TYPE 2 DIABETES AND CROHNS

frar,
Sorry to hear you having troubles with your BS, are you on prednisone?
You may want to post this question in the Diabetes forum also.
Take care.
Kitt

Actually, the diet recommended for Type II diabetes is just a good, balanced diet. Low on simple carbs but more complex carbs. It's a myth that diabetics should avoid all carbs. Exercise is extremely important, and regular exercise can lower blood sugars significantly. It doesn't have to be go-to-the-gym, wear-yourself-out exercise. Walking a mile a day will work. Even housework can do it.

Like many diseases, diet and exercise don't actually cure type II diabetes. They can control the symptoms in mild cases, and keep you from developing some of the bad by-products of high blood sugar - impaired circulation, heart disease, eye problems. In some cases, medication is needed to control it, especially as people age.

Ask your doctor if some hospital or other agency in your area has classes for new diabetics. One of the hospitals here has a series of six classes. They talk about diet, the value of certain foods. how to plan meals, exercise, skin care and other important topics. It can be very helpful.

If you're on Prednisone or any other kind of steroid, it may well be a reaction to the medication. One thing they do is to raise blood sugar levels. My testing fell into the low diabetic range when I was taking Entocort. With diet and exercise I brought it down. Now that I'm off steroids, my tests are well in the normal range, but my doctor still runs them twice a year to monitor.

It's believed that having one auto-immune disease makes it more likely that we will develop a second. Type II Diabetes is one of them.

In most people who develop adult onset diabetes, the pancreas gradually produces less and less insulin as they age. Taking in less sugars and starches which break down quickly into glucose, increasing the amount of protein we eat, which breaks down slower and burning off additional glucose through exercise can help to keep our glucose levels lower, but there isn't a real "cure".

As Crohnies, we have the additional risk of inflammation to worry about. The pancreas can be damaged as a result of some of the meds we take or from the same type of inflammation that affects our guts. This can lead to Type II Diabetes even if we do stick to a low glycemic diet and exercise.

Frar, I hope you can get this under control quickly and easily. Best Wishes.

Frar,  I have what my doctor calls "steriod-induced diabetes".  When I was put on Prednisone, I developed diabetes.  It's sort of like gestational diabetes.  Once I'm off the steriods, it slowly returns to almost normal.  I still am careful with what I eat and I try to walk everyday.  I'm on a very low dose of diabetes medicine.  I hope everything goes well for you.  The adjustment phase is the hardest.  I discovered I had Crohn's during a resection and developed diabetes all withing a few months.  Talk about adjustments.