for all.

Interestingly, I just started taking l-arginine and alpha-lipoic acid for neuropathy and felt the effects within 48 hrs. So it's not like nothing works for me, just not everything ;-)

---

I'm really interested in the l-Arginine and the ALA. where is your neuropathy? Do you take anything else for it? How did it help? I have had Polyneuropathy for 14 years! Only the strongest pain meds help me at all, and even with those I'm never pain free! I've heard about these from others and would love more info!

[Helen852]

@Moonchilde

Great advise; even I've gained knowledge from your posts.  

Always use Whole Wheat/Whole Grains, stay away from lunchmeats as much as possible.  I've discoverd avacados are great on a sandwich either as a spread or just sliced.  

For snacks, string cheese and you can purchase pre-packaged raw almonds that are 100 calories per package and is a perfect serving.  Also, hummus is a good snack with vegetables.  Make sure you adhere to the serving sizes. 

I purchased a Wolfgang Puck Blender not long ago and use that primarily for smoothies in the morning.  Fresh fruits (measured to equal at least 1 cup) and unsweetened almond milk; I'll add a very ripe banana if I have any to thicken it up and sweeten it a bit.  

My PCP referred me to a nutritionist, however, it wasn't covered by my insurance. That's when I hit the book store and internet.  

One size does not fit all.  But you can't put this on the back burner.  

[conlt]

I would call the local hospital and see if you can make an appointment with their dietician or find a nurse diabetic educator who can get you on track. It does not sound like you are eating correctly, the fruit is good but you have to measure because fruit does contain sugar, the saltines I am sure they can be incorporated into your diet but you will have to understand how many carbs you can eat per meal/day and use them wisely. The doughnut is probably a no, no but you have to get a baseline on how many carbs you can eat from a professional. Then you are going to have to be real, take ownership for what you eat and read food labels.