Things that are known to affect BG levels (higher or lower readings with the same amount of carbs), include but are not limited to:
- heat (melting away on a hot summer day)
- stress (dealing with conflicts at work, school or home, or struggling to follow a very tight and busy schedule)
- infections (could be anything from a minor cut on your finger to a major ear or throat ache)
- other health issues (when I had shingles which is rather painful my BGs quickly shot up to around 300 although I had not eaten a lot, the same happened when I broke my leg)
- alcohol (initially gives lower readings and a false sense of safety because the liver prioritizes metabolizing alcohol before it deals with the carbohydrates)
- sleep deprivation, lying awake at night worrying about something
And I'm sure there are many more that could be added, from the nasty sting of a bee to the trauma of watching an ugly traffic accident, to mention two...
Tor
And that's what I've been trying to get over to the wife. I tell her that weather, temperatures, how I feel when I wake up, stress, aches & pains, being peed about something etc. Have to watch how I say that last one. Don't want her to think I'm peed at her. That might not sit too well for some reason. ;)
But that's stuff that I've been trying to explain to her. That it's not only what we put into ourselves but other things that come into play.
Still plugging along. Wife getting more involved now. This individual I know has lost one of his feet almost up to the knee from what I hear. I thought he had his under control Knew he was talking shots and watching his carbs etc. Guess he wasnât under control after all. From what I heard he had a foot laceration and wound up going to ER after it had swollen up. They were going to operate on it and he developed lung fluid. That got taken care of. Then they were going to work on foot when he developed kidney issues. Took care of that. So, went to work on foot. He thought maybe a few toes or something maybe but foot would be saved. Woke up with it gone almost to knee. Sad. He had some issues with bgâs while in hospital also. But now heâs really paying attention from what I hear and also changed his lifestyle and did a lot of things he had put off. Iâll find out full story when he returns to work.
So sad.
I had told wife about it and now sheâs even paying more attention to what and how much I eat. Scared crap out of her.
OK, I admit, I didnât read ALL of the replies. . .but. . .
Is this an example of where discussions of T1D and T2D âintermixâ???
Itâs hard for me, as an âinsulin dependent diabeticâ for more than 40 years, to hear diabetics talk about being âcured.â
Let me say a little about A1Câs. . . (Iâm not doctor, but. . .)
My endo gets concerned for me when my A1C is lower than 6.0. He tells me he is concerned that I am going too low. so if you are âinsulin dependentâ and your A1C is lower than a 6.0, please discuss that with your doctor.
Also - anyone with an A1C over, say, 6.5 should be talking with their doctor. (In my opinion) more than 6.5 and the blood sugar needs to be better regulated.
These are just my opinions. . . .
This was started because of what one of my docotors said before I swapped over to another doctor. She didnât know me nor what Iâve been doing to control my diabeties. She was of the belief it she donât see it in the labs then you donât have it. Ah, hotay lady. Whatever you say doc. I got swapped over to my new doctor as fast as I could. He knows that Iâm a very tight controled diabetic. Last time I saw him he said that if someone didnât know me that by going from recent labs and my spreadsheets they wouldnât know Iâm diabetic. But, knowing that Iâm diabetic he told me Iâm doing well and to keep doing what I am. Yes, I go over two hundred in reads at times. But I also have mostly below 180. Thatâs when he compared diabetes with alcoholics saying that we must always maintain our vigilances all of our lives. Told me about his sister being an alcoholic and how sheâs always strict with herself by looking up the AAâs locations wherever she goes and times of meetings etc. Said that Iâm like that in that I will always have to watch what I do rest of life that although Iâm doing a good job now, if I was to slip and let go it will come and bite me real hard in the rear. This post isnât saying Iâm âCuredâ. I used that as a title because of that other doctorâs views. To show how misleading things can be and how some people will take that as gospell and put themselves into a worse condition by going back to bad habits because doctor says theyâre âno longer diabeticâ.
@Lawdawgz The level at which A1c makes a doctor âconcernedâ seems to - and I think should - vary from patient to patient. There are many factors. T1D vs. T2D is one possible reason for a difference. Age and mental state is another. Hypo-unawareness a third.
I have maintained A1câs in the low 5âs or as low as 4.9 for over a year now; however, my special circumstance is that I get bad headaches at even relatively low spikes. As a result, I aim a bit lower, and A1c follows. I am T2D with no other co-morbidities, and wear a CGM, both of which help to make it safer. Would that work for someone else? My mother, on the other hand, is older and has a type of dementia that would make it impossible for her to make good diabetes-management decisions. Recently, her A1c was 6.6 without meds, and her doctor (the same one I see) felt that she is in no danger leaving things as is for now and could only be hurt by trying to be more aggressive about her BG.
This has to be an individual decision that has to be made between doctor and patient. My mother managed her diabetes with oral meds for 20 years, but is better off for now with her current diet and no meds. I canât take oral meds and need insulin, and for me at this time a lower A1c makes sense; however, the conditions may change for me, as I get older, and other goals may have to be set.
At least the good news is that, thanks to @Georgia_boyâs ex-doctor, I can sleep easy knowing that I am cured!
@Thas. I forget that this blog includes Type 1 AND Type 2 diabetics. . .all chatting away.
We are all allowed to share our opinions. Iâm not sure you needed to reference my share when you shared your opinion.
I personally believe that anyone with a 6.5 or a 4.9 A1C should be talking to their doctor. Thatâs just my opinion as a Type 1 diabetic for more than 40 years.
Thanks.
Yes I understand and I am in regular communication with my doctor who is happy and comfortable with the way things are for me.
The goals really do have to be individualized. As it happens, I saw an article on that point today: Hemoglobin Glycation Index IDs Harms, Benefits of T2DM Tx - Consumer Health News | HealthDay
FWIW, I wouldnât consider that diabetic â particularly in a seasoned citizen (for the reasons you spoke of). Peaking at 150 after a heavy carb meal isnât typical, but itâs also well within ânormalâ provided fast BG gets back down under 100-110 within 2-3 hours, and a1c isnât in diabetic territory.
I know of one person who was Type 2 but due to huge weight loss he was able to not be on any medication for TYpe. 2. In a sense cured.
I have tried losing weight, portion control, carb cutting but to no avail, I went from 1 oral med to 2 oral meds and as of January Lantus. As soon as I miss a dose, up go my numbers. I definitely need the meds no matter what I do. And thatâs ok cause I wonât give him. Thankfully my numbers have only been as high as 17 once or twice. Mostly between 10 and 12.5. Itâs not the way I want things to go but Iâll do what I can in hopes I donât need to have more meds.
I, too, as Type 2 will likely not be able to do anything to be off meds - though, due to side-effects, for me that means insulin. I have a family friend who, likeyour acquaintance lost weight, exercised and was off all meds for many years. My friend, however, got older and broke a hip, so can no longer walk as much as she did â as a result, sheâs back on insulin. Itâs a constant battle for all of us.
Sad thing is that so many people will think theyâre cured by some doctors remark or they think theyâre cured by some crap theyâve been trying. Someone in Korea thought he was âcuredâ because of eating some stuff for so many years. So, the television crew had doctors run labs on him. Ah, not only was he not âcuredâ but wound up with a lot of other crap wrong with him. Sad.
I believe there is some evidence that patients diagnosed as pre-diabetic - i.e. with elevated blood sugar levels and at strong risk of developing diabetes type 2 - and who entered a program of strict diet and lifestyle control, were âcuredâ in that they stopped showing any symptoms of diabetes as long as they maintained a healthy lifestyle. I am assuming that if they did not, theyâd soon be back to the pre-diabetic and then full diabetic stage. So isnât that the mantra, diabetes type 2 can be managed but not reversed, once the symptoms have developed?
I have a friend who is rather obese, gets little exercise and is a compulsive over eater, often grabbing a chocolate cake from the fridge in the early hours of night. About a year ago I had a serious talk with her about health and suggested that she have a talk with her doctor about testing for diabetes.
The next time I met her she was happy as a lark, said her doctor told her was perfectly healthy and had nothing to worry about.
Then a month ago she came to me asking for advice, A new doctor she had seen had diagnosed her with diabetes type 2 and high cholesterol and she wanted to know about alternatives to the medications she had been prescribed.
This just as a reminder that there is a lot of self delusion going on in the health area. I now donât really believe that she saw her doctor last year but told me what she wanted to believe. The same self delusion that results in people denying they have diabetes in the first place, can easily be used to convince oneself of some kind of a âitâs gone away magically!â cure.
Here is the âevidenceâ from the Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP). Compared to patients the "did nothing, "one out of every FOURTEEN patients who did the DPP were able to avoid progressing to diabetes after 15 years. The DPP failed to report how many still had pre-diabetes, but I suspect that they all still had pre-diabetes (as measured by an oral glucose tolerance test). One of out of fourteen, that is hardly effective at all. In fact the DPP found that giving the patients metformin was just as effective in slowing/delaying the progression.
Diet and exercise can be a very effective part of your diabetes management program. It can help your diabetes from getting worse. I have not see any evidence that it can reverse diabetes, even pre-diabetes.
Wow. Glad to see people still following this. Seems to still be a lot of misconceptions on diabetes. Iâm still constantly having to explain to people why Iâm always trying to manage and maintain the way I am. Yes, I fluctuate in the weight. But still managing. I fall out of the car at times. But get back in again. Hard isnât it? I know better than to pronounce myself cured. One of my brothers called to say that heâs now a member of our âclubâ. Sent him information and links. Also told what Iâm doing to help with my maintaining. Also told him to run that by his doctor first since weâre all different. That his doctor might want him on a different plan. Said he did and his doctor told him I had given excellent advice. That he thought the information would be of great help for him also.
Heâs lost some weight and is trying to gain control. He too was told heâd have to struggle with this all of his life.
@Georgia_boy I thought that would post the link to American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists algorithm for glycemic control the type 2 diabetes. Youâll need to scroll though the powerpoint presentation. My point is to highlight that âlifestyle interventionâ is the cornerstone for âglycemic control.â If you cease using that therapeutic intervention, as you rightfully, expressed you wonât be âin controlâ. Know that works for you and is likely different for others. However, hope the algorithm is helpful to you.
The direct link to the AACE algorithm is here. And I would note that the AACE considers lifestyle to be not only diet and exercise but also sleep, behavioral support (like here at TuDiabetes) and smoking cessation. The AACE also still recommends getting your A1c < 6.5% for most healthy patients. Some patients may be able to make certain lifestyle changes and achieve glycemic control but they would do better, particularly in the long-term, by addressing all the factors in lifestyle.
@Brian_BSC thanks Brian, I was simply highlighting the OP comment that he uses diet and exercise.
My approach to helping people manage chronic illness is teaching them to become more aware of their health from a socioecological biopsychosocial perspective. Too much to go into but perhaps it will come up in a thread.
Best.
Frankly I donât tell them how to manage. I let them know what I do and how it affects me. I also stress that each and everyone of us are different and what works for me might not work for them and vice versa. I tell them to follow their own doctorâs advice that I donât and wonât play medical advice with them. For a very simple reason. If their medical team has them doing something and I tell them to try something else and it causes interference making matters worse then I just screwed them over. And that I wonât do. If someone decides not to listen to their own medical team then thatâs their own choice.
Hence a sister who knows everything there is to know about anything there is, not listening to her doctorâs advice making her diabetes worse. Wonât listen to other family members who are also diabetic. She knows everything. So, health gets worse. Loved it when a niece who is also diabetic told her not to come crying to her when they start cutting off parts, because she wouldnât listen to any advice from anyone to include her medical team. Told the niece I was proud of her.
So, I will tell them what works for me but advise them to see what their doctor, dietitian etc has to say before doing anything on their own.