Re: new diagnosis

[Guest guest]

I would consider trying to control by diet and excercise first (if

possible). My dr put me on Glucophage and it made me really sick with

diahrea. Some people do fine on it though. My dr didn't tell me much at

all. I learned by reading lots of list mail. I am on diabetes_int, diabetes,

gl ( a low carb list), typetwo and some recipe lists.

One thing ,that is important, is to test often so you figure out what foods

are raising your blood sugar the worst. Test strips are expensive and for

some reason drs and insurance companies seem to be stingy in their

prescriptions and coverage of costs. My insurance company covers 200 strips

a month which comes to 7 tests a day. I test more then that, especially now

that I am trying to add back some carbs into my diet, so I have to pay out

of pocket for the extra strips. You would think the insurance companies

would rather pay for extra test strips then for amputation, blindness-eye

surgery, kidney failure etc down the road!

I have 3 meters but my favorite is Ultra One touch by life scan.

Their site is at:

http://www.lifescan.com/lsprods/ultra.html

It uses very little blood and works on the arm as well as the finger.

My dr gave me a pamphlet and sent me home. Real helpful huh? The diet

recommended was very high in grains and starches. So I went home and ate

oatmeal, whole grains, high carb foods and my blood sugar went higher and

higher. Finally, from reading the lists I found out carbs turn to sugar in

our bodies so basically eating high carb foods is just as bad as eating

sugar! By eating protein and veggies I lowered my blood sugar and I am on

no medication.

Be sure to get copies of all your bloodwork/lab tests. You should have an

hbA1c test every three months. Did they do that one for you yet?

I keep a daily diary of my blood sugar tests, food I ate, any stressful

incidents, and anything else that might affect my bs. That way I can see

what foods I can tolerate, which I can't, my fasting bs, my bedtime bs and

post meal bs. At first it was all very overwhelming but now I am finding it

isn't so bad. I just have to eat smaller portions more often and stay away

from starchy carbs. Most people call them the " whites " like white bread,

white rice, potatoes (although I can eat a bit of sweet potato) etc.

The carbs in veggies don't seem to raise my bs the same way potato, bread

and rice do.

Read labels and check out carb contents of things. For example- skim milk

has more carbs and sugar then whole milk. Heavy whipping cream has no sugar

and almost no carbs! Most of the " fat free " foods have added sugar and are

much worse for a diabetic- like low fat salad dressing is much higher in

carbs.

Well I don't know if I have helped as far as questions for your dr :-)

Guess I have gone on long enough...

E

dx'd 2/16/01-T2

hbA1c 2/16/01= 11.7

hbA1c 4/20/01=6.7

hbA1c 6/26/01= 5.0

44 yrs old,diet & exercise

-------------------------

Hello everyone:

I was diagnosed last week as a type 2. I am a WM, 45, 5'-7 " 180# and

my fasting blood glucose level was 170. I have an appointment with my

primary care physician on Monday 10 Sept for follow up tests and

counseling. He advised me by phone that he will prescribe meds

(Glucophage?). My PCP has been good up till now (going on 10 years),

but I don't know what to expect from this visit and the future.

My question for the group is: What are the key questions I should ask

during this appointment. What are the key alternatives that he and I

should be considering?

Your timely response are most appreciated.

Many thanks.