Had my 3 mo with my CDE and my test came back 6.1 she was thrilled…me not so much and I should be right? Getting there was torture for me
I am neurotic about my testing/shots/food. I don’t deviate from what I know so its making me crazy.
I eat the same foods everyday and the same amount, that way I know the carbs and I know how much insulin to take.
It’s been six months and I barely deviate from my same old boring menu…summer was miserable for me with vacations and carnivals and amusement parks outings with the kids. Twice I had an ear of corn( my fav food) and it shot my glucose up to 260! So I just stay away from corn. I only drink water and to top it off I haven’t lost one pound! Been to a nutritionist a couple times no change…watching my diet like a hawk…no change…I’m thinking about food all the time…during breakfast I’m thinking about lunch…during lunch, dinner ughhhh! I am Queen of the hard to get 100!!!
There has to be a happy medium…somewhere.
Congrats on your A1C, but it sounds as though you are miserable and the torture you described is not good for your pshyche. Do you have good I:C ratios ? So that you can figure out how much insulin you need to take for just about any meal or menu. There is a happy medium but getting there takes time and research and a whole lot of trial and error. So you established corn doesn't work for you. But maybe corn with a bit more insulin wouldn't be quite so damaging to your blood sugar ? Or maybe you need to eat 1/2 an ear of corn instead of the whole thing ?
The whole point behind carb counting is to allow you some variety in your meals. I would figure your nutritionist or CDE would have taught you about it ? If not if might be time to start.
I agree with Clare; I would be miserable too. Good control is very important, of course, but so is enjoying life! And I don't think it needs to be one or the other. With a bit of knowledge, practice and maybe a little anxiety at first until it becomes your new normal you CAN have both!
Buy the book Using Insulin by John Walsh. Learn how to compute your I:C ratio - how much insulin you need for how many carbs. Or really, just start figuring it out by trial and error, it's not hard, just takes a little time. Start with 1:15 - one unit of insulin for every 15 carbs than work backwards or forwards depending on if this makes you high or low. Realize you will most likely have different ratios for different times of day. Or...since you have your regular meals that you know work, use that and figure out what your I:C ratio is. Let's say your regular breakfast is 30 carbs and you regularly take 3 units with good results - so you already know that your breakfast I:C is 1:10! Then you can vary your meal taking one unit for every 10 carbs and it should work out well. Some foods will defeat your I:C such as rice, pasta, cereal, pizza or potatoes. We all have different foods that "don't work" - for them you will need to experiment more, but for most foods your I:C will give good results. Enjoy your meals, have different foods, life is too short to be bored or miserable!
I agree with both Shawnmarie and Zoe... Give yourself room for both triumphs and failures in diabetes management. It sounds like you are putting yourself in an emotional jail of depression and despair. Thinking about food and "what you can't have" constantly is bound to make you sad and tortured and resentful..
I agree, again, with what was said by the previous posters.: Self-educate. It is a LOT to learn with trial and error. Remember Lotus, you are NOT A NUMBER, do not define yourself that way. Blood glucose "testing" is not a test to pass or fail. It is monitoring or "checking", to see what you have to do next. Try to look at it that way, not as an assessment of how "good" or "bad" your control is or how "good" or "bad" you are. It is Just a monitor to see which way the wind is blowing. A diabetes weathervane, if you will, is glucose checking: . You will know by your own multiple self-experiments, what to do next.
Though I do tend to have 2-3 breakfasts meal combos that are the same, for convenience at the beginning of the day when I am rushing to get somewhere, I could not imagine eating the exact same things every day, ALL the time. You can have decent control with food variation. For real, you can!!
God Bless,
Brunetta
Type one 45 years
Content.
I agree with the others here good advise so far.. some other points do you pre bolus 15 minutes before eating it can help with post meal blood sugar spikes. also do you exercise, weight training can be helpful for helping you store glucose in muscles and just better over all control ( of course clinically this has better applications for type 2 diabetics but still worth the effort) obviously aerobic ex even lower level walking has a huge impact on bringing you down if you overindulge. finding balance is sooo important with playing the game with your insulin and also with forgiveness and acceptance when things don't go the way you expect. I love the idea of start over with a deep breath with all miss steps in life we have the chance to make every moment new because they are without to much emphasis on past and future all we can really 'control' is now. ok getting to preachy here just want to you live with your diabetes always there, mindful of it but not with it over you. best wishes, amy
This is a great topic & thread. At 3 years past dx, I feel like I'm living at a "happy medium" with diet & exercise. But my last A1C was up to 7, so I need to tweak things.
As for your frustration with the weight plateau, you might consider mixing up your fitness routine. Ie, adding ten minutes to a session, trying a new activity, adding in a few short walks each week. And, of course, there's strength training.
the mantra: it's okay to be unhappy with how i relate to my blood sugars.
thats the norm. love yourself through it, sister. as dr. bernstein says " i might not eat bread as i walk by that bakery, but at least i can smell it "
i went through 1 year of being anal and extremely focused on my blood sugar
now i'm extremely anal still (no exceptions made, period), but i dont focus on it. it's just part of my norm, there's a grace to it.
anyone else have a similar "i went through hell period to keep my blood sugar normal, and now it takes less effort and i'm fine" experience?
best of luck, i sympathize! it consumed me for a while.. i was writing, blogging, started studying nutrition (eventually became my career, i do laser saliva test work @ omesa.info) - it was all that was me. believe me, going through the swing back (letting my sugars slide) was equally depressing, and harsher on my body.
some people have aids, some people have cancer, some people die an early death. you are in a struggle mindset; what can be learned from that. "i am in a struggle with my blood sugar, that's okay. no, no really, it's okay."
corn caused stress, don't eat corn. big deal. i eat a zero carb food diet - and i do it vegan! hah! and i'm happy as could be. but ive been there
ive been there! light at the end of the tunnel, blessings.
sam
edit: / addition - i think diabetes and blood sugar monitoring is an ideal ailment for neurotic over thinker types myself. chinese medicine psychoemotional concepts suggest that over thinking, worry, lack of self confidence, and other similar emotions destroy the health of the spleen and pancreas. by going through this now, you're learning the lesson you are meant to learn. it's hard, get through it, you're not alone in this path. key phrase: thought without overthought; direct action without strife
Sam you are obviously very wise... good for you finding your way with such grace and awareness. wow carb fee and vegan would you mind sharing just a bit about your diet... I have been trying to encourage my 15 year old son to eat lower carb so he can get more time out of his pump he is using greater than 200units in 3 days! I know this is off target..lotus how are you doing? many blessings, amy