Diabetes

[Ann]

One of our members has recently ben dianosed as diabetic and my husband is a diabetic and I know another member is also. I'm wondering if this board might be a place to offer some support, ask and answer questions, share concerns, etc.

Here's a link that may be useful. American Diabetic Assn.
http://www.diabetes.org

[Multimom]

Having been gestationally diabetic with 4 of my 6 children, I have become a master at the exchange program.

I'm willing to offer any coaching to anyone who is interested.

[Candice]

Originally posted by Ann
One of our members has recently ben dianosed as diabetic

I am the member she is talking about... thank you Ann.

so I have a question well a couple questions..

first off I've been really exhausted as of late, like more tired than usual and although I am a college student and this is the last week before finals and I'm still looking for a job and I have more to do than hours in the day and yeah I'm a little stressed could this also possibly be at least partially caused by the diabetes?

alright so i know i need to drink a lot of water but what else can i drink because sometimes I want to have something else other than water!?

any good ideas of snack foods that i could munch on and would keep well in a college dorm room, i have a fridge??

and last how bad is unsweetened tea for me?

[JesusMyTruLuv]

my best friend has type 2 my other friend has type 1 and im likley to get it because im hypoglycemic and my aunt was the same way but it turned into diabietes

[Michele]

Instead of water, you can have fruit flavored water. Wal-Mart brand is really good with no carbs. About the unsweetened tea thing, you can have it but it cant have ANY caffeine. As a matter of fact, caffeine is really bad for anyone, not only those with diabetes.

[Multimom]

Michelle:

where did you hear about caffeine? My family has tons of diabetics in it and I've never heard that.

Also when I was gestationally diabetic it wasn't a no-no for me and my youngest is only 2.

I just did a quick search and the reason is that caffeine is a natural dieuretic (naturally dehydrates). Which diabetics don't need. I'm sure if you off set it with the water, and don't make every drink laden with caffeine you should be okay.

Candice:

Yes the diabetes can be a reason for your lethargy. Be good to yourself. Take a 20 - 30 minute walk at a comfortable pace to help reduce your stress.

Another thing, never ever eat fruit alone. It's natural sugar content is way to high to be consumed on it's own.

BTW are you taking oral meds or injected insulin. If you are taking oral meds, high protein snacks can help keep your blood sugar in line, it also works for Insulin dependents.

To help maintain it during the day while you are busy and can't stop to meet the snack, eat lots of protein and green veggies and reserve your simple carbohydrates like bread, and fruits for meals when you are close to your insulin.

Reserve fruit juices for insulin reactions only. Drinking fruit juice can cause a severe rebound reaction with your insulin.

If you begin to have that "hypoglycemic" feeling the course is this. Do something fast, don't let the sweats and shakes take over. Eat 1/2 a peanut butter sandwich and drink a glass of milk, then within 45 minutes eat a normal meal.

Another thing you can try (if you are using injected insulin check with your doctor first) is Chromium GTF, don't use the picoinate. Get the GTF(glucose tolerance factor), but let your doctor know and ask him about using it first. Chromium is known to reduce glucose counts and as a diabetic your doctor should advise you on it's use.

Managing diabetes can be easy if you seek support and follow your doctor's recommendations.

[Michele]

I didnt really mean it was specifically bad for people with diabetes...I just mean that's it's really bad for people in general. I gave up pretty much all caffiene about 6 months ago. Caffeine is pretty hard on your kidneys.

[Multimom]

Michele:

You are right!!

Caffiene is very hard on the kidneys and our systems in general which is why many people suffer withdrawal when they stop drinking things with caffiene.

It is a dieuretic (naturally draws water out of the body).

BEWARE, lemon juice does the same thing so if you are putting more than just a small squeeze in your water, you could be defeating your purpose.

Cheers with H2O!!;)

[Ann]

You found it Candice! Glad you are here!

Peanut butter sticks in indiv wrappers and cheese sticks also in indiv wrappers seem to help Charles however this is not balenced. You might try a trail mix that is low on sugary dry fruit and higher on nuts and seeds or one of the meal replacement bars, again selecting one with more protine and complex carbs than sugars. Salad mix from the grocery store or vegi sticks can be good too w/ or w/out the cheese. Also look at whole grain breads vs white bread or whole grain crackers. If you like rye there are things called Finn Crisp that I love with cheese. O and the individual tuna packages, are great if you like tuna. The thing is to think or write down what you like that is healthy for you and have some of that more handy than the stuff that doesn't help you or that you dislike. Raw peanuts used to be a staple around here when Charles was first learning to balence sugar reactions and were a blessing to him but were not something I'd have eaten voluntarily. Some fruit metabolizes much more quickly than other. Same with other foods. For basic eating you want foods with lower glycemic index. For quick relief from that yucky low sugar feeing you want things with high glycemic index followed by medium or high index food (s). Glycemic index = how fast food is metabolozed and turned to energy (sugar) in the body. Here is one easy guide to that. http://www.webgate.net/~welchiro/choosing.html

[Candice]

Originally posted by Multimom


Candice:

Yes the diabetes can be a reason for your lethargy. Be good to yourself. Take a 20 - 30 minute walk at a comfortable pace to help reduce your stress.

Another thing, never ever eat fruit alone. It's natural sugar content is way to high to be consumed on it's own.

BTW are you taking oral meds or injected insulin. If you are taking oral meds, high protein snacks can help keep your blood sugar in line, it also works for Insulin dependents.

To help maintain it during the day while you are busy and can't stop to meet the snack, eat lots of protein and green veggies and reserve your simple carbohydrates like bread, and fruits for meals when you are close to your insulin.

Reserve fruit juices for insulin reactions only. Drinking fruit juice can cause a severe rebound reaction with your insulin.

If you begin to have that "hypoglycemic" feeling the course is this. Do something fast, don't let the sweats and shakes take over. Eat 1/2 a peanut butter sandwich and drink a glass of milk, then within 45 minutes eat a normal meal.

Another thing you can try (if you are using injected insulin check with your doctor first) is Chromium GTF, don't use the picoinate. Get the GTF(glucose tolerance factor), but let your doctor know and ask him about using it first. Chromium is known to reduce glucose counts and as a diabetic your doctor should advise you on it's use.

Managing diabetes can be easy if you seek support and follow your doctor's recommendations.

I am taking a drug called Metformin for my diabetes, thankfully I'm not insulin dependant.

I suppose I'm getting a little better, I feel better some days but it's been really rough... ended up having a small anxiety/stress attack today, it was mild and didn't last too long but still I'm worn out and ready for everything to clear up some.

[Ann]

:hug:

[Multimom]

Candice:

I will get better. The stress of being recently diagnosed is bad enough.


BTW I know the diabetic exchange program like the back of my hand. My mom used it, I used it during my last 4 pregnancies and my grandmother used it too.

If you have any questions about a particular food and how to count it, I'll be glad to help.

HOT TIP OF THE DAY:

When using fat free sugar free ice cream (yes I said ice cream - bluebell makes a wonderful one) 1/2 cup serving should be counted as a bread serving.

The biggest trick is planning ahead your meals. I would also encourage you to grab take out menus from places you like to eat and read them carefully, make selections you like to eat then call the resturant and find out if there is any hidden sugars in the sauces and the like. Mark those that are safe for you to eat and keep them in a file. That way when someone says "hey lets go to Chili's you already know what they have that is safe for you to eat and you don't have to feel the stresses of trying to figure it out on the spot.

SECOND HOT TIP OF THE DAY:

Many chinese food sauses contain high sugar contents. Just because the sauce tastes hot doesn't exempt it. Ask in advance and save yourself some much unneeded stress.

Praying for your much Candice.

[Ann]

JesusMyTruLuv
Having chronic low blood sugar des not necessarily mean you will become diabetic. I was 1st diagnosed w/ that in my 20" and 40 yrs later it is still running low. That can make a person feel like wet left over trash too. But there are things we can do bth to feel better and to keep our body chemistry from getting furtehr out of line.

Protine, complex carbs (like oatmeal, whole grains, rye crackers, dry beans etc. ) help hold the blood sugar level steady. "simple carbs" like cokes, white bread, white sugar, anything w/ high frutose corn syrup tend to make it soar and them plunge. Eating small meals every 2-3 hours is better than a big meal and then a crash. Regular exercise helps too. Doing things like this will also help keep your blood glucose level from going too high.

I've found a product called Immune 26 that helps balence my blood glucose levels and also has helped my husband reduce his need for insulin a lot. Click the health link below if you want to learn more about that.

[Ann]

This is an oldie that I am bumping up becasue we again have someone who is dealing with this and it might help.

huggles