Hello everyone, I’ve heard so many good things about this site. As a newly diagnosed type II, I’ve been through hell trying to figure this thing out. I’ve lost about 20 lbs (from 205 to 185) I’m a 5’10 bodybuilder, boxer, workaholic, etc. When I was diagnosed, I thought how could this be? I do everything I can to stay in shape and now this. On the other hand, some greasy guy next to me weighing 350 lbs eating fried gizzards and oatmeal cream pies, has not a care in the world.
Since my diagnosis, I’ve been prescribed this medicine called metformin. Honestly I don’t think it works because I have very little, if any improvement in my blood sugar. Every time I think about a carbohydrate, my blood sugar shoots up 100 points. (mg/dl) I’ve become frustrated and withdrawn (so my friends say). My doc says that I’m in denial. I’m a police officer and I haven’t been to work in 3 weeks. I couldn’t imagine that anyone would want a diabetic w/ out of control blood sugars patroling their streets. Plus, I don’t want to return until I’m at least 98%.
Anyway, that’s a little about me. My question is given the theory behind high blood sugar and how your blood eventually becomes too thick for normal blood flow if left untreated; Can blood thinners provide diabetics with any relief??
If untreated syrupy blood is the reason for amputations and eye damage, can blood thinners such as vitamin e delay that process? Is it possible to walk around with high blood sugar reading but thin blood? This would make since in theory. Please give me your insights on this matter.
In my short time as a diabetic, I’ve tried everything under the sun to include: cinnamin, apple cider vinegar, chromium, fiber, etc. Nothing works. I have another doc’s appt next week. But I’m not going to put too much stock in the possibility of hearing good news. I feel like I’m running out of options. Please help!!
What type of Dr. are you seeing a general prac. or a endo? How was it decided you had type 2? Your inability to control your blood sugars on Metformin coupled with your weight loss makes me suspicious that you are A) not on the correct medications or B) Have been misdiagnosed. There is a saying in medical community thats states. When you hear hoofbeats expect a horse not a zebra. Well maybe what we have here is a zebra. In any case If your medication isn’t working find out what will! Good luck!!
I’m seeing my primary physician. I haven’t been assigned to an endo yet. When I was first diagnosed I had loss of vision and constant urination and thirst. At the hospital my BG was over 500 mg/dl. They immediately placed me on IV and brought it down about 250. Every since that day I’ve had a hard time staying < 300.
You think it’s possible that I was misdiagnosed? What can the Endo do that my regular physician can’t?
What kind of testing did they do to determine you are type 2 ? And yes I do think you should see an Endo this is because an Endo is more familliar with medications that will help you, since you are not responding to classic treatment. Sounds to me like you need to be on a different tx at the very least. As far as the Dx goes it just makes me wonder, Ps I am not suggesting you don’t have Diabetes just which type.
Well whatever type it is, I’m starting to lose my patience with it. The lowest I’ve every been is 167 and that’s only because I starved myself to death the whole day. As soon as I ate a grape my BG shot up to 322. Somethings definetely wrong here. Hopefully, I’ll have some answers by the end of next week.
I agree…seeing an Endo ASAP is important, and getting a correct diagnosis, which can require more labs, especially the test for anti-bodies. Type 2s are resistent to the insulin their bodies make…Type 1s aren’t making enough insulin. In either case, some folks get put on insulin early on just to get things under control, and if you are really are Type 2, maybe some of the other oral meds will work well enough to go off the insulin.
But in the end that is all just speculation…you really need to see an Endo as soon as possible. Just wanted to alert you that injecting insulin might be in your future. Don’t let that scare you…it’s a good thing because it will help you get your blood sugars in range.
You may need a higher dosage of metformin if you are not seeing enough of a result from that, or your doctor might want to give you another drug in combination. I do the vinegar, cinnamon too, but I don’t expect that to have a great affect. What’s helped me is figuring out what raises me - I can eat oatmeal 'til the cows come home for example, but bread products I have to be very careful with, even whole wheat. Everyone has their own individual response to food. Using guidelines like ‘Don’t eat white food’ or ‘Eat more Low Gi Foods’ are a good starting point, but everyone has to find out for themselves what really works for them food wise. Plus there’s all the joys of rebound highs ( where if you don’t eat enough, your liver releases stored sugar and that raises you) and stress effects and other fun stuff.
As far as the blood thinners go, the only thing I’ve seen is that some people with diabetes who are at high risk for heart attacks get put on low dose aspirin.
Sir, I must be straight with you. You are a police officer, so you understand laws. You need to learn the laws of nutrition and metabolism. You need some diabetes nutrition educational training. You need to call your insurance company, doctor, hospital, and find out where you can attend these classes. The one I went to was 4 sessions, two hours each. It made dealing with diabetes much easier. I was diagnosed about a year ago. At first it was frustrating and confusing, but after some education and practice, I was able to get my blood sugar under control. The first rule: There are no bad foods, only bad portions. You can eat anything you want, but you have to monitor how many carbs you are eating. You will learn this in your nutrition classes, and much more. If you learn the rules of good nutrition, make some dietary changes, things should get easier. I had the added bonus of having a heart attack, so now I’m VERY careful with my diet. I not only monitor how many carbs I eat, but how much saturated fat as well.
You mentioned “portions” which is one of my biggest problems. I have trouble eating like a bird. I’m not a big guy but I do have a super fast metabolism. When I eat…I need to eat. A 1/4 cup of beans and a 1/2 drumstick won’t cut it. Hopefully my endo and some nutrition classes will help shed some light. Its a slow process but I’m getting there.
Eric:
You really need to develop a network of physicians (including your primary physician, an endocrinologist, a cardiologist -as all diabetics are at a higher risk of heart complications down the road- and an eye doctor -high risks of retinopathy due to sustained elevated blood sugars). But above all, and as soon as possible, you really need to have an endo see you. If your primary physician does not suggest that soon, I would say you try to contact endocrinologists in your area soon. Here’s a list I pulled (no phone numbers, but you can look those up if you want to). You may want to look in any materials from your insurance company, in case they have a more comprehensive listing: http://www.ucomparehealthcare.com/drs/florida/endocrinologists/Daytona_Beach.html
(if you are willing to drive to Orlando to see an Endo, there’s MANY excellent ones here -I see doctor Victor Roberts).
If I may, I dare to say that part of your current frustration and impatience comes from not understanding what is going on inside you fully… that is a normal part of the first few months after being diagnosed. The problem is that all that frustration and impatience, besides any additional internal factors causing high blood sugars, cause you STRESS. And stress will elevate your blood sugars significantly. As an example, when my dad died in early 2005, I was unable to maintain my values in control for a good couple of months, in spite of whatever I ate. So that is to say, you need to look inside of you for the means to come to terms with the fact that you have diabetes and that things in your life have changed… it doesn’t mean everything is over. It’s just different from now on.
Last, I suggest you check out this book: The First Year: Type 2 Diabetes: An Essential Guide for the Newly Diagnosed. I think it will help you BIG time!
Hopefully, we can be of help to you, so you can come here to continue to share your experience.
There are other things you can eat to help “fill up”. Veggies are really good on this. Here’s a link to ‘Free Veggies’ - low carb vegetables that are low carb. http://www.diabetesdaily.com/forum/food-diet/4444-free-veggies. Drinking water before and after meals helps too.
Diabetes has a learning curve. It takes time to adjust your lifestyle. Just keep going, it will get easier!
Great advice with everything Manny. Fortunately working for a municipality affords me great insurance. I have 3 Endo’s in the Daytona Area to pic from. I’m going with the one closest to me. Wish me luck
Tesney, I’m tickled pink that you mentioned peanut butter because lately i’ve been eating peanut butter like its about to be extinct. As a matter of fact you should try Smucker’s natural peanut butter on Ezekial bread with sugar free (no sugar added to be specific) Blackberry Jam. It is soooooooo delicious.
Even before I was diagnosed I never liked soda, alcohol, smoking or even candy. My problem is I have a weakness for captain crunch and apple cinnamon cheerios and special K vanilla almond and Frosted flakes and frosted rice crispies and frosted cheerios and cinnamon toast crunch and kix berry berry. Other than that, I don’t have a problem with sugar consumption.
But listen, I want you to tell me how life is with this pump. If possible, could you post a picture of your pump on your page so I get an idea of what they look like? I heard that you wear them on your hip and that they are about the size of a portable DVD player.
You must be psychic because every thing went down exactly as you suspected. The medicine wasn’t working because I’m type 1!! I was misdiagnosed for 3 months!! Anyway My diabetes expert educator spoke with me for about 3 hours. Let me tell you. The biggest problem I see someone having with diabetes is insurance coverage. Other than that, once you understand diabetes and what’s going on in your own body. Its really not that bad. Everybody’s so scared of taking shots but it’s actually a piece of cake. You don’t even feel it if you do it correctly. In fact now that I know what’s going on, non of this really bothers me anymore. I hope to gain back a healthy 10 lbs. I’m tired of my friends telling me I look like a starving ethiopian.
My educator explained that the reason I went from 205 to 182 is because my body was starving and pretty much eating itself. And by me exercising like a bat out of hell, I made it worse! TYPE 1’S WITH HIGH BLOOD GLUCOSE SHOULD NOT EXERCISE UNTIL THEIR GLUCOSE IS WITHIN A HEALTHY RANGE! Exercise is generally stressed to type 2 guys who are usually obese. I left with the impression that type 2’s could virtually cure themselves. Whereas type 1’s aren’t so lucky.
My educator has had diabetes for 31 years and she uses a pump. She says that diabetics can eat anything that non diabetics can once you have it under control. I left the office feeling very good. Don’t mean to sound like a “know it all” but I did gain a lot of knowledge in 3 hours.
Congrats on getting a correct diagnosis! I was also mis-diagnosed, for over a year. So it was a big relief to finally understand why the oral meds are working.
Sounds like you’ve got a great attitude. A few weeks down the road, you might find that the learning curve is steeper than you thought. But rest assured that Tu Diabetes is a great place to get advice and to vent your frustration. My own experience was that I went through denial and anger and shock - all over again - after getting my second diagnosis. But eventually you get to a point where you move on. Hopefully you will continue to take advantage of your good support network to work through it all.
Keep that positive attitude and your life with diabetes will be much better! Best wishes!
I just got back from vacation and read your post. Its great to see you were correctly dx. I had a feeling you had type 1 thats why I recommended you see an endo. Good luck with you new correct treatments. Ps my son is also type 1 and takes at least 5 injections a day. The needles are very small and most of the time he doesn’t even feel the shots.
Wow 5 times a day sounds like a lot. But yes, it only takes a few secs and you don’t even feel the needles. I feel great right now. They gave me so much merchandise at the Endo’s office, that I actually went to Walmart and purchased a tackle box so that I could keep everything organized.
I know it sounds corny, but I think tackle boxes or small tool boxes with a lot of sectioned storages is a great idea for keeping all of your diabetic knick knacks in order.
Oh and I know this post initially asked the question about blood thinners. But now that I know what’s going on, just forget I even asked that question.
I am glad that things are workng out better for you. Having more knowledge (along with a correct diagnosis) should also help with your stress level.
You were correct to question your medication, even though you were misdiagnosed. When I was diagnosed with Type 2, my doctor and I had a hard time getting my numbers down. My metformin dosage was increased to 1000mg twice a day. Which helped some. Then I was placed on glipizide, along with the metformin. The combination of the two brought my numbers in line. After a year, I am now just taking metformin. Take care.
