Call Me Frustrated

Type 2
1

Hi,

I give up. My doc even said it doesn’t matter what I eat. I think he is right, because when I eat healthy, and by healthy, I mean nothing refined, fish, some chicken occasionally, tofu, vegetables, rarely some fruit, no dairy (am allergic). I don’t drink. I don’t eat cookies, pasta, rice, potatoes, or any other refined or sugary foods.

I just saw my doctor this week. I have all these diabetic symptoms, yet, my AIC is low, and yet, my meter keeps giving me higher values. I guess anything under 200 isn’t bad???

I am so disgusted with my body. I am tired of this. The only beverage I drink is water.

I am allergic to milk, so that cuts out a lot of foods.

I lost one pound. One pound in 2 months.

Not even worth noting.

But I keep hearing if I lose a significant amount of weight, this disease will get better. But my doc back in Indiana told me, with insulin
resistance, it is very hard to lose weight.

So HOW do I lose the weight???

I give up. I cannot affect this. I don’t have the energy to even exercise anymore. I used to exercise a lot, and kept it up, and it made absolutely no difference.

Am I stuck like this for the rest of my life???

I am tired of the food thing. People tell me I eat too much, then people tell me I eat too little. I have tried 1800, 1600, 1200, and 1000 cals per day.

Nothing.

I thought diabetics were thin.

Not only for health reasons, I am tired of being fat. I look unattractive and am tired of being alone. It isn’t like I have sat around

and ate potato chips and chocolates and sat on the sofa.

I am on 500m of Metformin a day, and my doc says I don’t need more.

Why aren’t there definite guidelines for this disease?

Call me frustrated,
Twix

2

What was your A1C result?

3

Hi Twix,

Very frustrating–am so sorry.

Forget about counting calories. Count carbs. Eating low carb sheds pounds. Do you have an idea of how many carbs you eat daily?

Have you had your thyroid tested?

When I was diagnosed, my husband starting eating pretty much what I was, though not as strictly. He lost 30 lbs without even trying, or exercising more. Lots of web sites with info on great low carb recipes.

Unless your meter is way off, it’s impossible to have a good A1c with readings consistently high. Not sure what you mean by under 200, how much under 200? If you have high BG & the Metformin isn’t helping, you may need to be on insulin. Many Type 2s take small insulin doses. It helps tremendously in getting your numbers down & saving your remaining beta cells.

4

AIC is 6.2
Blood sugar readings at home are varying from 120-220

5

Sorry to hear this, I can truly empathize! The only road my doc gave me was a Rx for Metformin…

6

Thyroid is good.
My carbs are vegetables, but I don’t count them.
No potatoes, no pasta, no corn, no rice, no starches, no grains.

According to this doc, I am not bad off, but why am I not losing weight then, and why am I always tired.

7

Is the Metformin dose too low?
How do I get my doctor to figure out if I need insulin or not? He never brought it up.
Is there a test to know if you need insulin and how is it determined?

8

Are you seeing an endo? Your Metformin might be too low, but there are other factors at play as well.

The best way to know if you need insulin is by your BG numbers. If oral meds aren’t helping to bring down your BG to near normal levels & you’re careful about what you eat, than you may need some insulin help. You can have a C- Peptide blood test to see how much insulin you’re producing. Your doctor should also order an antibody test.

Glad that you’re not against taking insulin. So many Type 2s fight this when it can help so much. I’m Type 1, so I don’t have a choice.

Know this is going to sound strange, but depending on how many veggies you’re eating & which ones, you may be eating a lot more carbs than you realize. Great that you’re avoiding all the other things that send BG soaring!

There are lots of on-line carb counters that can help you figure this out. It’s not hard at all.

Who cares if your doctor says that you’re not bad off:) It’s not his body & you know that you don’t feel well.

I promise you that if your metabolism is otherwise normal, eating low carb will help lower your BG & you will lose weight. High blood glucose is what is making you feel so tired.

What is your A1c? What is your BG two hours after eating & before eating?

9

Well, my doc decides what my care is, and he isnt sending me to an endocrinologist, and I am fighting to keep my state health insurance, and I lost my job and I cant pay for healthcare. I can’t go to an endocrinologist unless he refers me to one.
I don’t know how much longer I will have this healthcare either.

I have been eating low carb…like I said, I dont eat any grains, pasta, bread, cereals, rice, potatoes, corn. It doesn’t get much lower than that. The carbs I get from vegetables are so low…

My BS fluctuates quite a bit, it’s never the same, but usually highest in the morning, around 150

10

Perhaps you could ask your doctor to refer you to an endo, while you still have your health care. Ask him what your last A1c was & request those tests I mentioned.

What is your reading two hours after you eat? This helps to figure out if you need insulin, more meds or different meds. All our BG fluctuates, normal people’s have fluctuations also, but theirs quickly returns to a normal 80-100.

How much protein, approximate ounces, do you eat at each meal? About 50% of protein eventually turns to glucose.

I undertand that you’re just eating veggies, but if you don’t know how many carbs you’re actually eating you could be getting a lot more than you know. Carrots & onions, for example, have a lot of carbs. So do tomatoes, esp in tomato sauce, ketchup, etc. Vegetables like asparagus, broccoli, cabbage, summer squash are low carb. But again, it depends on how much you eat & if they are raw or cooked. Low carb diets, especially for weight loss, usually range about 20 carbs a meal. Look up what you typically eat in a day.

11

We have to eat something. I am not eating bread or refined carbs. So, to cut out some vegetables is going to limit me more.
If you look at the ADA’s diet for diabetics, they have tons of carbs. Bread, pasta, rice, cereal, potatoes, even desserts (“in moderation” of course they say).

My AIC was 6.2, which doesn’t truly qualify me as diabetic. But my daily blood sugar readings are above normal, but not too high. I haven’t gone over 225.
After eating, postprandial readings vary from 120-200. But my highest readings are in the morning, when I am NPO, before breakfast, with an average reading of 150.

I get the feeling the doctor doesn’t want me telling him what to do. He says I am not bad off. I asked him if I should test my blood, and he said no. I asked if I should follow a particular diet, and he said no. I called him on that, asking, well…you put me on Metformin, what gives.

I am going to ask for a referral to an endocrinologist while I still have time. I have a zillion papers to get signed and faxed in before 11/3 when they cut my healthcare benefits.

I want that second opinion.

Thanks for the information, too!

12

An A1c of 6.2 does qualify you as a diabetic, as do average morning readings of 150.

Sorry you have such an uncooperative doctor. Doesn’t make it easy to have someone who doesn’t give you info. Most don’t want patients telling them what to do. Too bad–it’s our lives & our health. Good for you for questioning him! Geesh, can’t believe he said you shouldn’t test, shouldn’t follow a particular diet! How irresponsible.

An endo might suggest different meds, increasing your Metformin &/or putting you on insulin. An endo might prescribe a basal insulin to get your fasting BG within a normal range.

Very familiar with ADA recommendations. They are way behind the times & way too high.

Yep, we have to eat something. I’m on a low carb diet & it’s what has helped me get control, along with many others. Only way to do this & lose weight is to count carbs. Lower BG will get your energy level back, too. I thought I’d be hungry all the time, but I’m not.

13

I agree with the low carb thing. I went on Atkins years ago. I felt great. I didn’t eat steaks smothered in butter…but I eat leaner proteins and lots of salads and veggies.

I am going to call Monday and push to see an endocrinologist. I have the feeling if I am on too low a dose of Metformin, I will stay in this limbo for a long time, or get worse.

Thanks for your posts!

14

Here’s a good site and it has loads of information and plenty of people who can answer questions. I came across this site when I was first diagnosed and it has help so much. There is also a recipe section full of good recipes. http://www.dlife.com

15

Thank you for the link!!!:slight_smile:

16

Twixcookie-

I am sorry you are frustrated. I understand; we all do.
Ok, your A1C is a 3 month average of your bg’s. If you have a lot of lows during those 3 months it could make you have a low A1C reading or lows mixed with highs can do the same thing.
Anything below 5.9 is considered the idea A1C. Lowers the risk of complications.
Do you carb count? I noticed you said you eat a lot of veggies but some veggies are high in carbs.
Metformin I took it 3 times a day before I was placed on insulin. I am not a physician. In my own personal experience if the medication your own is sti causing you to have high bg’s you need a med change. Test your blood sugar and take your readings with you to your next appointment, that way your physician will be as to see a trend in your bg’s and adjust your medication as needed. If your physician won’t refer you to an Endo make him do his job.

17

How are you doing with exercise? Building some muscle might help you lose the fat, get stronger, feel healthier, etc.

18

I have been walking. I used to run and walk one full hour a day, but stopped a year ago when I lost a job. I bet that pushed me over the edge with the diabetes. When I was exercising every single day, it must have been keeping the disease at bay, because my sugar was never over 125. I had high insulin though.
I have a torn biceps tendon, you should see my arm, so I hope I can get some help with it. It is a constant source of pain and limits me from really exercising hard.
But you are so right, I think really exercising hard is a key to beating this disease.

19

I am having a similar experience as you. I have been type 1 since I wss 5. I was bean thin until I was about 13. Since then my tummy has been the bane of my existane except during times when I have been too thin (times when I have been under 100 pounds at 5'5")I have been on a war path against it again the past 3 months. I have lost no weight. I have only lost 3/4 of an inch around my tummy which is now 29 inches around. I have been doing high intesity workouts at least 5 times a week and watching what I eat, meal planning so my energy will be high at the end of the work day, eating low carb, counting protein exchanges and mostly low fat. I have heard insulin makes you fat and I do almost always put my cannula in my stomach. People suggest moving the site. I have heard you get fat around the area your insulin is absorbed. The problme is I do not want extra fat anywhere and I definately want the horrible stuff off my belly. My next plan is to take much shorter seconds of breaks between excercises and make my workouts higher intensity and try to find more areas for my sites. It is harder now since I am older as well. It appears that I need less weight on my body to look okay. I guess when you get older you look the same as you did 20 years ago when you are 10 to 15 pounds thinner. I am so frustrated with the fat on my abs and thighs but it has decreased and is almost gone on the part of my arm where the shoulder muscle meets the other muscles below the shoulder muscle. You know the part I am talking about that looks like bat wings on very heavy people. At least I have almost no fat there. I have always been active as well. How much does it take to get rid of the ab fat? It appears to be about a pound or two if what the fat on your body is about the same bulk as fat in butter sticks-meaning one pound of body fat takes as much space as one pound of butter.

20

Twix! I know exactly how you feel. I can keep my blood sugar totally under control on the low carb diet I've been on for 5 years, but my weight doesn't budge. Correction, it doesn't budge down, but it will go up 5 pounds in an instant if I don't also watch calories very closely. I did 900 calories a day, truly really only 900, for 90 days and didn't lose an ounce. I went to the gym 5 days a week and ate 1100 calories a day and didn't lose an ounce. I don't want to eat more, what I eat is fine but I hate having to constantly be worried about gaining weight. Over the past 5 years I've slowly put on 15 pounds. I take 1000 mg of metformin in the evening to deal with the dawn effect. My blood sugar is between 78 and 115, but the insulin I do produce just keeps turning whatever I eat into fat. Well, now I'm depressed and I certainly haven't done anything to make you feel better, have I? Maybe we'll both get some great tips from the others. XOX, T2 sister