My late husband had type 1 brittle diabetes. He passed away in December last year. Well a few months ago my sugar started going up i always checked it occasionally because i was hypoglycemic then when it hit the 200's and higher i talked to my neurologist since i was going into her the next day and she said im type 2 now. I am on no meds yet, i have no insurance so cant afford to go to my family dr but my neurologist paid for by my car ins from my accidnet said if i cant control it by diet since i can not exercise i need back surgery NOW but have no way to get it paid that she would medicate me for it. I have a TON of test strips and my husbands old meter and one box of lancets. I am living off 182 dollars a month since he died and moved back home. Since i started a diet thats high in protein and low in carbs 15 days ago i have lost 19 lbs im trying to lose 150 lbs and my sugars are normally 90 to 110 some lows but not many and highest ive gone is 159. I need advice on what else i need to be doing. i was just diagnoised last month and this scares me im only 29.
I now is not to ezzy to cop with evriting but your health is periority no1no so ting else
Hello, Angie
I am very sorry about the loss of your husband. I too have back problems, the surgeons will not do surgery unless I start falling or have no feelings in my legs. They claim the type of surgery contemplated is too risky (paralysis from waist down - no, thank you!). I do walk a little over 1 mile, 2 or 3 more times a week. The way I see it, better to walk a few times a week than none at all. I also bought a stationary "bike", not the type you need to climb over, this one sits on the floor, very low, and you pedal while sitting in your favorite chair. This may be something you'd want to check.
I quit taking metformin nearly a year ago and changed my diet. The weight is coming off, I have a lot more energy and my sugar readings are way better than when I was on metformin (was taking a total of 1000 mg a day). On metformin I would still wake up with blood sugars between 140 and 165, but just a few weeks after starting the Paleo diet, the morning sugars started going down. These days - though not perfect by all means - the morning sugar is always below 120, and runs in the "normal" range throughout the day, that is, between 75 and 100.
Please don't get discouraged. See if you qualify for Medicaid or if there is a free medical clinic in your area. Limit your carbohydrates (I try to stay below 40g a day), drink plenty of water (we diabetics are at greater risk of bladder/urinary tract infections). Oh, I also take a few supplements (gymnema s, bitter melon, and chromium). Tried cinnamon, but after months of using it, I did not notice any appreciable difference in my numbers.
Hang in there, Angie; you can control diabetes, not let IT control you. And here you will find a lot of caring people, ready, able and willing to support you.
Welcome, Angie! :-)
Hi Angie I'm sorry for your loss, I too lost my wife at a relatively young age and know how overwhelming a T2 diagnosis is.
It sounds like you are doing a lot of the right things already. Here's some things that helped me.
Check out the bloodsugar101 website and be sure to read the "How to lower your blood sugar page" You can use those strips you have to fine tune your diet by finding out the foods giving you trouble and restricting or eliminating them. A lot of people set a goal of never going over 140 and adjust their diet accordingly.
Check out the Bernstein Group here on tuD. He's a controversial guy, but a lot of people have used his principals, in whole or in part, and have improved their control dramatically.
Another great resource is the Low Carb Dietician website. Her blog has lots of good info on eating a healthy low carb diet. She also did a video chat/interview here on tuD that is worth watching.
If you can't achieve your goals metformin is very cheap and does wonders for a lot of us.
Getting your blood sugar under control is a very doable project there's plenty of good tasting food still available when eating low carb and the results as you have seen can be quite dramatic.
Great advice!! :) Hang in there Angie, there are a lot of people here who can help. BadMoonT2 just gave some really good links. If you do see a doctor and they put you on Metformin and if you have a Meijers in your area, they have Metformin as one of their free drugs that you can get. I think they allow 100 pills a month. Which is more than enough. But only if you go see your doctor and that is what they write you a script for. A lot of pharma companies have cost saving programs for people who are on very limited budgets too. Depending on what your doc prescribes, there are always those options through that pharma company. Plus some WalMart generics are no more than 4$
Hi Angie -
In my mind, Pat hit the nail on the head!
You're better than I am, you started doing something when the numbers went up. My doc was able to tweak my Metformin usage to keep the numbers in line for several years while I made no changes at all. He finally put me on Insulin before every meal which forced me to look at what I was eating, something I'd never done before. As a result I cut back on carb-intake, dropped 40-pounds over 6-8 months and am now off of insulin with good numbers. My wife gives me a lot of guff when I tell the "I don't care about calories, just tell me the carb-content and I'll decide if I want to eat it", but it works for me.
I'm not qualified to tell you what to do, but you're dong what I am doing now, which is what I should have done 3-4 years before I had to start the before every meal Insulin, I bet I'd have dodged that bullet.
Hang-in there girl, don't get discouraged, just decide that you are gonna be THE BOSS. There is some responsibility that comes along with wearing that hat, test regularly, pay attention to the results, watch what you eat, etc., etc., etc., you know the song. Your actions to-date tell me you are fully qualified and in my mind that is the ONLY way you will manage your diabetes. If you need to chat, or someone to yell at, just holler. There are lots of folks around here who've "been there and done that", most have pretty soft shoulders and can sure relate so don't be shy!