Thanks for the warm welcome

I just learned about this site through reading BloodSugar101. I've been type 2 for quite a while but tended to not take it seriously. I let things get truly out of control early in 2011. It took the unexpected deaths of two friends - not diabetes related - to wake me up to the fact I was letting my health deteriorate. I got a physical in July that showed nothing except an A1c over 8%. But I now decided it was time to get serious.

Despite having read about diabetes and having gone through "education" when first diagnosed, this time I really paid attention. I weighed almost 200 lbs at 5' 8" - instead of going on a diet, I decided I needed to just eat sensibly (whatever that means) and watch my bg levels and A1c. Making a bit of a game out of trying to keep my test levels within normal, I controlled my carb intake and was successful in losing about 25 lbs and dropping my A1c to 5.3 in December.

But I knew the game approach wasn't going to work forever. I got through Christmas okay but for some reason New Years was worse. I decided I needed to be part of a support group and also to learn more. It was a web search that got me to bloodsugar101.com. From there to the book and then to here among several other sites. I'm starting to have trouble dealing with hunger - especially when I'm traveling and recourse to veggie snacks is problematic.

I currently take 2000mg of Metformin and 1.2mg of Victoza, both at bedtime. I've learned through experience that I can control my after meal bg though sometimes the willpower is lacking. My fasting glucose levels tend to be all over the place: from around 90 to 145 but most often around 120 to 125. I've learned through this forum and elsewhere that my experience with carbs is not unusual - I can't eat anywhere near what the dietitcian provided as guidelines as well as time of day is a big factor, eg a slice of high fiber toast (Dave's Killer Bread 21 grain) in the morning causes no problems but at an evening meal it is more likely to drive up my readings.

This is probably too much of an introduction but I thought I'd try to set the scene. I hope to count myself as a 5% club member and will be learning as much as I can from the forum. I've already picked up that I should probably shift my victoza jab to the morning to help more with afternoon and evenings when hunger feelings are the worst.

Thanks again for welcoming me.

Welcome! Really glad to hear that you have decided to put the diabetes in check a little bit and get serious about your health. This community is full of members who are both very knowledgeable and very helpful, so I think it's a great place to visit in order to help you focus on your health and reach your goals! Glad you are here.

welcome to the site!

Welcome! Happy you found us.

Kudos on the fabulous A1c & weight loss. Your hard work paid off.

If I ate according the dietitian's guidelines, I'd have gained weight & my BG would have sky rocketed. I've learned more on Tu than I have from doctors, a CDE & dietitians.

great work and congratulations. This bugger of a disease MUST always be taken seriously always and as years advance no matter how mild or non serious the inital stages seem.

I do now after a stroke in 2007 - 62 years old and turned the boat around.

Thanks for sharing.