Diabetes & Getting Off The Sugary Crap.

[ROFL BOX 6649]

Like many of you, I was astounded when the doc said I had  the 'Beetus.  I'm not skinny, but I'm far from fat.  Probably 10 to 15 or so lbs. from what might be considered skinny & I have a moderate amount of muscle tone.  I always had a mental picture of the fat, overweight, smoking types as the ones who had the Beetus & certainly not folks like me.

Anyway.

My sugars are a problem & I was "on a program" from an MD for around 1, 1.5 years.  That & some sort of statin.  Family Hx.  My relatives hate me, apparently. 

I'm in Drip & I guess instead of going to a general MD (this guy is a D.O.), maybe I should go to an Endo instead?

Also, I've seen a commercial for a "new" glucose monitor that doesn't actually require a finger stick; I'm interested & intrigued by your modern medicine & would like to know more about how it can help a simple unfrozen caveman roofing contractor like me.

Talk to me about your Beetus experiences & maybe where I should be going in the SW Austin  / Drip area.  I'll cross reference any doc names with our insurance to see where I can go.

I  promised my kids I'd do better & have found myself trying to live up to that... & then I see a bottle of Coca~Cola with that buttery smooth sweetness gliding up through a straw.

Help me,  Obi-Wan Surl-nobi... you're my only help.

[pearlandhorn 3270]

Go read the body transformation thread and hop on the train bud.

[RPM 26322]

I was diagnosed about 6 months ago. Never was a big sweets eater, my problem was cokes. Switched to (cringe) diet and cut about 1000 calories and Lord knows how many grams of sugar from my daily intake. Take Zipglide and Metformin daily now. Read my blood sugar every 2 days and it's been consistently <90.

[Lobwedgephil 1139]

I was close, Pre-diabetis, went on keto diet and gave up cokes, still drink coke zeros. Blood sugar is now back to normal. 

[bluto 4930]

not piling on RPM but holy shit that was a lot coke you were kicking back

[XYZ 2154]

ROFLBOX:

I’ve heard that going on the keto diet can drastically reduce the diabetes symptoms on many people. Keto is high fat, moderate protein, and very low carb. Sodas are evil, stay the hell away from them. Alcohol (sadly) gets metabolized by the liver similarly to carbs, so stay away from alcohol also. Things made out of flour spike your blood glucose almost as fast as plain sugar does. Stay away from bread, tortillas, cookies, pasta. Basically meats and green vegetables are your friends.

[Dbeasy 15052]

Please read this post very closely. It can make a very big impact on your future.

As a diabetic, you must preserve your beta cells. These are what allow you to keep blood sugar under control. Eating a lot of carbs and then having high blood sugar levels kills those beta cells. Over time, the more cells you kill, the more medication you will need to keep your sugars under control. Eventually you could need multiple daily insulin shots to control your sugar level of most of your beta cells die.

If, on the other hand, you reduce your carb intake significantly, keeping your sugar under control, you can delay that problem for a long time, maybe even long enough for new medicines and cures to make it to the market.

How much do you reduce it and how? There are big debates about the right type of diet to follow. The science is not fully settled. However, there are some things you can do that everyone would universally agree are good. Some of those are:

1. Drinks - stop or heavily reduce drinks with sugar. Cokes, sweet tea, juices, etc. If you could do it, I recommend going all the way to water, unsweetened tea and whatever alcohol you like and that’s it. It sounds extreme, but the impact will be huge.

2. Breads and pastas - cut down the frequency and volume of this dramatically. The American diet is way overcharged on these two things, particularly in restaurants. The entire public is eating 3x as much calories, and carbs, than they should be when they eat out. It’s ridiculous.

3. Learn your numbers - go figure out what daily calorie intake you should have, then start calculating what you need for each meal. You might be shocked at how much you might be overeating. Also calculate your daily carb target and see how your eating compares to that. It is likely you are getting way too many carbs. Also, US Dietary Guidelines may be way too generous in their recommendations for the percent of your diet that should be carbs. In my opinion, this is partially what is causing the diabetic crisis in this country.

4. Simple Carbs - reduce them dramatically. Cakes, cookies, sweets, etc. Complex carbs help slow blood sugar rises. Plus simple carbs pack on the pounds.

5. Doctor - I would go with an Endo. Diabetes is a serious disease that can worsen over time and you want to be working with someone who knows all of the latest science.

I am not a doctor and this advice is not medical advice.

[Incredulity 11675]

This is a serious subject and the above makes alot of sense.

 

However the juxtaposition of the listen up beginning and I am not a doctor ending gave me the lols.

[Dbeasy 15052]

This is a serious subject and the above makes alot of sense.
 
However the juxtaposition of the listen up beginning and I am not a doctor ending gave me the lols.

Liability. The world (and especially Surly) is full of lawyers who will sue over anything.

[SDG 3319]

12 hours ago, bluto said:

not piling on RPM but holy shit that was a lot coke you were kicking back

I got a soda stream and life is good.  I love carbonated water but dont need on the sugar, colors, ect.  

[Stunns38 3479]

I got a soda stream and life is good.  I love carbonated water but dont need on the sugar, colors, ect.  

Yep.
I reduced my soda intake and mostly drink non sugar seltzer water. LaCroix is overpriced shit. Just get the store brand and you’ll get used to it if you need fizz.

[NeverMarryAStripper 21907]

HEB brand sparkling water is the shiznit

[RPM 26322]

18 hours ago, bluto said:

not piling on RPM but holy shit that was a lot coke you were kicking back

Only 6 cans or so. It adds up fast at 150+ per can. I don't drink coffee so 1 in the morning, 1 a couple hours later, 1 at lunch/afternoon, 1 driving home and a couple mixed drinks after work. That was a average day. It's not like I was chugging Big Gulps. BTW, really cold Diet DP ain't bad.

[pearlandhorn 3270]

I didn’t get it confirmed by a doctor but I’m pretty sure I was pre diabetic about 6 months ago. I was showing a lot of the symptoms. Drastically changed my diet and have lost 90 pounds since then. Easiest way to lose weight and be healthier is to just cut out soda. It’s very tough but worth it. Instead of sweet tea, drink unsweet tea with Splenda or stevia.

[Nice Guy Eddie 13515]

I used to drink a few sodas per day but decided to switch to some combo of water, tea and coffee.  Now I maybe drink about 5 cokes per year.    And that is usually when I’m at a place where the iced tea looks sketchy.   I can’t even imagine going back to a regular soda diet.    The main key is stop buying cokes at the grocery store.

[RDCanecutter 26446]

Not diabetic, but once without thinking I ate a banana right before a blood test and got all the nurses alarmed.

Once when I craved cokes, I started eating oranges. Gave me the citric acid fix, and probably less sugar. But I am not a doctor so who knows, that might be an awful idea.

[Longhorn Al 440]

Rofl,

Listen to pearlandhorn.  Come over to the Body Transformation thread.  Go to reddit and start reading the Keto page: https://www.reddit.com/r/keto/

Fasting and Keto will fix you.

Diabetes is a result of your body being resistant to insulin.  If your cells resist insulin's signal to open up and start taking glucose out of the blood, blood sugars go up.  You can be insulin resistant for a decade or more before your blood sugars ever rise to the level of Diabetes.  So what does modern medicine do for those who have too much insulin?  They start shooting them up with more insulin, causing them to be even more insulin-resistant.  Once that starts, it's hard to right the ship and you'll very likely start gaining weight.

Cut out carbs, sugar and beer.  Cut out starchy vegetables (roots - potatoes, carrots, etc.).  No corn.  Basically, if it's a color other than green, it probably has sugar in it.  Cut out fruit.  Maybe a few berries here and there.  You can eat nuts, but avoid carby ones like cashews.

If you really want to be strict, don't listen to people who suggest carb substitutes like "low carb" tortillas and buns.  Just learn to do without.  Eat fajitas without the tortillas.  Eat burgers without buns.  Eat steaks without potatoes or a dinner roll. 

Once you stay strict for 4-6 weeks, you will break that addiction and your body will actually crave fat.  I never sit around dreaming of a pizza or a pie.  When I get hungry, all I can think about is beef and fat, like a big ribeye.

PM me if you need help or have questions.

[Dbeasy 15052]

To follow on to Longhorn Al’s post, there is very credible research underway right now at UCLA, USC and elsewhere that is utilizing fasting and/or keto diets to renegenerate sugar lowering beta cells or “fix” broken cells. The research is early but very exciting. Meanwhile some people trying it, especially early in diagnosis, are having some success.

[pearlandhorn 3270]

13 hours ago, Longhorn Al said:

Rofl,

Listen to pearlandhorn.  Come over to the Body Transformation thread.  Go to reddit and start reading the Keto page: https://www.reddit.com/r/keto/

Fasting and Keto will fix you.

Diabetes is a result of your body being resistant to insulin.  If your cells resist insulin's signal to open up and start taking glucose out of the blood, blood sugars go up.  You can be insulin resistant for a decade or more before your blood sugars ever rise to the level of Diabetes.  So what does modern medicine do for those who have too much insulin?  They start shooting them up with more insulin, causing them to be even more insulin-resistant.  Once that starts, it's hard to right the ship and you'll very likely start gaining weight.

Cut out carbs, sugar and beer.  Cut out starchy vegetables (roots - potatoes, carrots, etc.).  No corn.  Basically, if it's a color other than green, it probably has sugar in it.  Cut out fruit.  Maybe a few berries here and there.  You can eat nuts, but avoid carby ones like cashews.

If you really want to be strict, don't listen to people who suggest carb substitutes like "low carb" tortillas and buns.  Just learn to do without.  Eat fajitas without the tortillas.  Eat burgers without buns.  Eat steaks without potatoes or a dinner roll. 

Once you stay strict for 4-6 weeks, you will break that addiction and your body will actually crave fat.  I never sit around dreaming of a pizza or a pie.  When I get hungry, all I can think about is beef and fat, like a big ribeye.

PM me if you need help or have questions.

This isn’t normal 😂

I’m just playing. All great info Al.

[Longhorn Al 440]

Guy cures his Type 2 Diabetes in a year:

 

[ernest_t_bass 1196]

My 13.5 year old Daughter (no pics) was just diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes.   

Anyone have any experience with this one?  My head is spinning.

[XYZ 2154]

10 hours ago, ernest_t_bass said:

My 13.5 year old Daughter (no pics) was just diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes.   

Anyone have any experience with this one?  My head is spinning.

Sorry to hear that. Read up on the keto diet. I see people with diabetes who eat whatever they want and they expect their “meds” to save them. That seems irresponsible. I say start with a diet that has the smallest impact into your insulin process, i.e. high fat, moderate protein, very low carb.

[Horn of Gabriel 1614]

16 hours ago, ernest_t_bass said:

My 13.5 year old Daughter (no pics) was just diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes.   

Anyone have any experience with this one?  My head is spinning.

I'm Type 1, ask me anything.

[ernest_t_bass 1196]

Do you have an insulin pump?  Do you do the 4x/day shots?  Patch?

[George 493]

So how does fasting work? Just starve yourself out for a few days, or during the day? 

[Horn of Gabriel 1614]

21 hours ago, ernest_t_bass said:

Do you have an insulin pump?  Do you do the 4x/day shots?  Patch?

I started on multiple daily injections (MDI) and did that for several years.  For the past ~10 years I've been on the pump, currently I'm on the Medtronic 670G, along with their Continuous Glucose Monitoring System.  The pump and CGMS talk to each other and will auto adjust your dosage, it's one of the first "closed loop" systems that simulates a pancreas.

There are pros and cons to both, but I much prefer the pump personally.  You get better control, better measurement, better results for a pretty small tradeoff of having it attached to you.

[ernest_t_bass 1196]

Try convincing a teenage girl that world does not revolve around her.

Try convincing a teenage girl with type 1 Diabetes that world does not revolve around her.

[Horn of Gabriel 1614]

Try convincing a teenage girl that world does not revolve around her.
Try convincing a teenage girl with type 1 Diabetes that world does not revolve around her.

I was 30 when I was diagnosed so never had to deal with it as a teenager, thank god. There was a learning curve and frustration, and even depression. But I got there eventually; the key was I wanted to be healthy. There is an 8-year old at my church who was just diagnosed and his parents can do 95% of the management for him. An adult can take responsibility. A teen in that in-between time going from kid to adult is going to be much harder. Ultimately they have to want to manage it, for themself. Can’t change someone who doesn’t want to change.

Quick aside on cure stuff, there is a lot of great research here recently. I highly recommend looking up Dr. Denise Faustman at the Harvard Medical School. She is doing some amazing cure research on BCG.

[tx 3 putt 76980]

Horn of Gabriel, what does your blood sugar run (from morning to night) ?

if you don't mind me asking 

[Horn of Gabriel 1614]

Depends, on a lot of factors.  A good day for me, when I'm following keto, not traveling, wearing my sensor, monitoring closely I'll range from 70's to 150.  I'm super carb-sensitive at this point, and even non-carbs set me off, like coffee.  On a bad day if I ate carbs, traveled, my sensor expired, etc; I could hit 250 or higher if I'm not careful.  I feel lows, but don't feel any different when I'm high, and life has this strange tendency to take over and then you realize you haven't stuck your finger in 3-4 hours and whoops...you're >200.  Or maybe you mis-estimated your carb intake, or your insulin dosage, or you worked out (or didn't), or you're sick, etc.  It's calculus, not algebra and I'm a grown-ass man and have trouble with it.  So I have a ton of empathy for a teen or a parent of young kid with T1.  Sometimes you can do everything right, and still be "wrong" with regard to your blood sugar.  It sucks.

[ernest_t_bass 1196]

Yeah, yesterday our daughter was within range the entire day.  Today was all over.  As low as 53, and as high as 200 something.  School doesn't help.

Horn - What is your advice for working out?  Daughter has gym class first class of the day, but wants to start out doing volleyball workouts here soon.  

[Horn of Gabriel 1614]

For me, working out (hard cardio like basketball or weight lifting) creates a ~24-hour window where I'm more insulin-sensitive.  So I need less insulin for the same amount of carbs.  When I do full contact sports like basketball, I remove my pump for the duration (up to about 2 hours) and then put it back on after.  I check BG before I take it off and dose if needed, knowing that I tend to float downward as I work out, and I account for that.  Sometimes I'll check during a break in the action if I'm feeling low, and I always keep a gatorade on hand to bring me up if needed.  And I always check right after, and if I'm <100, I take gatorade or a carb to bring me up, because I know I'm floating down pretty hard in the few hours after working out.  My endocrinologist and I have talked about setting a "temp basal" for overnight (I tend to work out at night) so that I take less insulin and don't go low at night, because I've had a few hypo episodes in the middle of the night, usually they wake me up, but they're scary.  

Basically check before and after, and during if you feel "off."  Keep insulin and carbs on hand to correct in either direction as needed.  Know that you're going to have stronger BG swings than if you're inactive.

I don't know if your kid is driving yet, but if so, it's a solid habit to get them started to check their blood sugar before they drive, even if they think they're fine.  I had a low-carb meal a few years ago, then went a worked out and didn't realize I was going low.  I ended up blacking out behind the wheel and crashed, luckily no one was hurt other than totaling my car.  I drove from downtown Austin to Cedar Park on MoPac, and I don't remember anything after going under 183 on N MoPac.  I crashed at MoPac and 45.

[JGrayDBU 338]

re: drugs, nurse practitioner said I am now diabetic, at 6.5.  She wanted to put me on metformin, with the disclaimer that diarhea was a side effect, but only lasted two weeks..ouch! talk about motivating me.  I protested, noted that my research shows that drug is for people who have tried diet and exercise, but no luck.  

 

I plan to lose 15 pounds by April 1...am currently 244.  I am told fiber is my friend.  I can cut out cokes, and limit pasta, not totally give it up. 

 

I will fit as many frozen green veggies into my luggage as I can. (I travel back to bush Alaska on Sunday.) I get to attend a conference in Anchorage in late January, so I can load up again on Brussel sprouts, cabbage, broccoli, etc. 

 

I was drinking way too many mountain dews. 

How often can I eat a serving of Lasagna?  it's homemade, more sauce and cheese than pasta.  Should I heat it up and throw away the pasta? 

 

I plan to work out twice a day...if you count playing pickle ball as working out.  very sedentary life since July, and way too many sodas. 

 

This is going to be tough, but I can do it.  Talk about motivation! I will see nurse practitioner in early April. 

 

[closetohumping 17442]

On 4/23/2019 at 4:55 PM, Horn of Gabriel said:

Depends, on a lot of factors.  A good day for me, when I'm following keto, not traveling, wearing my sensor, monitoring closely I'll range from 70's to 150.  I'm super carb-sensitive at this point, and even non-carbs set me off, like coffee.  On a bad day if I ate carbs, traveled, my sensor expired, etc; I could hit 250 or higher if I'm not careful.  I feel lows, but don't feel any different when I'm high, and life has this strange tendency to take over and then you realize you haven't stuck your finger in 3-4 hours and whoops...you're >200.  Or maybe you mis-estimated your carb intake, or your insulin dosage, or you worked out (or didn't), or you're sick, etc.  It's calculus, not algebra and I'm a grown-ass man and have trouble with it.  So I have a ton of empathy for a teen or a parent of young kid with T1.  Sometimes you can do everything right, and still be "wrong" with regard to your blood sugar.  It sucks.

Interesting.  Why does coffee, presumably without sugar, raise your blood sugar?

[Francisco 2.0 32395]

No one chiming in about past debt or shoddy workmanship?  I'm disappoint.  

[Horn of Gabriel 1614]

4 hours ago, closetohumping said:

Interesting.  Why does coffee, presumably without sugar, raise your blood sugar?

According to my endocrinologist, even black coffee (all I drink) can set off a response in your liver that causes your body to dump excess sugar it's carrying into the blood.  Same reason for the "morning effect" where BG goes up for many, me included, in the waking hours even if I'm fasting.

[Horn of Gabriel 1614]

13 hours ago, JGrayDBU said:

re: drugs, nurse practitioner said I am now diabetic, at 6.5.  She wanted to put me on metformin, with the disclaimer that diarhea was a side effect, but only lasted two weeks..ouch! talk about motivating me.  I protested, noted that my research shows that drug is for people who have tried diet and exercise, but no luck.  

 

I plan to lose 15 pounds by April 1...am currently 244.  I am told fiber is my friend.  I can cut out cokes, and limit pasta, not totally give it up. 

 

I will fit as many frozen green veggies into my luggage as I can. (I travel back to bush Alaska on Sunday.) I get to attend a conference in Anchorage in late January, so I can load up again on Brussel sprouts, cabbage, broccoli, etc. 

 

I was drinking way too many mountain dews. 

How often can I eat a serving of Lasagna?  it's homemade, more sauce and cheese than pasta.  Should I heat it up and throw away the pasta? 

 

I plan to work out twice a day...if you count playing pickle ball as working out.  very sedentary life since July, and way too many sodas. 

 

This is going to be tough, but I can do it.  Talk about motivation! I will see nurse practitioner in early April. 

 

Type 2 pre-diabetic?  Welcome to being an American!  In one way you're lucky in that you can manage it with diet.  You have the right plan.  Just focus on filling up w/ protein, fiber, and fat and minimizing carbs.  That's bad news for the lasagna, which is very carb heavy like most italian meals.  Once in a while maybe but rarely.  The workouts will really help.  I'm Type 1 but notice a 24 hour effect when I workout where my body is more insulin sensitive.  I walk about 3 miles every day now both to get my steps in but also provide some extra light cardio - that's on top of whatever workout I'm doing.  Plus it feels good to get the fresh air.

[closetohumping 17442]

13 minutes ago, Horn of Gabriel said:

According to my endocrinologist, even black coffee (all I drink) can set off a response in your liver that causes your body to dump excess sugar it's carrying into the blood.  Same reason for the "morning effect" where BG goes up for many, me included, in the waking hours even if I'm fasting.

So much info out there.  Some researchers think coffee could prevent diabetes.  Most seem to think it's ok for diabetics to drink it:

 

https://www.goodrx.com/conditions/diabetes-type-2/coffee-and-diabetes-benefits-risks

[irishtexan 11519]

Necro-bumping this thread, as this appears to be the only diabetics thread on Surly.

I got a cold about 6 weeks ago and after recovering from it I had a persistent cough and some upper respiratory irritation. Set up a doc visit thinking I'd get on an antibiotic. Stepped on the scale at intake and weight was waaaay down. Actually asked to use a different scale because I thought that scale was wrong. Nope. Same weight on different scale. 

I was 182 in October. I was 164 on Thursday. I dropped 18 lbs in six months without any change to diet or exercise. Doc was concerned and did blood work. Diagnosed with Type 2. 

According to my doc, diabetes has been aggressively "eating" my muscle and some of my fat. Got on a glucose monitor and was prescribed metformin. Been taking it since Saturday night but my glucose is still high, regularly hovering around 300 (although right now I think I've hit my low of 239 since I started wearing the monitor. Yay!). Totally changed my diet and am almost exclusively eating proteins and vegetables with the very rare open-faced sandwich of one-piece of whole wheat bread. Eliminated beers and replaced it with tequila sodas. 

This whole thing seems very weird to me because most type-2 diabetics are pretty significantly overweight (no judgment for those of you that are.) But I was only about 7lbs heavier than I should have been. I've heard you can "cure" yourself of Type 2 diabetes through diet and exercise, but right now I'm significantly underweight and wasting away. Not sure how that's going to work for me because I don't need to get my weight under control.

I have a follow up with the doc scheduled for next Thursday, but I may bump it up if I keep shedding lbs. Weighed myself yesterday and was down to 160, so I had lost 4lbs in 4 days. But I'm finding diabetes dehydrates you and makes you piss all the time. Plus I just haven't been hungry because of the metformin, and have been eating less. Going to have to force myself to eat to maintain weight, and to drink a lot of water. I'm constantly very tired and occasionally light-headed so exercising has been a challenge. But I have been walk/running 3 miles a day this week. Wondering when I'm going to feel well enough to start doing some weight training to rebuild muscle mass.

Anyway, this sucks a donkey's dick. Anyone else out there have experience with this?

[blacklab 11939]

Same boat, very similar to you.

Over the last year or so I'd gone from around 210 to 180. I wasn't sure why. I attributed it to intermittent fasting and not eating as much, but it really didn't make much sense as I was not eating very healthy and drinking a ton of soft drinks.

Finally got around to going to the doctor and had some blood work done. Mystery solved, I was well into type 2 diabetus with an A1C of 11.2 and blood sugar around 300 and triglycerides off  the chart at >400. I got caught in a vicious circle. The diabetes would make me thirsty, which would cause me to drink a coke, which would make me more thirsty. The other sign was having to pee about 10 times a day.

Dropped from 4-5 cokes a day to 1 every 2-3 days, switched to sparkling water, fast food several times a week to once a week, sandwiches from several a week to once every two weeks, pizza weekly to once a month, and pasta multiple times a week to none, breakfast sandwiches and tacos to eggs and meat, lunch from crap to a salad most days. I also got on medicine for the triglycerides and blood sugar.

In a month my blood sugar dropped from 300 to 111, triglycerides from off chart to 202 (<150 is good), A1C from 11.2 to 9. (It's a 3 month average so will take another month or two to get down), down to peeing 3-4 times a day and dropped 4 pounds to 176, which at 6'2 seems like a good weight. Going to start some exercise of some sort to help push the sugar, tri and good cholesterol in the right direction.

If you've lost some unexpected weight, are thirsty all the time, and peeing more often than usual you should get your blood checked and make sure you're not on a bad path. My ex-MIL just ignored the signs for years and ended up losing toes and was about to lose a foot but died before she did.

Main culprit is carbs. Get a food tracker like MyFitnessPal and keep below 40 carbs per meal and around 100 per day and you should be moving in the right direction.