Type 2 for 2years

Type 2
1

Hi iv been type 2 for about 2 years but like a fool I have abused my illness for about 12 months missing my metformin tablets and suffering bad hypos and doing nothing about them.

I went for a review yesterday and had my bloods checked it was 25 the lady was going mad telling how bad this was she said how do you feel I told her as normal hot sweaty I got a right telling off.

Today im still not feeling that good butmy blood test was 17.5 im going to start trying my best to sort things can anyone tell me what I should do when my sugars are high to get them down and what's the safe level, I no im a prat but I have been a depressed prat with a load on my mind and this is the start of sorting myself out .

2

Type 2 Diabetes is a game of prevention because until you get to the point that you are taking insulin there is not much you can do about high blood glucose except wait it out and promise yourself that you will do better next time.

All the Type 2 meds are designed to prevent high BG but they can't do it alone you must do your part. You can diet if you are overweight and exercise is the best way to help keep BG low. A lot of folks also try eating low carb which helps a lot.

3

Thanks for the reply Gary I will sort my diet out as I don't eat the best of foods but will start to try and change cheers.

4

There is little you can do once you've gone high if you don't take insulin. I usually exercise. Even a walk will drop my bg.

It takes some adjustments but can make improvements and rather quickly too. I have a friend who got her A1c from 12 to 6 in one year by changing her diet and exercising regularly.

5

The first step in getting better is simply admitting that something is wrong. And while you may think you know you haven't done a good job, it is more than that. Your blood sugar was 25 mmol/L (450 mg/dl). Those of us here know what that means. To us, your life is in danger. All of us here are fighting a war against diabetes and when we hear of one of our comrades in danger of falling victim to this dreaded condition it breaks our hearts.

So I beg you. Please take this very seriously. Only you can deal with this, no doctor is just going to give you pill and make it go away. But please believe, you can do this. Look yourself in the mirror and say it. There are wonderful people here who can help you whether it is diet, medication, exercise, insulin or just dealing with depression. But you need to decide for yourself. Only you can save yourself.

6

If you can exercise, even a little, it will help a lot. I
'm fairly active - especially bike riding. I'm on insulin now (due to intolerance to oral medications), but even when I was on metformin, I could drive down a high blood glucose level with a 30-min ride. Walking is easy enough for most. If you have joint problems and can't walk, try and see if you can find a way to get to a pool - walking it water is an excellent option. Start slow, if you haven't been doing anything lately, but any exercise will help - both with weight-loss, if that's what you want, and with blood glucose control. Sure - work on your diet, but, if you can, get "moving" as soon as you can - any exercise will help a great deal.

Added bonus: exercise also helps alleviate depression for many people!

7

Hey Shank, welcome to our community! Would you do the BigBlueTest? you can see how just a little exercise will bring your numbers down. Brian is so right! we are all fighting the fight here, and helping each other if we can. Personally I've never thought that shame and blame are helpful, to me it just makes me feel worse. making small changes to gradually make better choices is the best way to make more lasting commitments to better health.

8

ok iv been doing my bloods for a week and the lowest its been is 14.5 today it was 16.5 and the rest of the week about the same should I be worried about this, it has come down from 25 from last Thursday ?

9

Thanks for your heart felt reply im finding it hard to take it all in but thanks for replying to my blog.

10

Thanks for your reply I suffer from degenerated discs in my lower back so cant walk very far, so it looks as if the pool would be best, if I can get over the embarrassment of showing my 20stone of fat off! thanks for your help .

11

cheers thank -you

12

Personally, I'd freak out if my BG was that high for that long. But that's because mine doesn't do that. Most doctors will tell you it's fine as long as it doesn't continue.

It was 25 on Thursday and it's 14.5 today, so that means that it's coming down. Honestly, I think that a doctors office who sees a patient so high should just give them a shot of insulin, because it's going to take forever for it to come down on its own.

I think the exercise (and drinking lots and LOTS of water) will help. Also, because you've been high for so long, you're bound to be dehydrated, which makes your BG higher. Water. Please.

13

Thanks for your advice I will do as you have said regards Shank !

14

Shank, I am you and you are me.

4 months ago.

Here's what I speculate is going on, and because of social pressures, you probably haven't been willing to be totally up-front about it: Your doctor has told you what you need to do, you've talked to others too and know yourself, but you just can't do it.

You can't keep up with the physical activity demanded. You can't restrict your diet as necessary to get this under control with diet/exercise/pills. You feel like crap, and when you do, eating is a source of comfort, especially "comfort foods".

In short, you can not control and manage your diabetes with diet/excercise/meds. Yes, in theory you could, but you can't.

In short, you need to start managing your condition with insulin. Nirvana is getting a pump and CGM -- to a T2 at your stage of the game, this looks and feels like failure, like you're acknowleging enfeeblement, etc.

Let me tell you from personal experience, NOTHING COULD BE FURTHER FROM THE TRUTH!!!

Insulin will give you control over your condition. First and foremost, it's vital you get your BG under control, and maintain it in control. You are failing with the standard T2 treatment approach -- it doesn't work for you. It didn't for me either.

If you were diagnosed 2 years ago, it's almost certain your actually been diabetic for more like 5-10 years, but your pancreas was able to meet the elevated insulin needs to keep your BG normal. It finally got exhausted, and the other pathologies of the disease (chiefly insulin resistance) progressed to the point control was no longer possible.

I went on the Omnipod pump, and G4 CGM 3 months ago, and it has been the most liberating experience ever in my life. Far from being more "frail", "feeble", "sickly", etc. -- all the emotional responses we have to such a thing -- it was like slapping on a human supercharger.

I'm 51, and in terms of my energy, mental sharpness, apetite, mood -- basically, everything, it literally took 15 years off my age.

I started with injections a month before the pump. All the benefits listed above started then -- not with the pump. It's just that the pump made insulin adminstration/management extremely easy and convenient.

So, given what you've described, my advice to you is the only solution is to get going on insulin. Talk to your doctor about it. Start with injections, see if you can handle that and the record-keeping. Then, when you've got that down, push hard to get a pump.

There are a handful of T2's here like me on insulin pumps, and they'll all pretty much sing the same song I am.

Best of luck!

15

while we really don't give medical advice here, we completely support type2s who've decided insulin is their best choice.

Most of the type2s on insulin (pumps and MDI) hang out in this group
http://www.tudiabetes.org/group/insulin_dependent_type2

please join it, whatever you decide

16

Good job! That is a great improvement. Are you testing several times a day? It can take a while to figure out what triggers highs and what brings your bg down. After 14 years of this I still learn new things about my body, what foods are better and what is worse. It can be surprising.

17

YES. You should be very worried.

Anything over 11 mmol/l is cause for alarm. Anything over 8 should trigger some mitigating response.

Proper control of your condition requires keeping your BG under 8 the vast majority of the time, with only post-meal excursions up to 11 -- briefly (as in 1-3 hours, then back down under 8). In between meals (3+ hours after eating) you want your BG to always be at least under 6.7; the "tight control" target -- which is completely achievable, especially with a pump and CGM -- is 4.7.

To summarize: Your current numbers are going to either kill you with a heart attack, or your very likely to wind up with vision problems or blind, circulation problems with a significant risk leading to amputation, kidney failure on dialysis for the rest of your life, and well, just being and feeling sick forever.

You need to get your routine BGs down under 6.7. You need to get your post-meal peaks below 11 most of the time, ideally under 8 most of the time.

The numbers you are sharing here are truly alarming, no mincing of words. And based on your history and my own experience, you are not going to get there without making insulin therapy a part of your life.

18

Shank, many of us have been in the same situation you find your self in. My initial finger stick was a 392 (21.7) These are very dangerous numbers which will kill you if you ignore them, they can also be the cause of your depression.

But the good news is that getting your blood sugar under control is a very doable thing. I and many of the folks here started just where you are now and have turned things completely around. You may need to make major changes in your lifestyle and diet, taking a pill and going on as you have probably won't do it for you. My advice is to do what ever it takes because you will find you feel so much better.

The bloodsugar101 website taught me the "eat to your meter system" This is the single most important change I made. Pay particular attention to the "How to lower your blood sugar" page.

You've gotten some tough love from other posters to your thread, but I think you are ready to make a change. Remember many of us have been on your shoes and are ready to help answer your questions and provide encouragement. But in the end, only you can make the necessary changes to get your blood sugar under control.

19

Thanks think iv just woke up and smelt the coffee !!!

20

Dave thanks for taking the time to reply your not far wrong in what you say I need to see my doctor a-s-a-p,i work Friday and Saturday nights this throws my sleeping pattern out of the window for most of the week,i have put this down to me feeling like crap for the last two years how daft I am .