Hello,

My name is Michelle and I will sum up in one sentence why I am here - in less than one year I was diagnosed with hypertension, type two diabetes and high cholesterol. I'm 32. For the past year I have been in denial and basically ate my way through the year. I am taking meds for the hypertension and high cholesterol. I was testing my sugar regularly but haven't tested since late fall and was shocked to see my fasting sugar was 197. I was at about 140-160 (still high) when I was testing in the fall. I have made a New Year's Resolution that I will not break, I AM going to lose weight, I AM going to exercise and I WILL NOT be put on meds for high sugar.

I have started to journal and would like to post those entries here if I may. I was a part of the diabetes thread over the summer but don't know where everybody went. Everyone, if you're out there, please come back or tell me where you are, I miss you all! I am still scared like I was but I am no longer in denial. I realized that although I have some serious health problems and am quite young, I need to use my age to my benefit. I am young enough to do some serious soul searching and lifestyle changes and that is exactly what I intend to do, starting last night at 12:00:01!!!

My wishes for 2002...
Top priority is to get healthy. This past year has been a tough one, finding out I have hypertension and diabetes type 2 and high cholesterol. I am currently on meds for hypertension and high cholesterol and am going to try my hardest to be off of them by then end of 2002. To do this, I am going to need to work very hard. I WILL lose weight, I WILL exercise. This past year I've been in what I call "denialbetes",eating my way through the year. My house is stocked and ready to go, with the exception of Christmas goodies! I have a big goal ahead of me, but must remember to take it one day at a time. I am going to go back to the WW selection plan way of eating. It worked for me once, I know it can work again. I do have a few New Years Resolutions but those will come later, in about a week.

My house (kitchen) is pretty much in order for the New Year, New ME!!! I need to get rid of the bag of Doritos. I always tell myself I can keep those treats in the house and actually eat one serving every few days. Yeah, right...who am I kidding? And in the past, I would woof down that whole bag and then start my diet. Again, who am I kidding??? I have been making better choices about fruits and veggies. Although, I will set some rules about diet and exercise in the days to come. I have one month of pages written out of food journals, and tonight I will start writing out meal plans. That way, there is no excuse not to follow my plan. Yes, it will be tough, but I MUST succeed this time. I have wasted too much of my life being disgusted with myself & my poor habits (eating and exercise).

Well, here it is...the eve of the new ME! I'm ready to do whatever it takes. I'm so tired of being FAT and UNHEALTHY!!! I want to be successful, it is such a great feeling. A feeling I haven't felt in a long time.

My New Year's Resolutions are:

To lose 10-15 lbs by my 33rd birthday (March 29th) and how am I going to do this???

- Follow the WW selection plan, the plan that helped me lose 33 lbs in 1995.
- Excercise (walk) at least 3 days a week for 1/2 hour.
- Journal at least 3 days a week (or more)
- Be positive!!! I can do it, I will do it!!!!!
- Start saving $10/wk and put it in my savings account to buy new clothes for the new me!!!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! It's going to be a great year!!!!

I wish you success, you are very correct when you say that you are going to use your "age" to your advantage. I am about 10 years older than you, I wish I would have made healthier lifestyle changes in my 30's.

However I am sure your Dr. told you, high blood pressure, high cholestrol and diabetes is wicked combination. My only suggestion is to have blood work done professionally every 3 months. These diseases can be progressive so you do want to be careful.

I was apart of this thread last year but it became dead ( no messages) so I just stopped checking.

I was doing pretty well, lost 20 lbs, blood sugar and blood pressure had stabilized. However in June I purchased a home, a few months later a new car, my daughter graduates this year, of course I could go on with excuses.
I did have blood work done over the holidays, my fasting was 125, which is not bad, but when I was doing better it was 101.
I have gained back 10lbs, acutally I had only gained back (5) lbs before the holidays, even tho I was not eating correctly I was drinking plenty of water and exercising.
Of course over the holidays I did worse, hense I am now at a 10lb gain.
I want to get this 10lbs off and get my sugar stabilized again.
I share you enthusiam and determination!!!
I will be looking for your post in the future!!

Lady di

p.s. excuse any spelling errors..

I do take glucophage for diabetes, I used to take glucotrol, it was hard for me on glucotrol to loose weight, glucophage do make it slightly easier.

Hi Ladydi, glad to see someone else posting.

I had a great week. Altho, the weekend was another story, but inspite of it I lost 3 lbs last week. Whew! I was a tough week and now all I want to do is celebrate by eating something terribly bad for me. But I know what will happen if I do so I'm trying really hard not to.

How was your week?

HI Luzcious,

You know when I loose I always want to reward myself with a goodie, alot of success stories say you should reward yourself with something else besides food, a book, a movie, a article of clothing etc, however as I said I am like you I just want to taste something good.

I haven't even weighed myself, I probably wont until the week of the 21st, by then I should have lost something. My boyfriend renewed our "y" membership, I did a taebo video last night and I walked on Monday..so I am trying to get back in the swing of things. Just from the few days of exercising and cutting down on calories my stomach feels tighter..what a good feeling!!

Take care, good luck,,keep posting!!

Just visiting from the fibromyalgia group. My fiance has type 2 diabetes which is under control with meds. What kind of a food plan do you guys recommend. He is not overweight but when we are together we eat healthy-I am a WW. Thanks Mima

I used to post on another board here and now lurk once in a while.

I am diabetic for the last 6 years, have been "good" and gotten sugars into control 3 times, losing weight etc., and currently am being good for, hopefully the last time. I have lost 90 lbs since July 9th - and JUST got off my BP and diabetes meds (Zestril and Avandia). Yeah! I feel so great. I want to create a web page to journal loss so far, and rest of journey - want to lose 40-50 more.

I have finally learned that the secret is to treat the whole me - I got therapy to deal with depression (am definitely not depressed now finally) and low self-esteem. Started following the ADA recommended diet plan (I strongly recommend the Fit N Healthy plan at Joslin for anyone near Boston - did this a few years ago when I was losing and saved diet recommendations). Luckily I love exersize - and do about an hour of exersize every day (walking, swimming and recently, couple of days of low weights and just started racewalking course (current goal is to walk a marathon).

Anyway, I hope everyone does well and keeps up the good work. I took a long time to get off meds (even after losing a LOT of weight and getting sugar levels down, my doctor made me wait for 1 more 3-month HA1C checkup).

I have also learned not to think of diabetic meds or insulin as failure, but something to put off for as long as I can with lifestyle improvements. I know I will be on them eventually if I am lucky enough to keep complications away, but I figure between now and then (and maybe the big change - I am almost 44) this may be my last chance to be med free

Mimi - please have your fiance checkout the Joslin web pages - there are LOTS of books, resources, boards, etc. there for him to learn what and how to eat as a diabetic. Doesnt sound like he needs to lose weight, but if he does, have him join us. Web site is: http://www.joslin.org - and there are some good discussion boards for him there.

Not that anyone asked, but I find that one thing that REALLY works for me - and it sounds crazy, but it really helped get over the mindset where I used to weigh-in once a week, celebrate by "eating" after the weigh in then take 1-6 days to get "back on the wagon".

I decided this time around to incorporate very tight, careful diabetes management into my life. Part of that involves testing my blood sugar a LOT. Initially I tested an average of 6-7 times a day (now I do it between 3-5 usually unless sick, eating differently or more than average). I tested upon wakeup, before lunch, before dinner, 2 hours after breakfast, lunch and dinner and at bedtime. I started this because of a study my CDE gave me that shows a hugh correlation between high post-prandial sugar readings (the 2-hour post meal) and cardiovascular problems eventually, and since diabetics are at risk for this anyway, doctors should take these reading more seriously (she got the article at the most recent ADA conference).

Anyway, what I have learned is how different foods that I eat/like affect my sugar levels. The wonderful side affect for me is that I treat each meal as a weigh-in. Yes, I blow meals once in a while - would give up if I thought I could NEVER treat myself), but the post 2 hour reading makes it easier to get back on the wagon on a per meal basis.

Not sure if this makes sense, but while it works for me, I will keep it up. I have seen more than one positive reference to having diabetes - it causes lots of us to change our lifestyles so we end up healthier than ever. Of course, I am extremely happy the diet and exercize does control my sugars - for some it doesnt.

I also hope I am smart enough to prioritize LOW BLOOD SUGARS over pride when it comes to think about medicine again.

hi i'm a 47 year old diabetic .I take both pills and shots twice a day .I still have high reading sometimes as high as 400 but not often.most time around 140 .I have had it also drop to 30 before . I need support to get this under controll .I did weigh 299 and have brought my weight down to 203 1/2 . but now I have hit a road block were I can't seem to eat right lately .I need lots of support . I hope to find out ways to kept my sugar at a good level .if anyone can help me I sure would be thinkfull. and to lose the rest of my weight . I do know how dangerous this is
but it hard going it alone . thanks for listening .

Hi Lynncourt,
You really sound a lot like me! I am 46 and have type 2 diabetes. I too take two types of pills daily plus insulin at night. I currently weigh 295. I am having such a hard time losing this weight. I crave carb's so much. Once I give in to them, the more I want and it becomes a vicious cycle. It seems that you have done a great job of losing weight. How did you do it? Are you able to exercise? My doctor tells me that exercise is key in weight control as well as sugar control. My sugars are running about 130 to 140 in the morning. That is usually my highest daily readings unless of course I eat something sweet or too many starches! My fasting levels are my highest. (usually)
It sounds like you have done a great job and even though you have hit a rough spot right now, DON'T give up!!! Maybe we can help each other.
Take care,
Gracie

I am a diabetic too. I was diagnosed in 1991 and at that time, was only diet controlled. I did well for two years then chose to deny that I had diabetes. In 1999, it became full-blown and had to start taking three glugophage daily. I now take 3 glugophage XR, one actos and 3 starlix for diabetes alone. I also have high blood pressure, high cholestrol and extremely high trigylcerides. My triglycerides were 1210 and I take 3 different prescriptions to lower these blood fats. My highest weight was 142 but now I weigh about 128. I was down to 114 when I followed my diet properly. I have found that to keep my weight down, I have to eat often and eat properly. I have a weakness for sweet tea.

I don't know if anyone is listening out there but I just had to get this off my chest! Someone at work today asked me if I was pregnant!!! I was floored....I thought about saying."no, I'm just fat!" I only said "no". I was too stunned to say anything more. I really have got to lose this weight. I don't look any differently than I have in 6 months, so why did they ask that question now?
It is true that I have been sedentary for 6 months due to major surgery and complications and I am just starting to move around more but this is ridiculous!!!!!