I just joined the forum and am hoping to learn a lot here. I am a senior citizen, diagnosed T2 in 2008. I have been on Metformin until recently when I gained some weight, wasn't eating right and ended up with an A1c of 9.7. Doc has added Gimiperide and I am hoping that proper diet and exercise will allow me to go back to just Metformin eventually.
Now to start reading and learning!
Carol
Nice to “meet” you Carol. I joined the TuD a couple months ago and have learned a lot, plenty of nice people here!
Carol - I just responded to your comment in the "eat to your meter" thread. My experience as a type 1 diabetic will, of course, be different from someone like you as a T2D.
I've read here many times from others with T2D, that they felt much better once they started on insulin. Many people resist insulin due to the social misunderstandings and a sense that only people who fail must use insulin. Nothing could be further from the truth.
Many T2Ds that eventually start insulin wish they had started sooner. Patients and doctors are usually reluctant to take that step. It's definitely something worth your and your doctor's serious consideration.
Monitor your blood glucose numbers closely. Learn what your normal fasting numbers are as well as your mealtime and 2+ hour BGs are. Write all this down and discuss with your doctor. Chronically high (180+) post-meal BGs are not good for you. Many people here like to keep their post meal BGs under 140. Your 9.7 A1c means you have an average BG of over 200. This is serious. You don't want to continue down this path.
Good luck. Your curiosity and interest in learning about your diabetes is a healthy response to your situation.
Hello Carol, I am also new here to. I was diagnosed in 09 with T2. I am now finally getting a hold of my diabetes.
This 30 year + type 2 thanks terry for her excellent comments.
I would emphasize - offer the following;
a) learn to meter when you wake up and 2 hours after a meal to see how it is going. this is critical to get timely feedback on your progress, portion size and diet choices. This is called eat to your meter. The idiots proposing 1 diabetes test strip a day/ a week - completely stonehenge -idiotic.
b) investigate low carb/Mediterranean diets to see if they can help you. For many of us - reducing the grains, rice, corn and carefully controlling and watching out for high fructose corn sugars and sweets, bread , rolls etc,
c) make sure you get sufficient exercise - this is critical to keep the glucose burned out of skeletal muscles and that reduces insulin resistance and keeps body glucose regulation up on target.
d) check your liver for excess glucose release , dawn effect and liver dumps and if issue Metformin may be helpful.
e) I was on those other pills glyburide, glimperide, amaryl and starlex as well as actos. All cleaned out and am now on insulin. Wish I had done that 30 years ago.
f) for this person; low fat diet is a disaster and mistake. For me it is akin to putting gasoline on a house fire!
f) my process today is 1200 calories per day - mostly low glycemic- Mediterranean diet, 1.5 miles walking and doses of metformin and some insulin. kidneys stabilized, hemorrhages off of my retinas, weight down, health up.
g) check excellent sites like tudiabetes as well as diabetes Self-management, Dr Parker's Diabetic Mediterranean Diet web site , diabetes forums and ADA diabetes forum.
Best Wishes and good luck with your health and sharing with us.
Welcome Carol. I have had type 2 more than 20 years,exercise is very important to me. I eat oatmeal every morning. 30 carbs breakfast, lunch& supper. 15 snacks. Welcome again. Nancy
jims - Thanks for the compliment. Be advised, however, that last time I checked I was of the decidedly male persuasion! No offense taken, my given name is a switch-hitter!
I'm glad you responded with your T2D bonafides. Your response was thorough and solid. I always feel a bit less confident and out of my T1D experience when I chime in a T2D issues. I fear that it may offend some in the T2D camp.
Hi from Spain. This is a great family to be part of, and believe me it is a family! Read as much as you can, in fact you could read for years and there is always something new! We share most stuff and your at home! Make good use of the minds and hearts here to. Just say hi to anyone, and if you don't understand their jargon ask them to explain to you, they will :-) Blessings and welcome!
Thanks for all the informative responses. I would like to say that I've really cleaned up my diet and started back with exercise and my numbers have greatly improved in the past couple weeks. The 9.7 A1c was due to an "I don't care" attitude I went through in the past year, eating everything I wanted, knowing full well I was getting myself in trouble.
My reason for not wanting to start on insulin is because I know of type 2s who have lost weight and exercised and were able to stop taking their diabetes meds. That is my goal. Maybe I'm only fooling myself, but it's what I am working toward. After seeing how much my glucose readings have dropped just in the past weeks convinces me that I can do better. If it doesn't turn out that way, well, losing weight and exercising can't be a bad thing. As I have no family history of D, I think my weight gain has been a major factor, and my doctor agrees.
It's true that obesity and T2 diabetes are associated with each other. Researchers and doctors are uncertain at this point whether there is a causal relationship between the two or perhaps obesity and T2D are caused by another, third factor. It's not simple and it's not settled.
I do know people who have developed diabetes but have never had a weight problem and obese people who do not have diabetes. I would not say that weight caused it, but I feel that it played a big part, or maybe it was the inactivity and poor eating habits that went along with it. I will be better equipped to comment further after I have lost some weight and see if my glucose readings improve significantly.
No matter the scientific conclusions about the relationship of excess weight and T2D, it's a well-known fact that losing weight generally helps with overall BG control and feeling better. Good luck with your weight loss. It's a worthy goal!
Welcome to TuDiabetes Carol. :)
The work done at the University of Newcastle Upon Tyne using MRI spectography - non invasive - and watching liver and pancreas that on extreme diets; recovery of control by liver and pancreas occurred when excess fat in liver and pancreas islets removed made the difference. These improvements occurred well before any actual body weight is lost.
That's not to say that if one reduces body weight, one can help reduce strain on whole body. Blaming diabetes on body weight and excess weight per sae is a grand leap not bourne out by the facts!
I'm also aware that some of the gastric surgery performed on T2Ds result in an immediate positive change in BG control, long before the weight comes off.
I had no sign of diabetes before I gained all this weight. A diet of too many carbs and processed foods and no exercise played a big part, so I consider the weight gain to have played a part, too. I don't mean to assume that this is the case with all type2 diabetics, but I feel if my eating and exercise habits had not fallen by the wayside I would not have gained weight, and not have developed diabetes. If research proved that my assumptions are wrong, so be it. I will continue to believe that weight loss will improve my diabetes.
I have heard that gastric bypass surgery can stop diabetes in it's tracks, but maybe that's because immediately after this surgery the person can eat very little food. But is it permanent? In many cases the weight loss isn't even permanent. After a while you can increase your food intake just about back to what it was pre-surgery. Will the diabetes come back, too? I think it would.
I don't expect to ever be able to eat carbs again, but I do believe that with weight loss I would be able to keep my blood sugar in a very good range as long as I continue to limit carbs and exercise. And without continuing to add more and more meds.
If that doesn't happen, at least I'll be thinner. :-)
Wow great news Terry!
I wish our medical service here was up to speed. Our transplant record is second to none I think, but I have only managed to get to see an Endo, once in 12 years. She looked at my legs, and said I "was fine!". Viva salud de Malaga!
Sorry carol. Not sure I said welcome? I'm sure what you find and the people you meet will be a great support for you. Blessings!