Type II Diabetes

[barefoot serpent]

As promised in the Fatter Than God thread:

Two years ago this month, I went to the doctor for an umm.. routinecheckup (after nearly 19 years!! -- big mistake). So they ran a rountine blood chemistry and the doctor called me back a couple of days later: 'your blood sugar (glucose) is 275 -- you're a diabetic'

So I became part of a growing statistic -- particularly for North Americans -- an overweight and aging population of slugs. I can't do anyting about the aging part but I can do someting about the weight and exercise. The 'disease' has turned out to be a blessing in disguise -- I'm in the best health now (at 52) that I've been in a long time. So anyway, the median age for this Cellar cabal seems to be mid-30s and I hope by sharing my experiences that some of you won't end up on the same path.

Future installments will include the 'symptoms' or warning signs that need to be heeded as well as what to do if your doctor rings you up with the bad news someday. And if anyone else has similar experiences or comments please post away!

[Clodfobble]

A relative of convoluted connection to me (mother's brother's wife's sister's husband, if you must know, AKA mom's sister-in-law's sister-in-law, or also uncle's sister-in-law's husband) was diagnosed about 2 years ago. He was vegetarian, had a huge gut but carried weight nowhere else. We worked in the same company so I got to see both his changed eating habits (snacks regularly throughout the day, usually tangerines or apples) as well as his steady weight loss. It was amazing. He lost over 100 pounds in just a couple of months. The really awful thing for him was the loss of sociability--he simply couldn't order anything at the restaurants we went to for lunch, so he was forced to go home and eat lunch alone. Sometimes he would pack his lunch and take it with him to whatever restaurant we ended up at. They never complained, I guess because we were a large enough group and it was obvious it was "special diet" kind of food.

[barefoot serpent]

Thanks for the anecdote Clodfobble. Most of my following installments will just be my own anecdotal observations so with this caveat:
Your results may vary
I shall tell my story.

First, just to cross some eyes and dot some tees:
Diabetes is usually caused by the pancreas not producing enough insulin to handle the glucose load in the blood stream or from the development of insulin resistance -- enough insulin but the body no longer uses it. Here is a good link on the subject:
http://diabetes.niddk.nih.gov/dm/pub...linresistance/
Insulin resistance is not just a simple trigger mechanism but in my case:
Type II in family (mother)
high cholesterol (230)
high blood pressure (>120/80)
overweight (225-230lbs - at 6'1.5")
If anyone reading this has any of the above characteristics -- it's time to get tested!

The telltale 'symptoms':
Thirst:
the blood becomes clogged with excess glucose (a very sticky molecule) so the only way for the body to eliminate it is via the kidneys. Thus, frequent visits to the pissoir and refrigerator are necessary. The fridge is bad too -- easy access to snacks! Anyway, this is very bad for the kidneys especially with high blood pressure.

Neuropathy:
Tingling and numbness in the extremities -- usually the feet & toes. Again, sticky blood is not nourishing the nerves at the far reaches of the circulatory system and so they start to die. This can be easy to writeoff as 'oh my feet are swollen at the end of the day -- it's normal, I'll just put then up'. This can be the worst damage. Nerves are extremely slow to impossible to regenerate. Many Type II diabetics are missing toes, then feet, then legs...

Dry skin:
For me, chronic dry and cracking skin around the finger nails. This is also easy to writeoff -- who doesn't have this from time-to-time? But if it persists for more that a couple of days - no matter how much hand cream you use - it could be trouble. This is also symptomatic of the bloodstream being clogged up. Other people report chronic dry skin patches that I would guess may seem like eczema.

Inability to lose weight:
Diet as I might, I could never seem to lose more than about 5 lbs. The bloodstream becomes so overloaded with glucose that it can't carry anything else like fat away. Metabolism goes to hell.

Changing eyesight:
Gradual worsening of sight -- very easy to writeoff as just getting old. The fluid pressure in the eyball can be affected and thus alter the shape of the eye. At about 45 my arms were no longer long enough so I had to start using reading glasses. Eventually loss of sight from retinopathy and/or glaucoma awaits the Type II diabetic -- if untreated!

So it's a bad trajectory, with plenty of subtle but insidious pitfalls. A major mid-course correction was required to save my bacon.

[Kitsune]

"Diabeetees" or "diabeetis"? The quaker oats man has confused me so.

Test and test often! Trust Liberty mutual!"

[barefoot serpent]

Originally Posted by Kitsune

"Diabeetees" or "diabeetis"? The quaker oats man has confused me so.

Test and test often!

I've heard both but usually the latter.

And yes, a glucose test kit becomes de rigeuer for the diabetic.
The newer ones can be used on the forearms so pricking a finger is no longer required. I started out testing 3 times a day before meals but now I only do it every other day before breakfast. The fasting blood sugar should be < 130 but I aim for < 110 and can be sure I'm maintaining my weight (now 185 ibs) if it's < 100.

Then the doctor does a hemoglobin A1c test every 6 months.
http://www.med.umich.edu/1libr/aha/aha_hemoglac_crs.htm
This is sort of like a measure of the 30-day moving average of the blood glucose percent. I didn't get a test initially because the doctor did not suspect diabetes at the time. But it was probably close to 10% given the initial 275 glucose test. Today it is around 5 -- well within the 'normal' zone (<7).

The doctor prescribed Glucotrol XL for 30 days to help get the blood sugar down into a manageable range and then it was up to me to keep it there with diet & exercise. She also sent me to both a dietician and a nutritionist to figure out the diet. To lose the 40-45 lbs I initially went on an 1800-2000 cal/day diet and then backup to ~2400 cal/day to maintain. Definately had to cut out the between-meal snacks and no more lurking in the kitchen!

For exercise, I try to do 16 mins twice a day on an elliptical cross-trainer for cardio. So it's not all that onerous a task to set aside some time and not a big deal if I only do it once a day sometimes. And I can substitute bike riding so it's not so boring.

well i can suggest that you follow a strict diet now
and also try to exercise well
you can take natural products like diabeta to keep your diabetes in control
also drink lots of water to flush out the toxins from your body
thanks

[Pie]

So, if you can't lose weight as a TypeII, how do you lose weight so as not to be a TypeII anymore? Seems a bit of a chicken and egg problem, to me. What did you do, Serpent?

I do need to worry about this. My doc warned me that I might be boarderline -- fasting blood sugar of exactly 110.

[barefoot serpent]

Pie - the Glucotrol XL for 30 days was enough to bring my glucose down into a manageable range. At first I wasn't aware that the prescription was for only 30 days and I just assumed I would be on it indefinately at least until I could control it with diet & exercise. So once I realized that it was 'unfillable' I knew I had to get seriously busy with the program.

Taking any diabetic medication can result in hypoglycemia (too little glucose) and can cause you to black out at inappropriate times -- as if there was an appropriate one . So a couple of times I dropped into the 60-70 range and felt a bit light-headed. Many medicated diabetics need to carry some sort of glucose supplement to prevent hypoglycemia.

[hampor]

My Dad has type II. So did my aunt, grandfather, and great grandfather.

I recently went to my first checkup in 7 years and I had high blood sugar, but just barely under the official limits for diabates. It's close enough that I still should be checking on it more often.

Is there a brand of meter that you like?

[barefoot serpent]

Originally Posted by hampor

Is there a brand of meter that you like?

I have a TheraSense FreeStyle meter. It's easy to use, just a tiny spot of blood is enough and seems to be fairly consistent in its readings. I calibrate it about once a month and it's been within +/- 8 points of 100 for the last 2 years. My doctor gave me a prescription for one so it and the somewhat expensive test strips (almost a dollar each) are half covered by my insurance.

Now they have PDA-enabled ones and I think there are some models with USB ports.
http://www.mobile.commerce.net/story...ry_id=1807&s=3

[Clodfobble]

This is a slightly different topic, but a friend of mine's three-year-old daughter just got diagnosed with Type I diabetes (BTW, down in Texas we say "dye-uh-bee-tees," Kitsune). She'll have five blood tests and four shots of insulin every day for the rest of her life, unless a magical cure comes along. Two weeks after diagnosis, the little girl is adjusting well. She hasn't screamed or thrashed when it's time for her shot since she left the hospital, and she told her mother that she wanted to "not cry" as well, which she manages about 75% the time now. She calls her little med-bag her purse, and is quite fond of the little butterfly decals that her mother sewed on it.

My friend, still distraught about the whole thing, got hooked up with a support group, and found a woman who lives near her with a boy the same age who was diagnosed about a year ago. She asked her daughter, "Do you think maybe you'd like to go meet this boy? Can you think of any questions you would want to ask him?"

She paused for a moment, then nodded solemnly. "Yes. I need to ask him what color HIS butterflies are."

[barefoot serpent]

Originally Posted by Clodfobble

She'll have five blood tests and four shots of insulin every day for the rest of her life, unless a magical cure comes along.

She may be able to be fitted with an insulin pump
http://www.insulin-pumpers.org/pkids.shtml
A very precise method to control the insulin-glucose levels in the body -- and no needles!

Originally Posted by mltr79

well i can suggest that you follow a strict diet now

So far for me, I havn't needed a strict diet -- except portion-wise. I still eat pretty much the same stuff I used to eat just less -- particularly the 'bad' stuff. To determine what's bad, there is the Glycemic Index for foods. This index provides a relative weighting of foods based on the speed at which each one converts into blood glucose. A fairly extensive list is here:
http://www.carbs-information.com/glycemic-index.htm#gi

So basically if it has a high Glycemic Index, avoid it or just eat less of it. Not too hard.

The only calculation I've had to make for my diet was to figure out how much I was eating. That came out to about 3000-3200 cal/day from the nutritionist. So to get to 1800-2000 cal/day I just cut portion sizes in half and added a bit of low Glycemic Index stuff to make up the difference. All very easy, especially if you use smaller plates! Just that simple method can make dieting less of a pain.

Beer & wine (in moderation) are not bad.
I've quit (almost) drinking coffee -- always required whole milk & sugar -- and replaced with teas, regular & herbals.
No between-meal snacks except for sugarless gum.
Snacking is also bad because your blood sugar never gets the chance to get < 110 as well as eating main meals at irregular intervals.
Fiber! fibre! is berry-berry gud! Remember that for every gram of fiber that you eat you can subtract one gram of carbs -- if you're into counting carbs that is. My favorite source of fiber is toasted buckwheat kernels but flax seeds are a close second.
There are probably some other pertinent dietary methods that will occur to me later but all-in-all with a little discipline and common sense a healthy diet for the diabetic is not all that restrictive.

But here I will reiterate the caveat:
Your Results May Vary

[Clodfobble]

Originally Posted by barefoot serpent

She may be able to be fitted with an insulin pump
http://www.insulin-pumpers.org/pkids.shtml
A very precise method to control the insulin-glucose levels in the body -- and no needles!

Wow, what an interesting site. I've passed it along to her. Thanks very much!

[barefoot serpent]

a recent study on the benefits of adding regular doses of cinnamon to the diet

I get '00' size gelcaps and make my own-- I guess it's about 1/4 tsp. once per day. It seems to work for me. After taking it for 2-3 months, I stopped for about a week and my blood sugar went up to ~120. After starting again, it went back down to <110.

too bad I can't add the cinnamon to sticky buns...

[bbro]

I am very familiar with all of this. I am not Diabetic...yet. I am classified as insulin resistant(IR). I can help you if you want to lose some weight. I don't know if you have heard of the Glycemic Index, but it might be beneficial to you.

Another thing to check out is the Insulin resistant diet. It is geared more toward people like me who are headed to diabeties, but I don't see why it wouldn't be good for you, too. It focuses on what to eat to keep you blood sugar low and relies on fairly normal food. Basically you can eat anything as long as you follow the guidelines they give you.

Hope this helps you out at least a little