sticking to low carb diet-

[Buttons2]

[B]not an active forum but maybe this will help a lurker.

I was diagnosed type 2 diabetic about 15yrs ago. at the time I was not overweight-so had a hard time accepting it was a fact. (well any excuse right?)

I bought some books. went on the Atkin's diet. drank shakes my idiot doctor told me to. changed from Pepsi to diet soda's. at the time I still had energy & got plenty of exercise.

then my arthritis got so bad even walking was difficult. I adopted a dog that forced me to walk everyday.

flash forward a few years & I stopped walking when dog was put down. my arthritis got worse & I began to do nothing to work up a sweat & began eating all the comfort food I wanted. in other words stuffed myself with carbs & ignored my blood sugar meter.

the past few years I've seen every eye doc available in my area. one said I had diabetic neuropathy. that scared me but again I ignored it over my anger at the eye doc for not explaining it & just telling me I was going blind.

found a new eye doc. he explained EVERYTHING I asked about. even why he didn't see neuropathy (it can come & go),however I do have cataracts.

about a month ago I went back to this eye doc & my eyes had progressed so much he urged me to get the surgery. that's not an option since no ins. & no money.

when he asked what my blood sugar was that morning I admitted I never take it. so we had a long discussion about diabetes.

since that day I have tested every morning,down to 88 this morning & I actually thought the meter was off since I've never seen that number before!

I check my feet everyday also,they are no longer flaming red on the soles. and I am feeling better. losing weight also.

this might help someone else out there to realize we must take it seriously or risk all those bad things we KNOW can happen but figure won't happen to us.

after awhile I stopped craving chocolate too! I do take Metforim & that stuff kills taste buds so guess that's why it helps?

[Ging]

Buttons, thanks for your post, I am on the cusp of diabetes 2 , my doctor has been checking every three months for 9 months, just did blood work yesterday! I go for the results next week. I am over weight with a small frame, an emotional eater ( lots of emotion in my house) I will have to get down to business, I know before I do damage that can't be reversed . I hope others will listen, your story is an eye opener, thank you! (((hugs))) and keep getting better , GING

[Braindead]

I have discovered two supplements that help the type 2 diabetes situation.

All my information comes from NIH-NLM known as PubMed.

They are Pycnogenol and Pterostilbene.

They both lower your sugar levels.

Pycnogenol helps prevent the eye problems form diabetes.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19916788

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12498513

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22660838 new stuff

Check them out at http://www.pubmed.gov

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pterostilbene nice summary much more stuff in PubMed

I welcome comments after you do some research.

Braindead


p.s. I now realize that I should have started a seperate new thread..but it is all good info.

[Buttons2]

had doc appt last week (PCP). my blood sugar was VERY good. I admitted to him how bad I was until the eye doc visit/talk. so I brought it all down to good level in one month.

bad news is my cholesterol was 257! and my BP was 190/90 when first got there & 200/90 half hour later.

if not one thing it's another eh?

I was rather shocked on those numbers. I know what has my BP up......it's my housemate. as for the cholesterol? I do eat butter & cheese but very little meat & rarely any fast food.

it's lack of exercise. almost asked doc for a RX to get another shelter dog that would make me walk LOL

so reading labels for fat content now.got some literature which was kinda funny actually. eggs no longer listed as "bad" for one thing. diabetes booklet was produced by Prevention mag. people & had 4 page ad for Lyrica! aha

since pre-diabetic is a fairly new term & one of my GF's has just been diagnosed with that,I did find the info interesting. basically fasting reading should not be over 100. Ging,hope you get a meter & pay attention.

I let my doc know how the Metforim kills taste buds. he seemed unaware of that nasty side effect. as for the test results? he hinted the FDA cannot always be trusted & they set the guidelines,i.e. cholesterol no higher than 200. (he knows I refuse to ever take any statin).

so got some low fat cheese. I only eat turkey bacon. I'm so sick of reading labels & trying to figure out what I can/will eat! I refuse to eat fish,sick to death of chicken. trying not to eat any nightshade plants (to help my arthritis). it's VERY hard to do all this & I admit I'm not @ 100% compliance.

since nothing tastes right that helps. LOL.

I'd lost 7# & didn't even get a comment on that! well at least the doc did spend 30 min with me for the first time ever (maybe afraid I was gonna have a stroke?)PLUS he listened to my heart! since he refills nitro for me every year I always found it weird he never listened to my heart or asked why I needed that med.

I appreciate that someone actually reads posts here. I know we have a population with diabetes that are ignorant. I will be glad to help anyone if I can. and as I wrote earlier it's sooooo easy to ignore until it's too late. once the damage is done it might not be reversible.

BTW,the booklet even has a list of restaurant foods we should choose. I didn't know what some of the foods were (such as edamame) turns out that is steamed soybeans. well I don't eat Japanese anyways ha.

happy eating everyone!

[Jo6]

happy eating? it sounds like the diet for Gout. If its tasty, spit it out

I know this is no laughing matter and a very serious matter for many. I have been border line for quiet a long time. I try, but if you eat this, its bad for your other issues. I find it hard to stand and read labels to see if I can eat it safely or not.

I used to help my Mom take care of Dad. He was diabetic, then on to heart disease. He had so much wrong it's hard to tell which killed him. The old ticker just gave out, at the young age of 62.

Pati, where to find a good book to go by for all these things? My Pulmonary Dr. told me to stop eating carbs. I have no idea how much is a safe level. I have some calcium build up in the Aorta (?). He said I shouldn't worry about it ?YET?? Thats when he told me to go on the no carb. diet.

They confuse me. All 4 of my Drs. told me to be sure I tell the other Drs. Why, if I shouldn't worry? Go see a Cardeologist (?) Thats all I need, another Dr.

My GP wants me to find a good kidney Dr. That made me happy???? My Lady Caroline died from complications with Renal Failure.

Maybe that is why I am hovering over that dark pit these days. I will be 70 in October. Guess it's time for me to except life on life's terms and try for a little happiness.

I read a post in Chit-Chat about something I didn't understand. Maybe they need to post here and the Eating Disorders forum, eh?

yes, eat drink and be merry. Just as long as you eat, drink and be merry on the right foods and drinks. I would dearly love to have a few glasses of wine I've had forever and haven't even opened. I've even stored them correctly.

Go by the rules, Jo my love to all and thank you Pati for opening up this Forum! ((((((( gentil hugs to all ))))))

[Jo6]

Sorry people, I posted this twice, tried to delet, but must have forgotten how to do that too. good evening all, Jo

[Buttons2]

Jo,that's just it.....one doc will say eat this,another will say eat that!

my housemate is also type 2 so at least we're in the same boat. one day he brought home a watermelon,he was over 200 on his blood sugar an hour after eating a small slice! so I made him toss it since I've never liked the stuff anyways.

here's the books I likediabetes Solution by Dr. Richard Bernstein. he's written several books. he has type 2 himself. he makes it simple & easy to understand.

what we eat is all tied into many health issues. one thing fails us & seems to set off a chain reaction.

I make sure to eat protein with any carb. might have 1 slice of very grainy bread per day. if crave choc. I go for sugar free ice cream to get my fix. since cutting way back on eggs I'm eating lots of left overs for breakfast.

fruits raise blood sugar ALOT. so do some veggies. corn,peas,beets,squash. and what works one way for one person might not be same for someone else.

I've never tested over 300 yet I'm going blind. I know people that can test as high as 800! and are doing OK. I figure they are a walking time bomb but that's their business.

as for drinking? I love my evening wine & without it I will have those horrific myoclonic jerks. so what to choose from? and I like my sleep,without my wine I cannot sleep. so do I take meds to sleep? add to my other meds which already give me constant headaches,etc.

in other words I don't always follow the rules!

I eat very little meat. do eat alot of fresh veggies this time of year. I drink a very small amount of orange juice every morning with my meds. I refuse to take calcium supplements.

over the years the experts have changed everything about 180 degrees. years ago you couldn't buy any vit D & we were told it was toxic. now doc's RX the stuff for pain! my point is I think we just have to learn what works for us. if any doc tries to push a drug on me I make my own decision. I have little trust in doc's when they all say something different & expect us to just listen & do what they say without question.

well now I'm getting on a rant so will go outside & soak up some natural vit. D......

as for the thread about obesity? I think that poster is trying to push an agenda for a product myself. common sense tells me you cannot eat sweets & lose weight! it's like that commercial for Sensa? just sprinkle this stuff on your food & lose weight! yeah right.....

[JanM]

After taking several different chorlesterol lower drugs and with bad side effect I was told by my Neh. to take Red Yeast Rice. (I can never which order the word are) I take two capsules a day, chorlesterol is good and no aching muscles. I get a big bottle from SAM'S and it lasts forever.

[Buttons2]

thanks for that Jan. we're eating pistachio's everyday now for cholesterol. I have refused statins for many years. be interesting to find out how these changes have gotten my high # down (hopefully!)