I have diabetes

[Lobber]

I've always suspected as much, but I never thought it would be real. I have had alot more bladder movements and I drink alot more water than I think is normal. I have started losing my vision and the blurry close vision is compounded by my slight farsightedness. I have had fainting spells, or near fainting, where I felt dizzy, light headed, and had difficulty focusing both eyes on the same object. I've passed out after eating high sugar or carbohydrate foods for several hours, only to wake up extremely weak feeling. All of these indications have happened to me for the last three or so years, and yet only just today, have I had the worst fears confirmed:

Type Two Diabetes.

I was tested under fasting, to have a blood glucose level of 310 mg/dL. That's very high for a 12 hour fast. Normally it should be under 100. I was called while in San Francisco, working. They told me I need to return to the doctors office to get medications immediately. I canceled my day and cleared my schedule, calling the customers I was going to visit and informing them that I had just received word that I was just diagnosed with diabetes, and it was an emergency to return for meds, they understood completely.

So I ran home to Antioch, some 45 miles east of San Francisco, and went to the doctors office and got the prescription for Glyburide-Metform, and Actos, to get the blood sugar levels under control. He also more than quadrupled my high blood pressure medication level because I still had 140/90 blood pressure, even after taking a weeks worth of lower dose Benazepril-HCl.

He also prescribed for me the OneTouch Ultra Blood Glucose monitor.

It took me about an hour to read all of the manuals, diagrams, booklets, pamphlets, and test kits to learn how to use it. I test calibrated it, and when I finally was ready, I had to lance my finger three times before I got it right.

The results were a blood glucose level of 230.

That was after 10 hours of not eating. Far too high still.

I have just had dinner, and I cut my portions down abit further, and I bought some good cooking books that are health concious about diabetes and high blood pressure. In an hour or so I will test my blood levels again. I've just now started taking the medications. Hopefully, this will not only get my diabetes under control, but help me get my vision back to normal.

These are only the preliminary results of the blood work at their lab. They have yet to complete a thourough examination of my blood and urine samples, and more wonderful suprises may be in store for me. I eagerly await word of what my cholesterol levels are, as well as any other problems I don't know about yet.

Gotta love life. I'm only 33 years old too.

[CUDA]

my 19 year old son was just diagnosed with diabetes, his blood sugar was 555 when they admitted him to the hospital. 600 can be fatal, I can feel for ya lobber

[Kilarin]

I have several good friends with Diabetes. It CAN be lived with, the most important point is to stick by your regime quite rigidly.

Good luck, we will keep you in our prayers!

[Sirius]

There's a guy where I work with diabetes as well, although that is type 1. But yeah, he seems to get along just fine - he just has to be careful what he eats and so on.

[Lobber]

I measured my blood sugar an hour and a half after eating dinner. It was 318. So I made a strawberry and blueberry shake, with a teaspoon of cinnamon in it. 15 minutes later the glucose level dropped 71 points to 247. I'm glad I learned about cinnamon.

Thanks Mase.

[Duper]

my 19 year old son was just diagnosed with diabetes, his blood sugar was 555 when they admitted him to the hospital. 600 can be fatal, I can feel for ya lobber

HOLY!!!!

wow. Ketone city. How's he doing now Cuda?


Lobber, get your eyes checked PRONTO! You will be concerned with 'radical blood vessels' that grow on your retna and would eventually tear it from the back of your eye making you very blind. I only mention this because it sounds like you've had it for a while.

My wife has had diabetes from the time she was about your age. I've been giving her her shots for the last 15 years. She gets about 100 units (1 cc) in one day between 2 different shots. AM and PM. Look into Glucaphage (metphormine- generic name), it slows the liver's own production fo glucose. My wife lost the vision in her left eye completely and about 80% of the right eye, but they managed to save it after something like 5 surgeries over 2 1/2 years.

My prayers to you Lobber, it's totally managable and more of a nusciance than anything once you get it under control.

beware of raisins and alcohol. Both will raise your glucose level REALLY quickly and very high. (depending, of course, the quanity you take in.)

[Lobber]

I've already started having serious eye trouble. I'm slightly farsighted already, and on Monday, January 9th, I woke up unable to read the vcr clock. My vision became blurry for everything up close. It has recovered somewhat, but now I need reading glasses to read any books, but I can make out the computer screen as long as I'm at least 24\" from it.

In fact, the loss of vision is what started this entire doctor visit spree I've been on. I've been to the dentist 3 times on unrelated issues over the last couple of weeks, been to the family practice doctor, and even an ophthamologist who spotted a \"freckle\" in the back of my left eye.

[roid]

i was diagnosed as type 1 diabetic when i was 16, so i've had it for about 8 years. i just worked out a loose tally the other day: i've injected myself well over 10,000 times! .

believe me Lobber, knowing that you have any kindof diabetes is a LOT better than having it without knowing. I'm sure you'll learn a lot about it in the next few months. And as you get your blood sugars under control you will feel a lot better, physically and mentally. anything over 300mg/dl is way outof wack - personally if i find myself with blood sugars that high i will give myself a shot of insulin IMMEDIATELY. I think the highest i've ever tested myself was 22mmol/L which is about 400mg/dl (there are a few different standards for measurement, here in australia we use mmol/L, in america they use mg/dL. there are online converters to help convert if you need to, google will find one).

There are a lot of natural things you can take to lower your blood glucose readings, i remember trying some seed extract some years back that tasted horrible. I've never heard of cinnamon being useful though until you mentioned it, so thx for the info i'll look into it.

If theres anything you need to ask or get clear on, i'll help as much as i can. As strange as it sounds, i'm actually happy for you because you have been finally diagnosed after so long, your health and well-being will only get better from here on in . So here's to your improving health.

PS: even if you end up needing to go onto insulin injections - don't worry, they are the smallest needles you have ever seen, they inject into fat tissue (not muscle like a painful flu shot) and therefore they honestly don't hurt at all. I can still remember my surprise when i had my first shot.

heh, i'm going to skip my fast acting insulin injection tonight to see how high my blood glucose reading gets .

10mins later edit: woa, i just tested them and they are already 15.2mmol/L (174mg/dL)

[Tricord]

Forgive my ignorance, but what is the difference between type 1 and type 2?

Also, I know diabetes can (but doesn't have to) be related to the BMI. What are you guys BMI values?

[BUBBALOU]

Type I is where you have to take shots, usually type R(fast acting) and type N (12 hour release insulin in fat basically)

Type II = pills( usally 2 types ) 1 pill to allow sugar into your cells like the insulin shots. the other is to tell your liver not to convert anything to sugar on it's own. take usally 1 year to get the pill types correct by fequent visits to the doctor and blood tests


A basic breakdown is this without going into huge details

Type I your body produces none or very little insulin
Type II your cells reject insulin

I am a type 1 and by the way no matter how much you control it things can go wrong i had a the flu and i did not eat for 3 days yet i was admitted to the hospital with a sugar level of 591... the liver at work!!!

[Tricord]

How do you measure sugar level? Sounds like it's an everyday thing for a diabetes patient.

[roid]

1 & 1/2 hours later from the last post: ok my blood sugar is 12.5mmol/L (225 mg/dL), that's lower than it was before but i've eaten and havn't had any insulin!
it must be because i had a glass of coconut rum (was drinking it while i typed my last post)

Unlike what Duper says, alcohol actually LOWERS your blood sugar reading, iirc because the liver burns through your glucose reserves as it works hard to process the alcohol. However if you drink particularly sweet alcoholic drinks or alcoholic drinks with a lot of carbohydates in them (ie: BEER), the carbohydrates/glucose in these will raise your blood glucose readings - while the alcohol in the drinks lowers them. As a result it's generally kinda difficult to guage what effect alcoholic drinks will have on your blood sugar - They could be raised or lowered.
What makes it dangerous is that when you are drunk you probabaly don't notice or care what your blood sugars are, they could be plummeting downwards or upwards to dangerous levels and you may not be sober enough to be able to test your own blood readings.
Also, Diabetic Ketoacidosis is a condition caused by chronic Hyperglycemia (raised blood glucose levels). It looks just like being drunk, it even fools police officers. Your breath even smells fruity like you have been drinking, even though you havn't. This is a very dangerous situation for diabetics as Ketoacidosis can quickly lead to a coma if untreated (like if ppl just think you are drunk, or if you are stuck in a prison cell). As a result insulin dependant diabetics are not allowed to pilot planes at all, and need a medical certificate to drive a car (i have one).
ironicly Hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) can be quite similar, in that it can make you seem drunk and you will eventually go into a coma if it gets bad enough.
It's a cruel irony that chronic Hyperglycemia and Hypoglycemia can be mistaken for one another - as the injected treatment for one condition will only make the other condition worse and vice versa.

I have been suffering from the rather fun aspects of Hypoglycemia while writing some posts on this forum over the years: possible exhibit B.

I used to sometimes call type 2 diabetes Fat-★■◆● disease, coz obese people often get it coz there is too much \"PERSON\" for their pancreas to provide insulin for . So it's a good incentive for them to loose weight, in this case type 2 diabetes is entirely curable by simply loosing weight.
However there is also a whole heap of complicating factors with stuff like insulin resistance and whatnot. Not all type 2 diabetics are fat, some are the healthiest people ever, but just have a lot of insulin resitance.
Type 2 diabetes caused by excess weight is generally related to your BMI (Body Mass Index), which is merely a measurement of how much fat you have compared to how much fat you should have. It's irrelevant to type 1 diabetes however.

Type 1 diabetes is most commonly theorised to be caused by a virus (no, they are not entirely certain) which freaks your immune system out and causes it to create antibodys to it's own islet cells (cells within the pancreas that produce insulin). Then... you are fucked - your immune system will attack your own islet cells from then on, and within a few months you will have no islet cells left - even if you implanted new islet cells they will also be attacked and killed. Bubbalou's type 1 diabetes was not caused by a virus however, i'll leave him to explain that if he wants to. but the end result is the same, both of our immune systems have antibodys to our own islet cells. Doctors can test your blood for these antibodys to get undeniable proof that you are type 1 diabetic, after you've received that news it's quite definite.
Yes you can theoretically have both type 1 and type 2 diabetes at the same time.
I don't know my BMI value (it's irrelevant to type 1 diabetes), i doubt it's high.

And yeah it's crazy the amount of things that can effect your blood sugar readings (up or down). Mental state effects it, stress effects it, sickness effects it, what you eat effects it, how often you eat effects it, alcohol effects it, some drugs effect it, some natural plants & herbs or herbal medications whatnot effect it eg: cinnamin, exercise effects it, your weight effects it, your level of currently functioning pancreas effects it, your level of insulin resistance effects it, injected insulin effects it, what type & WHERE & when you injected that insulin effects it. blahblahblahblah, it goes on and on.

[roid]

i measure my blood glucose my pricking my finger (with this) and squeezing some blood into a small portable machine smaller than a computer mouse (here's a pic online). I can also approximately tell what it is by how i \"feel\", kindof like you can estimate the temperature or your pulse. If i'm acting bat-★■◆● crazy i may have low blood sugar for example - i can mostly just \"feel\" how low or high my blood sugars are by how i feel, does my head feel clouded? do i feel jittery? do i feel agressive? when i was first diagnosed i was so good at it that i could tell my blood sugars within about 1.5 mmol (approx 30 mg/dL).

You can also test your blood glucose readings by peeing on these disposable strip thingys, but most people (incl me) would rather test their blood. There is also this new watch that you can wear, that every 15mins applies an electric current to your skin, then somehow tests the released sweat and tells you your blood glucose reading from that (so it requires no breaking of the skin). But it's way too expensive and so are the consumables for it.

also also there is a new method currently in research, you wear this contact lense that tests your blood sugar by analysing your excreted tears - it then displays your reading as a colour indicator at the side of your vision, like a HUD. neat eh?

[Kilarin]

Also, Diabetic Ketoacidosis is a condition caused by chronic Hyperglycemia (raised blood glucose levels). It looks just like being drunk, it even fools police officers.

And make CERTAIN your friends and family understand about this condition and that the proper thing to do is CONFRONT you, not attempt to ignore it or cover it up. One of my diabetic friends just suddenly went "drunk" on us at a party. Which is especially odd since none of us drink. Everyone was just looking at her strange and trying to pretend it wasn't happening since they didn't know what it was or what to do. My wife, on the otherhand, was raised with a diabetic grandfather. Instead of trying to be "polite", she cornered my friend and INSISTED that she go take a shot NOW. Five minutes later my friend was perfectly normal and saying "Thank you VERY much, you might have saved my life"

VERY important that family and friends know what to do when you are no longer capable of making a decision.

[CUDA]

he's doing ok now Dup, he has Type 1 according to the Doctor, but so far he's been able to control it somewhat with a buttload of exercise and diet, he's been hovering in the 200 range, what really has him worried is he enlisted in the Navy and is set to go in June, he passed his first Physical, but has another one to get by. if he can make it through Boot then he could get Uncle sam to take care of him for life, that Insulin and test strips are some expensive stuff, he's been doing a ton of research and has found an enzyme that supposedly helps with circulation and they repost that it will also help heal scar tissue in the pancreas. we shall see.

[roid]

Kiran that bit you quoted of me isn't quite right. i've changed the bit in my post.
Diabetic Ketoacidosis is actually caused by RAISED blood sugars (thus the \"you need a shot\" comment your friend made)

[Kilarin]

Kiran that bit you quoted of me isn't quite right.

Corrected. And don't blame poor Kiran for it, although, due to the similarity in nicks, I'm certain she gets blamed for my mistakes a LOT!

[Lobber]

I woke up this morning and tested my blood glucose level at 177 mg/dL. It's still abit high for an 8 hour fast, but much better than yesterdays 310. I used to drink alcohol, but now I'm going to avoid it. I've never had a problem with alcohol so it won't be an issue.

My only worry is that I'm not sure what foods I should be eating nowadays. I know what I need to avoid now. It's just hard to find the right dietary foods when I'm on the road working. And where do I find the time to exercise now? I guess I'll have to cut back on my computer use to get out of the house every day now.

[Top Gun]

Someone mentioned earlier that a blood sugar level of 600 was considered potentially fatal. One of my neighbors across the street was admitted to the hospital with a level much higher than that; if I remember correctly, it could have even approached 1000. He was well into ketoacidosis; very serious stuff. Thankfully, he made it to the hospital in time and didn't suffer any serious damage, though he was there for several days. He's obviously on injections now, but as far as I know, he's doing fine otherwise. Millions of people in this country alone, and probably tens of millions around the world, have to deal with diabetes every day, and just like the people in this thread, they manage to live out their daily lives. I hope that everything manages to work out for you all right.

[Lobber]

Thanks everyone for the support and comfort.

[Top Wop]

Hang in there man and my best wishes goes out to you.

My mom is now living with type II diabetes for 20 years now. Watch your diet, in particular carbs and dont eat too much bread. And dont fast too long, if you need to eat, eat soon.

[Duper]

If you are concerned about your vision, get in to a retinalogist soon. Once your eyes \"pop\" they can't be fixed.

And Cuda, good to hear. I'll keep him in my prayers.

[Lobber]

Is that a specialized ophthamologist? Because I'm seeing an ophthamologist now. Get it? Seeing?

[World War Woodi]

Ty Lobber for bringing it out in the forum, of course I wish you luck, and the best of health with your new lifestyle, looks like you are far from alone man.

Roid, WoW dude, I havent learned so much in one thread ever I think. Your example using the other \"new planet\" thread was a kinda shocking example of how different you can be due to this.

Just a very telling thread, and thank you guys for furthering my understanding of something I know nothing about.

[Duper]

Is that a specialized ophthamologist? Because I'm seeing an ophthamologist now. Get it? Seeing?

no, not really. But an opthamologist is fine.

[Kilarin]

Because I'm seeing an ophthamologist now. Get it? Seeing?

Well, *I* thought it was funny. At least you haven't let this affect your sense of humor.

[El Ka Bong]

Lobber !... holy moley !

What if you sleep longer than that,..? Does one need to interrupt sleep to keep ahead of the changes in blood [sugar]..?

Take your Meds Lobber ! I lost a buddy to diabetes, ... he was also an alcoholic in a bad way, and one night forgot to take his meds'.

Roid ! You're a Moderator now ... take your meds !

... Blood Sugar Sex Magic by the Red Hot Chili Peppers... ... .. .

[Deadmeat]

Hey Lobber,

I have also been recently diagnosed with Type II diabetes. Mine was brought about by too many years of drinking too much beer which resulted in my contracting pancreatitis. After numerous hospital stays it is now chronic to where I have to take enzyme capsules with meals to help me process what I eat. So with a damaged pancreas the doctor figures I'm a likely candidate, puts me on Metformin and schedules regular blood tests. Had a test back in December and, like you, the doc calls me at 8 o'clock on a Monday morning and tells me to get my ass in there for more meds. I'm now a full-blown Type II on Metformin and Glipicide trying to figure what's good and what's not. Low fat diet because of my pancreas and, of course, low carb. The ★■◆● is, since I quit drinking, I have this terrible craving for sweets.

You didn't mention if you had any assistance. I'm a vet on the VA program so I have an assigned doctor and diabetes nurse and have scheduled appointments with both. I'm required to log my testing with pertinent notes about my diet so we can get a better picture of what is going on. They've got me on a short leash, but that's good.

Like you said, figuring out what's safe to eat is tough. Never looked at nutrition labels before, but I sure do now. Amazed at how much sugar is in some things. I can imagine how tough it is for you working and being on the road. Fortunately, I don't have that problem. I'm in forced retirement, certified permanently disabled. Let me pass along an idea we got from the diabetes class in case you're running around, skip lunch and find yourself going into hypoglycemia. Make up a rescue kit to keep in the car. Glucose tablets, available at the pharmacy, a bottle of water and a sealed pouch of Tuna. The nurse said this will get you back pretty fast.

Anyway, we've still got a lot to learn, but with our professional help and our good friends here, I'm sure we'll be just fine.

BTW: Thanx for the tip on cinnamon. Got a stick of it in my coffee right now.

[Lobber]

My problem is hyperglycemia. Too much sugar in my blood.

So far I've logged the following levels over the past couple of days since I started testing and taking medications:

Thursday:

230 mg/dL @ 8:30 pm before dinner
310 mg/dL @ 10:15 pm after dinner
247 mg/dL @ 10:30 pm after a cinnamon shake
203 mg/dL @ 11:00 pm before bed

Friday:

177 mg/dL @ 8:30 am before breakfast
271 mg/dL @ 10:30 am after breakfast
265 mg/dL @ 12:00 pm before lunch
171 mg/dL @ 3:20 pm after lunch
235 mg/dL @ 7:00 pm after dinner
180 mg/dL @ 10:15 before bed

Saturday:

193 mg/dL @ 7:00 am before breakfast
253 mg/dL @ 11:45 am after breakfast
228 mg/dL @ 3:15 pm before lunch
264 mg/dL @ 5:00 pm after lunch
205 mg/dL @ 7:15 pm before dinner
242 mg/dL @ 11:25 pm after dinner

Average is 217 mg/dL