Re: T - diabetic diet

[Guest guest]

T.

The key is to have a good balance of carbs and protein. This is sometimes

challenging for me since when my panc is acting up at all protein is a real

challenge for me. Fat does not seem to affect my pancreas so often peanut

butter crackers make a good snack for me. Cheese toast is also something

that works well if I can tolerate anything more than liquids. I do not like

orange juice and also my doctors don't want me to have it. They say the

acid aggrevates the pancreas. I usually have coke so when I have a major

low that is what I go for. Then once the shaking is under control I try to

eat something with both carbs and protein. The reason for the protein is

that it will help sustain your blood sugar longer than just carbs. I think

it was Kimber who first told me not to just go for pure carbs when my sugar

goes low. My mom is a type 2 diabetic and she was having me eat/drink

things with just lots of simple carbs. This causes a yo-yo effect. The

blood sugar goes back up, sometimes too high, then it will crash again.

Balancing the carbs and protein helps keep things on a more even keel - most

of the time! Sometimes there is no rhyme or reason as to my blood sugar

level. I can eat the house and it will be perfect or I can eat almost

nothing and it can go way too high (this doesn't happen that often now that

I'm not on steriods). It is much harder to keep your blood sugar where it

needs to be when you are sick or under stress. This stupid fever I'm

running seems to be having an effect and making it harder to keep things

where they need to be.

If I were you, I would live and eat as if you are a diabetic. It is a

healthy diet and lifestyle that I don't think would hurt anyone. With a

grandfather who is a diabetic, gestational diabetes, and cp and now episodes

of hypoglycemia, I'd say diabetes is a given for you - regardless of your

weight. That was the ironic thing for me. I had been about 100 lbs

overweight and just slightly under the category of morbid obesity. I had a

gastric bypass (weight loss surgery - one of the best decisions I've ever

made) and when the diabetes began I was well within the normal weight

category. When I was 100 lbs overweight my blood sugar was checked pretty

often because of my mom being a diabetic. No matter what I ate or didn't

eat my blood sugar remained perfectly steady and in the 90's. I had my

first documented attack of acute panc in Jan 00, almost 2 years prior to the

gastric bypass. Things settled down with my panc after about a year but the

pain never went totally away and really was there off and on for quite some

time prior to the first attack. I started back having 'documented' attacks

of acute panc in Jul 02 and the low blood sugar episodes began in Oct 02.

By Jan 03 I was having low and high episodes and got the 'official' diabetes

diagnosis. I truly believe that catching it early has kept it from

progressing as quickly as it might have. There may be a genetic compenent

to my diabetes since my mom was diagnosed at age 50 (she's now almost 70)

with diabetes. she has never been overweight and we call her the everready

bunny because she never stops. She grew up very poor, out in the country on

a farm and is just very used to hard work. I guess that may be why her

diabetes has remained type 2 and relatively mild. She has not had to take

any meds for her diabetes in about 10 years. However, any time she gets

sick or has steriods, she has to be VERY careful with her diet and monitor

her blood sugar closely.

I would suggest you get in the habit of checking your blood sugar twice a

day at different times even when you aren't having symptoms. Of course, if

you have symptoms of low or high blood sugar, check it. I'd keep a record

of it just so you can be ahead of the game if things progress. When I first

started with the low blood sugar episodes, I actually had to set an alarm to

remind myself to eat.

I hope that things don't progress and these episodes of low blood sugar have

just been a fluke. However, it certainly isn't going to hurt you to monitor

things and follow a diabetic diet. There are a lot of good web sites that

will give you some good info and suggestions on good snacks.

W>