Location: Home of the Pirates, Steelers and Penguins
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Thanks for posting that article Mad. It seems to be addressing the effect of high blood sugar on things such as cancer, heart disease and stroke, but not necessarily the problems directly created by high blood sugar, such as blindness, kidney disease, and neuropathy resulting in amputations. It seems to be perfectly clear that keeping blood sugar low prevents these problems, and for some people, using blood sugar lowering drugs is the only way they can accomplish it. It is highly possible that lowered blood sugar has no affect on the others. I feel that I got heart disease because my mother and her family all had it, but none of them had diabetes. My half sister on my father's side had diabetes, but she never had any heart problems until close to her death at 85 years old. I think the connection could be that certain diseases have a strong connection to lifestyle, and that people who get one, may also have the others, because of poor lifestyle choices.
These are just my own uninformed thoughts on the matter. I am not a medical professional.
Mad Thanks for the article. I was just telling the girl taking my blood for my 3 month blood drawer about you yesterday. Interesting and I have a moment to check in here and there you are. I think of you a lot and miss you.
Carol Sue The strange thing about DH is that no one in his blood line had diabetes and I still think some of his medication caused him to be diabetic.
It is hard to believe that my dream of being back with my family is almost here. We have just this weekend and one more here in SC and then we will be headed to TX to our new home. Two weeks from tomorrow, the movers will be unloading all this stuff in our new house. We have boxes stacked everywhere. I would actually be excited if I wasn't so darn tired. We are hoping to have everything packed by next weekend so that we can just relax for that weekend and then Monday the day before the movers come to load up, we will go return our cable boxes and have the cable and internet turned off.
My best friend and her daughter are having a yard sale tomorrow. She and a friend of hers and her husband just left with her car and their truck loaded to the max with things that she is going to either keep for herself or put in the yard sale. A lot of her friends have given them a lot of items to sell hoping that her daughter and her family will be able to take half the money they get to move into their on place. They are at that place where they need to be in their own places before they become enemies. She will be back in a few hours to get some other stuff for the yard sale that we don't want to move and were going to throw out. She thinks they will make good yard sale items. As they say one man's trash is another man's treasure, I guess. At any rate, the timing was perfect for them and for us. The couple with the truck were nice enough to help with the truck and to help DH load it, so DH had some kind of gadget to use in cutting tile to lay a floor. They just bought themselves land and have a mobile home on it and they were asking if DH wanted to sell some yard tools to them. DH said no, but he asked the guy if he could use the tile cutting machine. He said he was going to relay the floor in the mobile home. So DH gave it to them for helping my friend and us with getting the furniture and stuff moved to her house. I was so proud of my hubby. He is such a fine man.
Well, we go to the doctor next week. Will be our last 3 month visit with him. My weight will be good if things keep going like they are, but not sure about the A1c. My weight is down to 221.2 this morning, but my FBS has been high in the last 2 days 188. However, I read on a diabetic magazine in doctor's office yesterday that stress is one of the things that can make it rise. So I'm thinking maybe when we get moved and settled or at least more relaxed with things, just maybe it will come back down.
I am going to wait until I meet my new doctor in Waco and see if he will put me on Victoza. I've been reading some good things about it preventing heart attacks and strokes etc. My sister is taking it because she like her daughter and me cannot take Metformin. She says her blood sugar is normal all the time now.
After reading some of the things I read in the Diabetic Living magazine in doctor's office, I found one in the store and bought it. It tells how a lot of people treat their diabetes with their eating. I've decided that CAD just may not be the right way for me to eat carbs. Also eating 3 meals a day may not work for me either. My FBS may be high, but I have noticed when I check it again before I eat my next meal or even a snack a few hours later it may drop considerably. DH explained to me that going long hours with out didn't work for me. Then I read in this magazine how all that works. You need to eat carbs, but stretch them out through out the day. It is when we eat too many at one time (such as 1 meal a day) that it causes spikes. The article I read was about 10 things that make your insulin spike. Of course, sugar, white flour, corn syrup etc was on there too.
Well, I need to get back to work here. Everything is a mess, but it is slowly coming together. I can fill my boxes and I usually do mine in the mornings so I can have the tape machine to close the boxes. Right now DH has it in the garage where he is packing his tools up. We are packing everything we can in boxes. The company moving us uses the large Budget trucks to move us and it is taking 2 of them. I'm hoping they will be able to put all the boxes in one and maybe put my all the furniture in the other. If we are able to sell the John Deere lawnmower and the air compressor, it would be nice if they could get all of it in one truck, but I think it will still take 2 trucks.
If we get things done by next weekend. I will try to check in again before we have our cable turned off. If not, I will write again when I get cable and internet in TX.
Location: Home of the Pirates, Steelers and Penguins
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Trish, I have missed you since you have been so busy and will continue to miss you until you get settled into your new home and back on the internet. We seem to have good discussions.
All the information I have been reading has me so confused about what I should be doing. I have found that eating very low carb keeps my blood sugar lower and I need very little meds, and my weight also goes down. But I have heard that eating very low carb can make a diabetic even more carb sensitive. The answer to that seems to be to have a very small portion of carb at each meal, but not enough that you get a spike. Isn't that what the diabetes educators have been telling us from the beginning? It worked when I was first diagnosed, but I think when I started to increase my portions I got out of control with it.
I have been reading a message board where they are really into Fung Fasting, extending their fasts longer and longer, and really following Dr Fung's teachings. According to this, it is fasting that lowers insulin levels, since eating causes a release of insulin to handle the glucose. The problem with that thinking for me is the Dawn Phenomenon in diabetics. During an overnight fast, your body senses that your glucose levels are dropping, and releases glucose, even though you have not eaten anything. This, in turn, would lead to a release of insulin to combat the glucose, and all during a fast. So how would that be different from a lengthy fast that Dr Fung recommends? One woman stated that after she started IF her fasting insulin levels went from a 3 to a 9. It's not like you can test your insulin levels the way you can your blood sugar. I don't like to assume that my body is working the way someone on the internet says it's working without some proof. All in all, the bottom line is, if we can get this weight off by whatever means works for us, the glucose/insulin problem would resolve itself, so maybe I should just be aiming for that and not worrying as much about the blood glucose, as long as it's relatively in line.
I went back and reread the article that Mad posted. Several times they used the phrase "tight control" when referring to blood sugar control. I read somewhere that tight control is not always desireable, especially in the elderly. Are we considered "elderly?" LOL I also read an article that said the glucose lowering drugs should be used when diet and exercise do not work. So that means, we are supposed to be using diet and exercise to control our glucose as much as possible, and only taking the drugs if the diet and exercise are not enough. Too many people just eat whatever they want and assume the pill will take care of it, and I think that is why their meds have to be increased over time. All along I have said that I am using the Glimiperide to keep my blood sugar down as I work toward controlling it with diet and exercise, and I AM able to greatly reduce the dose as long as I stay on track.
I know I sound like a broken record, but I plan on getting back to my exercise this week as I know it will help greatly. It is known to help with insulin resistance. When I was exercising regularly and eating properly my A1c was the best ever, and numbers don't lie. It wasn't until I fell behind with that healthy lifestyle that my doctor prescribed the Glimiperide. I want to get to the point where I can just throw that bottle in the garbage!!
As far as your DH is concerned, they say that DM2 is caused by overweight, poor diet and lack of exercise. I think the hereditary factor comes in to play because people tend to live the same lifestyle as their other family members. Is your DH overweight? I don't recall you ever mentioning that he is. I do know that Beta Blockers can contribute to diabetes, and I am taking a Beta Blocker. But in my heart I cannot blame it on that. I know that I have a long run of inactivity and poor eating and that is what caused my diabetes. I take complete responsibility, and I am the one who has to do what is necessary to correct the problem. I'm thinking that maybe there are other less common causes of DM2 and that lifestyle is just the most common cause.
I am going to read up on Victoza. I don't know much about it. If Metformin is causing problems for you, there's no sense in you continuing it. I am still having problem occasionally, but I can't necessarily say that the Metformin is causing it. I am convince I have IBS. Why not? I have everything else.
Sorry that I wrote a book!!
Good luck in the next several weeks!!
Last edited by Wannabehealthy; 09-18-2016 at 10:53 AM.
Another quick one, I think. I wrote a book the other day.
Carol Sue I miss being here too. We are almost down to the things that cannot be packed until the day before the movers come although there are a few things that I can still pack. I told DH that we are going to be over by Lowe's today and we need to go in there and pick up a few more boxes instead of getting them from the moving company. I'd rather pay Lowe's price myself since they get them from Lowe's and probably charge me a lot more for them. We only need a couple of each size. If we have any left over, we do get the money back on them.
I too have been reading a lot on things to eat. I read an article today about 11 foods that get demonized which are really good for most people. I thought as I read about how you said you ate in the hospital when first diagnosed with diabetes. Example,eggs are not bad for us and you said you got 1 egg with your oatmeal. It is quite interesting. I probably should email the article to you. I'll do that when I'm finished here. I think there is probably a better way for me to do this. I can't remember which food it was that we are told not to eat, but it protects our liver. The article brings out the fact that a lot of those ideas comes from old ideas. However, like I said, it seems to go along with the idea that you cannot eat something just because research says you can because of allergies and other health issues.
I am so looking forward to being moved and settled so I can get back to regular exercising and eating healthy again as my eating is so out of whack. Of course, we are cleaning as we pack so we can just unpack and put things away when we get there, so I suppose all the twisting and turning and bending is exercise, but the eating needs to be a whole lot healthier. By the time I'm hungry and get around to eating at night, it is just whatever I can grab that is quick and easy. I'm eating a lot of whole grain bread... sandwiches and I've just about decided that just may be what causes my bathroom issues or it just might be the stress of everything too. Not really sure.
My life seems to be coffee to get going in the morning and Tylenol or Benadryl to sleep. I don't like doing that, but it won't last much longer.
Location: Home of the Pirates, Steelers and Penguins
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Height: 5'2
It sounds like things are moving right along, Trish, and you will be in Texas before you know it! I know you're looking forward to being around your family.
I'm not sure, but I think the eggs they gave me in the hospital might have been Egg Beaters instead of whole eggs. I should have asked. I eat whole eggs now with no bad effects. I liked having the one egg with oatmeal and continued that after I came home. I stopped the oatmeal when I heard that the Instant Oatmeal is not as good as cooked, and I didn't want to be taking the time to make cooked. I might get back to that with winter coming.
I read up on Victoza, and to be honest with you, I would not use it unless my blood sugar could not be controlled any other way. There are a lot of risks involved with it, such as thyroid tumors. Your blood sugar is really not that high, Trish, and I think once you get settled in your new home and back to normal, you will see that you can do better than you think. My friend recently refused Metformin and brought her A1c down with diet and exercise, and she still eats carbs. I think you can do it, but in the end, the decision should be between you and your doctor. I wish you the best with it.
I have been following a lot of Dr Fung's blog/videos. I'm not sure how I feel about this fasting he talks about, especially since a lot of his followers are fasting for days at a time. I can understand an eating window or every-other-day fasting, which he does mention, but just can't see how fasting for days at a time can be normal. In a lot of instances, it was extreme measures like this that got our metabolisms messed up to begin with. I have been eliminating eating between meals and an eating window of 8 hours or less. I don't know if it's doing any good. The weight is not falling off but maybe I've not been doing it long enough. You know I want instant results! LOL
But we will never give up, we will just keep trying until we find out what works!
Carol Sue Yes, one week from tonight, we will be at my sisters. We got the paper work to be notarized for the new house right after we close on this house. The lady from the moving company called to see she could come by and get the check we have to pay for when they come load the trucks. We paid for that yesterday. We pay the rest when we get there. My sister, her husband and my Daddy did the final walk through. They walked through with the builder and my sister said that he saw things she didn't see. He told her that after they did the previous walk through that he walked through and saw things she didn't see back then and added blue tape to the things she had marked to be redone. He told her that he will come and meet DH and me and to be sure we know the things we need to know.
DH made reservations last night for the motel for us to stay in Tuesday night after the movers finish loading up. Wednesday we go close on both houses and send papers and wire money to Title company and bank in TX. Then we will be on our way. We have reservations in Tuscaloosa for that night and will be at my sister's on Thursday night.
We had our last doctor's visit with our doctor here. He was disappointed about us leaving and I told him that I hated leaving him. I did talk to him about the Victoza. He told me about the chances of thyroid cancer and pancreatitus. Not sure how to spell that. I've decided to just get back OP with diet and exercise when I get settled enough to do that.
LOL My family is looking for me to get us all back to eating healthy. My sister and my Daddy went out for hamburgers after they did the walk through. My Daddy said that he couldn't believe that he was eating his laslt hamburger. I laughed and told her that we would still eat hamburgers, but we would eat healthier burgers. Told my doc that they were looking to me to help them eat healthier and I was going to do things with my Daddy that he likes to do like taking him to the library to do genealogy. My doctor said, "I hate to see you go, but I think you are doing the right thing and I think it will actually be good for you".
We went Golden Coral and I was so hungry for vegetables. I ate the fried fish and I did eat my dessert, but I ate more veggies than anything else. I'm have been to tired to cook in the evening and I realize that I am craving veggies.
Carol Sue I agree that we will keep on doing what we can and we will find our way. We will not give up. I'll try to check back in tomorrow.
Location: Home of the Pirates, Steelers and Penguins
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Height: 5'2
For so long you talked about moving to TX and now it's here! I am jealous. I think I would like TX.
I have fallen off the wagon and am being dragged along under the back wheel. LOL I have eaten so much in the past couple days for some reason and I don't date get on the scale. It would make me sick. Maybe it would help me if I saw just how much I really do weigh. I don't know. Sometimes it's just better to face the facts. I am getting so confused. I have been reading this thread about Dr Fung, and some of these people are doing very long fasts. 3 days or more. Now there is a woman on there talking about The Potato Hack, where you eat nothing but potatoes for a few days and drop a lot of weight. I started to read the blog she references, and it's all so confusing. I remember when I went on my first diet when I was 21. I didn't know ANYTHING about dieting. I just ate less of a normal diet, and I lost 25 lbs. I kept that weight off for 10 years, until I married DH. Now I have read all these diet books and I can't lose anything. I'm thinking I should just go back to the way I ate before. My friend lost 16 or more lbs so far and she is eating a lot of carbs, but it sounds to me like her calories are pretty low. I just don't know which way to turn.
Morning everyone
I had my bloodwork done we'd and everything's good! I was worried about my A1C....it was 6.3 this time,,,,just in the pre-diabetic range. I'm promising myself the next appt it will be down. Each appt it's been creeping up. The only thing up is my weight. :/
Today is very fall like so I'm heading out for a walk. Need to start moving again.
Leaving for a week to go camping with my friends, tomorrow can't wait.
Carol, I've read Dr Fung's website as well. From what I gathered he describes your pancreas ( which produces insulin) as an over stuffed sausage. When you eat your pancreas can't absorb anymore glucose so it sends it to the rest of your body. That's why diabetics have nerve damage in toes, fingers. Eyes etc. When you fast your pancreas releases the stored insulin,,,,using it up. Getting rid of the excess insulin is what we need to do.
As for the people doing it for weeks, I know a few people who tried it and they said it really gets easier after the first day,,,and you feel better. I know if you read up on his site you have to do it under your Drs care.
Interesting point he made is people who have weight loss surgery are not ( his words) diabetics in as little as 2-3 weeks,,,due to not being able to eat much.
(((((Carol Sue))))) I know how you feel. I'm sorry that I didn't comment last night on what you were saying about dieting/Fung fast etc. I was just so tired because it was late. I thought of some things and when I finally made it to bed sometime around 1 am, I realized I hadn't shared my thoughts.
I like IF/IE combo and you and I both ate that way naturally when we were growing up. I believe that is our "normal" way of eating and when we ate that way we had not real problems with weight or health. Saying that, I do not go for the days of fasting as some of Dr. Fung's patients do. When I looked at some of them in the videos, I wasn't very impressed with the fact that they still didn't seem to be getting rid of the fat around their middle which from what I understand is the really "dangerous" fat.
This makes me ask, "Are they really saving their lives by fasting?". "How healthy are they?" From what I understand from all I've read THAT IS THE FAT THAT IS KILLING PEOPLE!!! If that is true, they may be losing weight, but not unhealthy fat. How healthy was I when I ate IF/IE style when a teenager? I ask that because I had the unhealthy belly fat.
At the same time, I have to say that when I do an IF or 5 to 9 hrs eating window "daily" with more of a Flexitarian modified plan (had never heard of that until about a month ago) where I eat more veggies than any other food, my FBS is lower. I don't know if the weight would come down or not. I hope it would, but I do believe that I would get the diabetes under control. I'm not sure which comes first... get the weight down 1st and the blood sugar will improve or if I get the diabetes under control first that the weight will come follow suit.
Between doctors, I see myself "On my own" so to speak. So I've decided to IE... eat only when hungry and try to eat only as much as I need and no more. I don't know if I can implement IF with this or not because I may eat less by eating longer hour window. I am going to try to watch that one and just try to stop eating after 7 or 8 since I try to make my regular bedtime to be around midnight. If I can do this during the rest of this move, perhaps I can find a better way to eat. I don't get up until 8 am and hope to have that routine in TX as that will give me 8 hrs of sleeping or rest even if I don't sleep the whole 8 hrs. While I do believe exercise is important and I look forward to getting back to that, I also believe at least 7 to 8 hrs of resting is also important.
I've been getting up and eating about 1/2 a banana with a cup of coffee because DH doesn't want a whole banana. I'm drinking my coffee black these days and no sweetener. I eat 1 egg with veggies when I get hungry and sometimes I have whole grain bread. I may stop the bread when I get settled or cut way back to where eating bread is rare. The reason I'm thinking of getting rid of the bread (anything made with wheat) is I am experiencing arthritis in my hands which I did not experience when I was eating low carb without or a minimum amount of bread before I did WW.
This is where I am right now. Don't beat yourself up. I loved how my doctor shared with me how I had really improved my health since going to him. He said at one point I had weighed 240 lbs and I have kept it basically on average around 226 to 227 lbs since. He said I was on the right track and to just keep improving. He made me feel that I had made progress. I felt good about myself and my weight and health when I left.
No, we are not where we want to be, but we are NOT giving up. Hang in there and remember beating our self up works against us rather than for us. Hold your head up high and look at the good thing your are doing.... learning and adjusting and WE WILL MAKE IT!!!
Have a great day.
Last edited by pattygirl63; 09-23-2016 at 10:40 AM.
Location: Home of the Pirates, Steelers and Penguins
Posts: 12,400
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Height: 5'2
p.a. I understand what people say that fasting gets easier the more you do it. When I was in the hospital I was not allowed any food for 6 days. It didn't really bother me. But at home, it doesn't fit into my lifestyle. I can do 16:8, but not a fast of a few days. My DH wants to eat and wants me to eat with him. I also understand about getting rid of the insulin. Dr Fung said 16:8 should do it for some, and some might need a longer fast. I really don't want to do a longer fast. If I was by myself, it might be different. When I lived alone before I got married, there were some days when I just didn't bother to eat. But no one else was there, so it didn't matter. I think if I lived alone I would be thin. Many times I'm eating because DH is eating. He doesn't have a weight problem and he doesn't ever overeat, but eats whatever he wants whenever he wants. People who never had a weight problem don't understand our dilemma.
Trish, I think I want to work on getting the weight off and the blood sugar will come down. It is my natural tendancy to eat on the low carb side. I don't want to have to play tricks and games with my body to lose. The more I read, the more confused I get about what I should and shouldn't eat, and when. I never worried about that when I was younger. I just ate less of everything and lost.
p.a. Good to hear from you. Enjoy your camping with your friends. It has been a while since I read or listened to Dr. Fung's work. Thanks for sharing about the pancreas deals with the insulin when fasting. I am not one who can fast for days, but I most certainly can fast 15 to 16 hrs a day which is what I plan to do when we move and get settled. Actually today, I got busy and never got around to eating until we went to KFC in the little town close by where they have a buffet. I seem to be fasting around 16 hrs lately without evening planning to. My scales are packed so don't know how my weight is doing.
I was thankful that my A1c was still below 7. It was up to 6.7 from 6.3 last appt. I hope that I can get it down better between now and when I meet my new doctor in 3 months.
Carol Sue I've been thinking the same way you are. If I can get the weight down, the blood glucose will automatically go down as well. My goal is to get back to eating healthy again. I will probably use WW ideas, but use MFP to keep up with the calories when I get settled along with the 8 hr eating window. Although I did tell DH today that I might start going to WW meetings when I get moved.
I've got utilities set up to be turned on next week at the new house. Internet and phone will be turned on next Friday. Fridge, washer and dryer will be delivered Friday as well. Furniture will be delivered next Saturday and our Dish tv will be set up the following Monday. So I will be back online next Friday, but probably won't have time to say hi to y'all until Sunday a week as we will spend next Saturday night at the new house.
Can you believe that the post office wanted a dollar to transfer our mail on line? DH said "No, we will go Monday and do it in person and give them the dollar". He said they weren't going to put a dollar charge on a credit or debit card. Sorry Rennie if you are reading, but that is crazy. Actually DH DS and his wife work for the post office and he wanted to call his son and fuss about it, but then realized that his son could not do anything about it.\
Well, I need a nap. Stayed up until 3 am trying to find the new fridge, washer and dryer that we wanted that was available when we needed them. Actually my 1st choices are back ordered until the middle of October and some even the end October. So I didn't get much sleep.
Y'all have a great week and I will be back when I get internet in TX.
Location: Home of the Pirates, Steelers and Penguins
Posts: 12,400
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Height: 5'2
Trish, I think with your A1c below 7 you are doing an excellent job. Dr Fung says that it's not good to have tight control of glucose if done with glucose lowering meds. He says Metformin is OK because it does not lower glucose by producing more insulin. He says that even though glucose is lower, your diabetes is worse if you are increasing insulin. I am taking his word for it. I know that insulin is the problem, but I don't like worrying about it because even when my glucose is low, there is no way to check insulin. I guess if glucose is low with diet and exercise and I am losing weight, then insulin is also low, since insulin is what causes fat storage. So much to figure out. I had that situation when I was eating low carb AND doing IF, so I guess I should quit playing around and get back to that. I ate so much bread yesterday and had to take 8 MG of Glimiperide! Two 4MG doses. I got so angry with myself, since I know better. Last night when I went to bed blood sugar was still over 200 but I had already taken the max of my meds. This morning FBG was 148, so I guess the Glimiperide continued to work overnight. Why do I continue to do this when I know what the outcome is going to be?
A woman on the Fung Fasting thread said that glucose levels are not used up until after the third day of fasting. DR Fung said that if you are losing weight with 16:8, then continue that, as it's different for everyone, so I am not going to attempt a longer fast at this time. I will never say never.
I am looking forward to hearing all about your new home. Is it similar to your old one? Or smaller? It would be nice to downsize. Less house to clean and maintain.
Quick flyby. Company coming over. Last visit with best friend and DGS for a awhile.
Carol Sue I am downsizing. Going from 2400+ sq ft to 1820 sq ft. No upstairs. Will have 2 bath instead of 3. Yes less to keep up with. I think once I get things set up like I want it that I will have a garage sale if DH will let me get rid of what we do not use. LOL!!! Pack rat that he is.
I am going to stick with the 16/8 ratio for now. I decided this morning not to check FBS any more until I get settled. Funny thing is that I talked to my Daddy this morning and he said he is going to the fasting way of eating like he and I did when I was a teenager. Not sure about the 16/8 ratio too, but he said he would wait until 11am to eat breakfast and eat around 2pm and then a snack later in the day. I told him about my fasting from 8pm to 12 the next day. So he and I may end up doing the same thing.
My sister is waiting until I get there so she and Daddy can try my recumbent bike to see how they like it. She may buy her and Daddy one if they like it. I sure will be glad when I get back on it. My hip surely does need it.
I will try to check in tomorrow morning since we won't take boxes back to cable company until tomorrow afternoon when DH gets up. Then I can check in Friday evening when my internet is turned on in the new house. Week of October 3rd, I will be able to get back OP and checking in.
I know how you feel. I'm sorry that I didn't comment last night on what you were saying about dieting/Fung fast etc. I was just so tired because it was late. I thought of some things and when I finally made it to bed sometime around 1 am, I realized I hadn't shared my thoughts.